Leila Cafe

by Eric B.

I've been looking for a tasty Shawarma stateside since my semester abroad in London in 2003.Six fruitless (and tasteless) years later, Leila Cafe opened just next door in center city.Their shawarma is fantastic, but what's better is the service.I had passed the place on an earlier occasion and it was hopping, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the atmosphere much more relaxing when my girlfriend and I arrived on a recent Tuesday evening.The food was excellent, the ingredients fresh, and the owners were more than happy to share a relaxing hookah with their guests!Five stars for a five star joint.

by Christa M.

Can I give 3.5 stars? I have been here 2 times. First time, the food was super salty! And service was slow due to only one waiter, but the smoothie I had was amazing! amazing! The pita bread was the traditional dry, thin pita, but I have come to like it, aside from it's functionality as a fork, knife.The stuffed grape leaves are pretty decent and the greek salad is soo filling. The kibbe was better the second time around and nothing was as salty as last time. the Cons- the water always tastes weird here and the place is so frickin hot inside! Also, the bathrooms- I won't go there- basement bathrooms usually scare me and this one did just that. Another thing I am not certain on is if this place is a BYO cuz it would be a good one.

by Mark S.

Recently, a friend and I decided to take a short hiatus from binge drinking. With Leila Cafe's strict "Don't BYOB" policy, it seemed like the perfect spot to nurture our newfound sobriety. First off I'll reiterate what seems to be a common theme with this place. The people are very friendly.  If Cheers replaced  beer with hookah and served shawarma, it'd be this place. You're basically on a first name basis with everyone after 5 minutes.We started off the meal with a hummus plate. The hummus was really flavorful and some of the best I've had in the city. It had a little bit too much salt, but oddly the hummus that came with our platters did not.My friend and I both had shawarma. I've had gyro and shawarma platters all over Philly but this was by far he best. The meat was really tender. Many times I find that the shaved lamb can be especially tough, which is why I usually lean toward souvlaki platters at other restaurants, but this was perfect. It came with a side of hummus, the traditional tomato/cucumber chutney and of course rice. Everything had a distinctive flavor which made it a pleasure to mix stuff together.We finished off the meal with a hookah of golden apple flavored tobacco. The location really lends itself to relax and people watch while you enjoy the hookah. You can focus on the hipsters at the Last Drop or the occasional freakshow that stumbles out of Dirty Frank's. We spent about an hour just hanging out and smoking, but they never tried to push us out. I live in the Washington Square West and this is a very welcomed addition to the neighborhood.

by sara c.

Rolled into Leila on Saturday night following an evening of games, beerz, and indecision in Rittenhouse trying to figure out our next destination.  Having remembered co-owner Mohamad's warm invitation on their opening weekend, we decided to head on over.For starters, be warned - it was packed.  Having received some press and lots of hype at the fairly busy intersection, every table indoors and outdoors was filled.  Luckily, we found one.  The service and Mohammad were clearly overwhelmed but apologetic and sincere.  Eventually after a few different servers we got our orders in.  The hookah was wonderful to sit and smoke along Pine Street.  Though I did not order my own food, I tried some of my friends' beef shawarma platter - filled to the brim with the tender strips of beef, aromatic basmati rice, salad, pita, and hummus.  Simply amazing and definitely some of the best Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food I've tasted in a while.The Arabic coffee?  AMAZING.  Strong, but sweet, and perfect for sipping.  The owners filled my little cup up twice.  And yes, as others have mentioned, Smiley greeted our table with dozens of ways to say thank you in different languages.  He also mentioned that breakfast would be served, and that he would be creating six different varieties of banana bread.  YES PLEASE!Sure, they've got some service kinks to work out with a rapidly growing clientele, and that might turn a few pickier people off.  But their hearts are definitely in the right place.As Monica mentioned, no alcohol here.  but after an hour of hookah, you'll feel just fine without.  :)

by Aditi J.Krsna V.Jacquelin K.

Good food + good conversation = a delightful night. I came here with a best friend last night and we stayed for 3 hours - in a good way. We shared a Maza platter which had more than enough food for both of us. It came with a basket full of pita (which we asked for a refill halfway through, yum), hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouleh, and a giant platter with 5 falafels, 5 grape leaves, and vegetables. We both ordered the Rasberry Lemonade which was amazingly refreshing. With all this food, we buckled down and ate and chatted the night away.To top it all off, we finished with pineapple hookah and tried our hardest to make rings. My friend was successful, I was not; guess that means I need to come back soon to practice!Just a note, be sure to get a reservation -- this place is small and as the night went on, it was packed inside and out! There aren't many tables so I was glad that I put in a reservation ahead of time.The word disaster was invented for places like Leila.If you want to be moved around twice during the course of your meal, wait an hour for your food, sit with 4 people at a tabletop for 2, and end up leaving without any food, this is your place.I don't wait long periods for food. It is against my principles. There is no place in this entire world that is worth waiting more than 15 minutes for food. However, when you go out to dinner with friends you make compromises. That's what friends do. We were in Philly for a conference. Four of us decided to have dinner on a Saturday night. One of us is vegetarian, we figured middle eastern food is a safe bet for vegetarians because of various options.This place is small. We walked in to Leila around 8pm. It is Saturday night, the place seems busy, we were cool with a short wait. My friends decided we can wait for 15-20 minutes to be seated. Surprisingly, we were seated right away. The owner (I assume) moved a party of two to another table to seat us. That should have been our first clue to get out. We felt bad for the two ladies who were asked to move. That's when I noticed he wants the four of us to sit at a table for two. He immediately brought two more chairs and put them around the little table and asked us to sit.Under ordinary circumstances I would have walked out without saying a word, but I was with friends. They were ok sharing a small table. I didn't want to be rude. We sat brushing arms with people sitting next to us. It was highly uncomfortable.15 minutes later the owner comes to take our order. We were starving by then. We order right off the bat. My friend asks for a date smoothie that was on their menu.Owner: Oh, we don't serve that.Friend: It says you have it, on the menu.Owner: I just made it up because it sounds good. Nobody in America has it, so I made it up.Friend (with puzzled look): So, you don't serve it, but you have it on the menu because it just sounds good? Me: Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. Why offer something that you have no intentions of serving?Owner: *skips this conversation and takes the rest of our order*We wait.... and wait....and wait.... 30 minutes. We weren't even served our drinks (water). How hard is it to serve water??30 minutes later the owner comes and asks us to move to the table next to us because he thinks we need a bigger table. No shit, Sherlock....you should have done this 30 minutes ago. We move.Next thing you know he seats another 4 people at the table we just vacated. This guy is unbelievable.And then he tells us our food is ready to come out.So, we wait for our food... and wait.... and wait....for another 30 minutes. That is when the other lady working there comes and asks if we ordered.Holy muthafu*kin hell. Did you just ask us if we ordered? We ordered an HOUR ago. And your greedy owner keeps seating people, but doesn't serve them, because he doesn't want to lose customers. You know what? I am finished here.I look at my friends and say I am leaving. I don't care if I am rude, I am not putting up with this bull$hit. My friends were pretty pissed off by then and we all left. When you say my food is coming out right now, it means it will be on my table within the next 10 minutes. I shouldn't have to wait 30 minutes only to be asked if we ordered.Perhaps the food is good. But the inefficient service and rude staff are not worth returning. The public health professional in me was also pissed that they do not have a separate area for hookah smokers. The tables around us were blowing smoke all over us. Isn't this a violation of the health code?P.S. We were there for an hour...they still did not serve our water. That is how horrible this place is.Hmm... I loved Leila the first time I went.  So much so that I couldn't stop talking about it until I went the second time.  And now I don't think I'll ever go there again.The owner is super nice and welcoming in a way that 99% of eateries are not.  That's awesome.  But service is not.  I had the shawarma platter both times, something was just off with the vegetables and rice.  I was so disappointed that I can't deal with Leila anymore.  Too many other places to try.

by Aditi J.Krsna V.Jacquelin K.Jon D.Anjali M.

Good food + good conversation = a delightful night. I came here with a best friend last night and we stayed for 3 hours - in a good way. We shared a Maza platter which had more than enough food for both of us. It came with a basket full of pita (which we asked for a refill halfway through, yum), hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouleh, and a giant platter with 5 falafels, 5 grape leaves, and vegetables. We both ordered the Rasberry Lemonade which was amazingly refreshing. With all this food, we buckled down and ate and chatted the night away.To top it all off, we finished with pineapple hookah and tried our hardest to make rings. My friend was successful, I was not; guess that means I need to come back soon to practice!Just a note, be sure to get a reservation -- this place is small and as the night went on, it was packed inside and out! There aren't many tables so I was glad that I put in a reservation ahead of time.The word disaster was invented for places like Leila.If you want to be moved around twice during the course of your meal, wait an hour for your food, sit with 4 people at a tabletop for 2, and end up leaving without any food, this is your place.I don't wait long periods for food. It is against my principles. There is no place in this entire world that is worth waiting more than 15 minutes for food. However, when you go out to dinner with friends you make compromises. That's what friends do. We were in Philly for a conference. Four of us decided to have dinner on a Saturday night. One of us is vegetarian, we figured middle eastern food is a safe bet for vegetarians because of various options.This place is small. We walked in to Leila around 8pm. It is Saturday night, the place seems busy, we were cool with a short wait. My friends decided we can wait for 15-20 minutes to be seated. Surprisingly, we were seated right away. The owner (I assume) moved a party of two to another table to seat us. That should have been our first clue to get out. We felt bad for the two ladies who were asked to move. That's when I noticed he wants the four of us to sit at a table for two. He immediately brought two more chairs and put them around the little table and asked us to sit.Under ordinary circumstances I would have walked out without saying a word, but I was with friends. They were ok sharing a small table. I didn't want to be rude. We sat brushing arms with people sitting next to us. It was highly uncomfortable.15 minutes later the owner comes to take our order. We were starving by then. We order right off the bat. My friend asks for a date smoothie that was on their menu.Owner: Oh, we don't serve that.Friend: It says you have it, on the menu.Owner: I just made it up because it sounds good. Nobody in America has it, so I made it up.Friend (with puzzled look): So, you don't serve it, but you have it on the menu because it just sounds good? Me: Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. Why offer something that you have no intentions of serving?Owner: *skips this conversation and takes the rest of our order*We wait.... and wait....and wait.... 30 minutes. We weren't even served our drinks (water). How hard is it to serve water??30 minutes later the owner comes and asks us to move to the table next to us because he thinks we need a bigger table. No shit, Sherlock....you should have done this 30 minutes ago. We move.Next thing you know he seats another 4 people at the table we just vacated. This guy is unbelievable.And then he tells us our food is ready to come out.So, we wait for our food... and wait.... and wait....for another 30 minutes. That is when the other lady working there comes and asks if we ordered.Holy muthafu*kin hell. Did you just ask us if we ordered? We ordered an HOUR ago. And your greedy owner keeps seating people, but doesn't serve them, because he doesn't want to lose customers. You know what? I am finished here.I look at my friends and say I am leaving. I don't care if I am rude, I am not putting up with this bull$hit. My friends were pretty pissed off by then and we all left. When you say my food is coming out right now, it means it will be on my table within the next 10 minutes. I shouldn't have to wait 30 minutes only to be asked if we ordered.Perhaps the food is good. But the inefficient service and rude staff are not worth returning. The public health professional in me was also pissed that they do not have a separate area for hookah smokers. The tables around us were blowing smoke all over us. Isn't this a violation of the health code?P.S. We were there for an hour...they still did not serve our water. That is how horrible this place is.Hmm... I loved Leila the first time I went.  So much so that I couldn't stop talking about it until I went the second time.  And now I don't think I'll ever go there again.The owner is super nice and welcoming in a way that 99% of eateries are not.  That's awesome.  But service is not.  I had the shawarma platter both times, something was just off with the vegetables and rice.  I was so disappointed that I can't deal with Leila anymore.  Too many other places to try.Just about everything I ate here was DELICIOUS. Falafel was awesome, lemony perfectly cooked; hummus was olive oily and fresh; tabouli salad was fresh, tasty, herby. Only bad part was the pita which were semi-stale, it'd be great to have fresher tasting pitas, although my girlfriend liked that they were more like pita-chips. Also great - fresh squeezed lemonade, including the seeds. Bad part - service sucked. We were there on a Tues. night and the service (clearly a family-run place) was more interested in chatting with friends, on phone and smoking a hookah than helping us. Lucky for them the food is awesome.I've been here once but I do plan to come again. I know, it seems like I'm running on a 3-star spree. But honestly, my first trip to Leila Cafe was just plain average. I do plan to return though because I'm seeing many more positive reviews and I did enjoy their food.Unfortunately, I didn't have the appetite for all that food! It was so much and I was definitely not prepared for that. Kudos for great portions :) The falafel my friend had was cooked just fine and the hummus was delicious. We were served more than enough pita for the table and my chicken was juicy and tender.I'm guessing I went to Leila Cafe when it just started out, which was about two months ago. Again, I'm sure a lot has changed since then. The waiters who tended to our needs seemed awkward to my friends but I thought they were fine.I do plan to return though and am looking forward to it :)

by Christopher R.

The hookahs in the windows as they prepared to open are what drew me in.  I've been looking for place to relax, smoke some shisha and drink a mint tea--shades of the many great cafes in Zamalek and Alexandria, ARE--without having to tolerate an absurd lounge atmosphere.You'd think, then, that I would review that portion of their business.  No such luck, since I stopped by for lunch.  I did do some recon on the subject, however: $16 hookahs, or $12 with the purchase of tea.  Not the worst price point I've seen stateside.So, lunch.  I ordered the falafel platter: six small falafel patties drizzled with very light refreshing tahini, one stuffed grape leaf, a small salad with yogurt dressing, tabbouleh, creamy garlic hummus and pita.  I would rate it very good, with some minor reservations.  The falafel was kind of unpleasantly dense and heavy, although there was nothing wring with the flavor itself.  The pita was hard and flat.  Tabbouleh.  (That last one isn't really a complaint.  I just don't enjoy tabbouleh in general but for some reason, Middle Easterners insist on serving it to me and making me spell it in reviews.) Overall, as I've said, very good and the whole thing cost me just over nine dollars.I've also been promised Turkish coffee.  I plan to return later this afternoon or week for that, along with the baklava I scoped out as I paid for my meal.  In anticipation of that I've given Leila Cafe the benefit of the doubt and tilted my review towards four stars rather than three.UPDATE (THREE HOURS LATER): Returned for the coffee and baklava.  Coffee is 'Arabic coffee' rather than 'Turkish coffee,' though I was unable to note the apparent differences.  (Nor can I tell the difference between those two and the 'Israeli coffee' I purchased in a kosher market last year.)  Quite good.  The baklava was superb; flaky phyllo, drowning in sweet honey and a tender pistachio center.  I underline my initial assessment of four stars.

by Cara S.

First let me say this is just my first review... and I think a lot of my qualms come from the fact that this place is new and just seems... well... disorganized. I went on a Sunday and it was packed. It took a while for someone to take our order. Then there were two servers that kept coming to our table and asking if we had ordered, so it seemed like no one was keeping track. Apparently our first order didn't register because a guy came back and said there was a mix-up in the kitchen, and took our order again. When we eventually got our food and it was pretty good. The babaganoush didn't look like babaganoush, but tasted good whatever it was. The pita was delish. I got a chicken gyro, and was very disappointed to find it had basically no tzaziki in it... but it did have a pickle inside which I thought was interesting and tasty. The guy said that they were out of "yogurt". I hope by yogurt he meant tzaziki? That brings up another point... the menu here is VERY vague. Throughout our meal, the waiters kept bringing things out and asking everyone who ordered it. Everyone would say no, so they'd bring it back to the kitchen. And judging from other reviews, it seems they're giving a lot away for free. So I hope all this wasted food and free stuff doesn't put these people out of business faster than you can say "falafel".I love that this place is so close to my apartment. Pine Street needed another good hangout (and hookah is a plus!). I had high hopes which weren't really fulfilled. But I will be back because I have faith that they'll iron out the new-restaurant hiccups, and I want to try the hookah and see if there's yogurt the next time I go. Also have to note that the guy was very apologetic for our wait and the mix-ups, so he gave me a free baklava for dessert. The baklava was AMAZING.

by Anjali M.

I've been here once but I do plan to come again. I know, it seems like I'm running on a 3-star spree. But honestly, my first trip to Leila Cafe was just plain average. I do plan to return though because I'm seeing many more positive reviews and I did enjoy their food.Unfortunately, I didn't have the appetite for all that food! It was so much and I was definitely not prepared for that. Kudos for great portions :) The falafel my friend had was cooked just fine and the hummus was delicious. We were served more than enough pita for the table and my chicken was juicy and tender.I'm guessing I went to Leila Cafe when it just started out, which was about two months ago. Again, I'm sure a lot has changed since then. The waiters who tended to our needs seemed awkward to my friends but I thought they were fine.I do plan to return though and am looking forward to it :)

by Krsna V.

The word disaster was invented for places like Leila.If you want to be moved around twice during the course of your meal, wait an hour for your food, sit with 4 people at a tabletop for 2, and end up leaving without any food, this is your place.I don't wait long periods for food. It is against my principles. There is no place in this entire world that is worth waiting more than 15 minutes for food. However, when you go out to dinner with friends you make compromises. That's what friends do. We were in Philly for a conference. Four of us decided to have dinner on a Saturday night. One of us is vegetarian, we figured middle eastern food is a safe bet for vegetarians because of various options.This place is small. We walked in to Leila around 8pm. It is Saturday night, the place seems busy, we were cool with a short wait. My friends decided we can wait for 15-20 minutes to be seated. Surprisingly, we were seated right away. The owner (I assume) moved a party of two to another table to seat us. That should have been our first clue to get out. We felt bad for the two ladies who were asked to move. That's when I noticed he wants the four of us to sit at a table for two. He immediately brought two more chairs and put them around the little table and asked us to sit.Under ordinary circumstances I would have walked out without saying a word, but I was with friends. They were ok sharing a small table. I didn't want to be rude. We sat brushing arms with people sitting next to us. It was highly uncomfortable.15 minutes later the owner comes to take our order. We were starving by then. We order right off the bat. My friend asks for a date smoothie that was on their menu.Owner: Oh, we don't serve that.Friend: It says you have it, on the menu.Owner: I just made it up because it sounds good. Nobody in America has it, so I made it up.Friend (with puzzled look): So, you don't serve it, but you have it on the menu because it just sounds good? Me: Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. Why offer something that you have no intentions of serving?Owner: *skips this conversation and takes the rest of our order*We wait.... and wait....and wait.... 30 minutes. We weren't even served our drinks (water). How hard is it to serve water??30 minutes later the owner comes and asks us to move to the table next to us because he thinks we need a bigger table. No shit, Sherlock....you should have done this 30 minutes ago. We move.Next thing you know he seats another 4 people at the table we just vacated. This guy is unbelievable.And then he tells us our food is ready to come out.So, we wait for our food... and wait.... and wait....for another 30 minutes. That is when the other lady working there comes and asks if we ordered.Holy muthafu*kin hell. Did you just ask us if we ordered? We ordered an HOUR ago. And your greedy owner keeps seating people, but doesn't serve them, because he doesn't want to lose customers. You know what? I am finished here.I look at my friends and say I am leaving. I don't care if I am rude, I am not putting up with this bull$hit. My friends were pretty pissed off by then and we all left. When you say my food is coming out right now, it means it will be on my table within the next 10 minutes. I shouldn't have to wait 30 minutes only to be asked if we ordered.Perhaps the food is good. But the inefficient service and rude staff are not worth returning. The public health professional in me was also pissed that they do not have a separate area for hookah smokers. The tables around us were blowing smoke all over us. Isn't this a violation of the health code?P.S. We were there for an hour...they still did not serve our water. That is how horrible this place is.