The Sultan Cafe — Restaurant in Portland

This was a lucky break for a spot when we thought there'd be no restaurants! U-Haul was over, we were hungry and exhausted, it's lunch. We're about to say 'heck with it' and go our separate ways, then? The Sultan Cafe! I started to get excited as soon as I saw "Felafel". We got in and the menu prices were really reasonable so I was wondering how great it was going to be. I got the most expensive thing-- Two Skewers with Hummous and Rice, Yogurt for $12 a plate. We each got one, some sparkly water and had a seat.

Wow. The guy brought it out and I knew right away this was going to be a good plate of food. First of all, let me prepare you for authentic SAFFRON cooked rice. It's a lot of places which will go extra miles and use saffron at all from a mix, but I don't actually recall any place having quite this sort of flavor and consistency. It was a lot more rice than I would normally consume with my diet but I had the whole thing, it might be two cups of rice-- the saffron power was irresistible, it had wonderful consistency and it complimented the meal.

The skewers were just how I like them, which is to say they were blackened on the outside and bursting with moist flavor on the meat. The veggies were not dripping or otherwise offensive off the stick and the flavor was outstanding. The meat was marinated a long time and there was absolutely zero dryness. This was well prepared meat and they cooked it just right. I'm salivating again just thinking about it! Wow.

The hummus was prepared in a neat little area with some paprika, oil and I believe they added the pitted Kalamata or other dark olive there. The hummouss- absolutely out of this world. It's a great hummus and I have high bars on that. I've had hummus in many places from many countries recipes and it's a win-win situation with the hummus here. The yogurt was extremely delicious and quite a lot of it.

You won't go wrong! The people who run this care about the place and it's got terrific food for unbelievable prices for what you get and...

We have eaten twice at this cafe in the past several weeks while we were in the area, and, observing, it seems to be well-attended by others in the neighborhood. The staff is friendly and welcoming, and attentive to keeping the cafe clean. In fact, the first thing I noticed about it was its gleaming windows. We are particularly enjoying the Mediterranean offerings, although a substantial bowl (listed as a cup) of chicken rice soup was a taste surprise because of its great flavor and lack of the all-too-common cornstarch binders. “Only the good stuff” was the reply when I complimented the cook. Everything is very fresh. I had the mezza plate with falafel, and the tabbouleh, hummus, and baba ganoush were terrific. I’m not always a falafel fan, but I liked the subtle and unique spicing of these ones. This is an unassuming-looking corner cafe on an unassuming street, but it is doing things right....

9/19/22 Update: After fasting 13 1/2 hours for some routine blood work at nearby Legacy Good Samaritan, I was starving and new The Sultan Cafe would be perfect place for breaking a fast. So at 10 am, I asked "Is it's too early for a gyro?" At which point the owner and I said at the same time, "It's never too early for a gyro!"

As the saying goes, "The rest is history", I had a full and satisfied tummy.

A little hidden gem located in the last bastion of NW Portland's industrial area. Open for breakfast and lunch with limited indoor seating and take out available. Delivery by the usual services. Open until 8:30 am—2 pm weekdays.

Great food, ample quantity, reasonable prices, with friendly...