East West Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

I really wanted to love this place, and I expected to with a 4.5 star rating. Unfortunately, everything was underwhelming. I expected the Chicken Shwarma to be shaved. Instead, it was cut into thick, tough, overcooked chunks of chicken. It was not the texture I was seeking. Additionally, it didn't have the flavor profile that I am familiar with with Shwarma and was rather bland. I also expected the naan and hummus to be on the side so I could scoop up the shwarma, but it came like a sandwich with the chicken inside. Unfortunately, it couldn't be eaten like a sandwich because the naan was very thin and broke apart easily. The hummus came spread thin on the naan and was so sparce that I couldn't even say what it tasted like. The dressing for the salad was supposed to be a basil vinaigrette, but it was so heavy with vinegar that you could only taste vinegar. I felt ill the rest of the day, and I assume it was from this, but I can't say for sure. Either way, with their price point, it is not worth the chance to leave (best case scenario) disappointed (worst case scenario) ill. I will say that it is decorated nicely. It is really too bad it is a facade. Service was mediocre. We were told to sit anywhere but got ushered away from the seats we chose, which...

Food, meh. Service, not good.

Ordered the spinach quesadilla, which the menu says to allow an extra 10 minutes for. Apparantly this message didnt get to the wait staff because our entree arrived about 3 minutes after the app. (At least this explains the unwillingness of our waitress to change my wife's order 3 minutes after we put it in - we thought that with an extra 10 minutes it wouldnt be an issue... it was).

I ordered the chicken shwarma which was a gluey purple mess with about 5 pieces of chicken in it. Not nearly enough of the thin, dry, burnt pita to eat it with. Overall a poor presentation for a weak dish.

My wife had the veggie kebab (she tried to change out for a veggie burger which we didnt see on the front of the menu initially, but this could not be accommodated. Even just a few minutes after ordering and well before our app). It was ok. It says there is pineapple in it, and the tiny piece we found between everything else makes it true (but hardly worth a mention in the menu). 1 kebab, a ton of flavorless, mushy brown rice, and mediocre hummus and mushy sides. Overall, not great.

We had high hopes. ...

I am terribly disappointed in my visit to this restaurant. I've been coming here 20+ years and this is my first disappointment. I'm giving them 2 stars only because of their strong history of professional service and amazing food.

I placed an order online and the food I ended up with was not what I ordered. That would have been okay, if the restaurant had acknowledged my complaint. The food pictured is not the East West Turkey burger with a side salad (according to the menu's description)...

When I expressed my concerns, most specifically because there was no hamburger bun or condiments, I was rudely dealt with. The individual waiting on customers condescendingly informed me that this was the East West turkey burger I'd ordered. After several minutes of politely expressing my dissatisfaction, and being spoken to as if I were a badly behaved child, I rather ungraciously agreed to pay for and take the offending dish.

Simply put, all I wanted was a hamburger bun and some basic respect. I truly love this restaurant and hope that my next visit will redeem the...