Gili's Kitchen — Restaurant in Jacksonville

It gives me no joy to write this disappointing review. A little background. I grew up in Baltimore going to Corn-Beef Row once a week. I lived in NYC- dined at the old Carnegie Deli, Katz's and Zabars. Lived in LA for over 30 years going to Langers, Factors, Art's, Brent's and all the great Israeli cafes like Aroma and Tel-Aviv Grill-- so on a trip down here from Savannah I was thrilled to see what seemed like an authentic Kosher Deli/Israeli Cafe and to check it ou! We came on Sunday July 27th and I brought 5 friends who have never been to a DELI or an Israeli restauant so I assured them they were in for a TREAT... instead it was kind of a nightmare. First-- the AC was out. At one point the Waitress brought out an old fan which she plugged on the other side of the restaurant so it made zero difference. When we walked in -- we were only one of two tables- A table of two women and then a table of us-- 6- 3 couples. The Waitress apologized and said she was new. She took our orders. We ordered some salads and apps and we made it clear we wanted them first. About 40 minutes later, the apps-- a plate hummus, 6 falafel and a greek salad finally came out. This was after I had to get up and remind the waitress that we had been waiting a long time for those three dishes. We also ordered a chef's salad that they clearly forgot. My friend told them to just forget it-- but a few minutes later after we had finished the other apps, she brought it out and said there was no charge for it.. Okay-- that's nice I guess. And then about 15 minutes later, the entrees came out-- all of them EXCEPT mine. A simple NY Style Pastrami Sandwich. The Waitress didn't say anything this time and once again, I had to go to the front desk and ask where my food was. Was told they were very short staffed. Whatever. Finally AFTER my friends were all finished with their food, my sandwich came out-- but it was the wrong one-- it was the 15 dollar smaller version not the 23 dollar version I ordered. I pointed this out and she again apologized and said she can have it remade and I told her I had already waited a long time so she said she would just bring me a plate with some extra pastrami. I said that would be fine and she brought some more over.... We finished our food and then waited a LONG TIME for the checks to come-- which never did-- cause the table check device was broken--- Great! So we then all paid our checks-- I was last- I noticed she had charged me for the large sandwich instead of the smaller one that I got. She told me I said it was okay if she brought me the extra pastrami-- I told her I thought she was just being nice because they had forgotten to bring out my sandwich in the first place-- she said no-- she had to charge me for the extra. Eight bucks for a couple slices of pastrami which I'm sure was probably just a Boar's Head from Publix-- cause you know what-- after all this-- if the food was great- I would have minded-- but it was all just MEH. Nothing special. Fun fact- my wife got the Hummus with Mushrooms and promptly got food poisoning so that happened to. And now my friends hate Jewish and Israeli food- so thanks for that Gili. Oh-- and even with that I tried my best to be friendly and said "Shalom" the the grumpy slobby "chef" who grumbled something back. No- "Sorry". No please forgive the bad service. Nothing. Sooo never coming back. I tried my best to support my people but Jesus-- what a crappy experience all around. Like no one cares. Ps. I don't know how many times we had to ask for simple things like...

Way over-priced food with terrible customer service. STAY AWAY! Ordered 7 items for a business lunch to be delivered and everything turned out to be a disaster. Placed the order to be delivered at 12pm, called ahead to confirm and all seemed good to go. Wrong order was delivered (kids burgers and other items) because they gave the Uber Eats driver the wrong delivery. When I called the restaurant to tell them what happened, she was "too busy" to listen and quickly dismissed me telling me our order was being prepared and would be delivered soon. I called back and finally got her to pay attention to me to inform her that we got the wrong order and our lunch break was beginning. She realized her mistake, admitted it to me, and said they'd remake our order and deliver it as soon as possible. 20 minutes later, I called to get an update, and she said, "they are heading out the door with everything except your burger" and when I asked why aren't you sending our burger, she said because we were given a burger in the first delivery order. The said burger was not at all like the one I'd ordered as it had cheese and bacon on it and what was I supposed to do, give that one to someone after it had been sitting on the counter now for 40 mins? I said I'd like all of our correct order and then was told I'd be waiting longer as they now had to cook that burger! I honestly couldn't believe it...but it gets worse. When they showed up with the food at 1:30pm, they asked for the mistaken food back - which is fine, but I HOPE they did not serve that back out to anyone. Who does that?? Then when I asked how they planned to make this mistake of theirs right for us, she said she'd need to talk with the boss and offered me a few free desserts on my next order to which I replied "we won't be ordering from here again". My clients had to eat during a meeting because the food was 90 mins late. We tried one last time asking how they could make this right for us and they offered 10% back with either a check payment or zelle, which is crazy as we paid with a credit card, our company is not set up for zelle and waiting on a mailed check for $17, are you kidding? $17 doesn't even cover one of the lunches. She had also suggested I contact Uber to try to get a refund and I said I can't do that because I didn't order through Uber, I ordered through Gili's and YOU contracted Uber to deliver! $178 for 7 lunches that didn't even taste good when they FINALLY arrived. This place has ZERO customer...

Gili's Kitchen is an absolute gem and truly felt like a home away from home for our family. From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed with warmth and kindness. Tanya was the highlight of our experience. She is the most amazing, patient, and kind-hearted woman. She loved our kids, treated them with so much care, and made us all feel relaxed and happy. She was also super helpful and fast with taking our order and offering thoughtful suggestions that made everything even better.

The food was incredible. Real, authentic Israeli Mediterranean flavors that took us straight back to the taste of home. Every single bite was delicious and comforting. We enjoyed the meat hummus which was creamy and flavorful, the lamb kebabs which were juicy and perfectly spiced, the baguette shawarma full of amazing textures and flavors, and the huge schnitzel which was crispy on the outside and tender inside. Make sure you ask for their spicy paste called schug on the side. It adds the perfect kick.

They also have amazing desserts. We tried the babka and the brownies and both were delicious. They even have gluten-free dessert options which we really appreciated.

One of the best parts is how much more there is on the menu. There are so many other dishes we are excited to try. We are already planning to come back to explore more. The prices are very fair, especially for the big portions and high quality of everything.

This place has everything you could want. Delicious food, great service, a warm and family-friendly atmosphere, and a staff that truly cares. We highly recommend Gili's Kitchen and will definitely...