by Stacy G.

So we set out to try Pure Taqueria in downtown Alpharetta. When we could not find a parking spot in the same zip code, we ended up here. I'll start my review with a caveat... I don't know what "Mediterranean food" means. I can find the Mediterranean on a map, but their cuisine... it is all Greek to me! Ha!For lunch you order at the counter. They have a lot of wraps and gyros which are in the $8 range. That includes a drink and tax! Cool. Wife and I both got the Falafel wrap. This is a safe option for me since I don't care for olives, a lot of yogurt, and crazy stinky cheeses (makes Greek food a challenge for me). The wrap was pretty good, except that most of the hot sauce was centered in the middle of the pita and wound up in a single bite. Yeehaw! It came with steak fries which were under cooked. Yuck.Overall, it was fair I think, about on par with the new Greek joint on Windward. They have a bigger menu for dinner. Also check out the belly dancing on weekends. Sounds hot!Longtime Alpharetta folks will remember that this house used to be the home of Portabellas. While waiting on our food, I couldn't help but remember their crabcake sandwiches which were delicious. Maybe having this fond memory, followed by eating bad fries influenced my rating some. So I'll give them 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

by Tamara M.

I've got a little different spin on Efendi...  but have only been there for dinner.   Dinner there last night was our third visit, I believe, over the last year and a half or so.   We met the owner last night - which was fun.  And apparently, the menu is Turkish, actually...  although we, too, had thought it was Greek.  That probably explains why quite a few Greek standards are missing! The food has been flavorful and well-prepared each time we've dined there.  And the service has been personable without being annoying.  The hold house-converted-to-a-restaurant lends great ambience - which is often lacking in OTP restaurants.  And they offer Turkish Tea, and hookah smoking!Efendi's a fairly small place, so plan on a fairly "intimate" dining experience.  Great for a night out with your partner.  The bellydancing on the weekends adds more flavor - and there seems to be a very dedicated crowd of Mediterranean folks who frequent the place.I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes Mediterranean food, and who is looking for a unique place to dine.  Has its own parking lot too!

by Joe B.

I love this place. Great iskender kabab, they make their own pita, really nice folks, cool belly dancers.I worry a bit, since the last time I was there the pita wasn't as good and wasn't served fresh from the oven. Still, this is a solid spot for turkish food.Be aware that service at dinner can be a bit slow, especially if it's crowded.

by Angelo M.

I'm a huge fan of their Döner Gyro (Lamb).  All the ingredients are great, but it's their spicy tzatziki sauce that gives them the edge over every other gyro I've tried in Atlanta.  The fries are also excellent and are definitely prepared with more than just the afterthought reserved for most sides.  In short, Cafe Efendi is efendilicious!

by Andrew M.

Maybe the healthiest, best tasting, perfect sized portion meal I have had in a long time.  Most places slop on some greasy oily sides to the entree.  Here, I received my entree with healthy fresh sides.  The portions were not small, but didnt make me feel like i had been stuffed.  The food was hot and delicious.Service.... well maybe just my server, but he was an idiot and slow on everything.  I didnt try, but they offer hookah at the table and belly dancing + live music.

by Corinne T.

Good! Love the turkish coffee. Good lunch spot. Cute little house, never had a problem with parking.

by Sterling L.

Like others, we found this place when skipping the huge crowd at Pure. I love to try new places and enjoy being surprised, so this place was a nice little adventure. Two things stood out to me here. The first was the bread. It's a soft and delicious home made pita.The second was the belly dancing. The belly dancer was very cute, very talented, and fairly provocative with some particularly suggestive come hither shoulder moves. While I personally found the dancing quite interesting and enjoyable, the two ladies in our party (one of whom was my beautiful wife) did find it a little awkward. She does take tips, and has dollars strategically placed, so it can come off as a little racy. They have half-priced drinks for ladies with belly dancing lessons on Thursday nights.As for food, for appetizers we had the Ispanakli Borek which was good but not great. It wasn't a flaky dough as I expected.For entrees, I had the lamb shish kabobs which were good and my lovely wife had the Adana kabobs. Both came with this long pepper that I was much too brave with. It was very, very hot. Be careful of it. The lamb shish kabob was done right and as expected. The Adana kabob was more like a sausage on a stick. It was spicier but you should know what to expect. I thought it was pretty good, but my sweetie wasn't impressed. It could have been the atmosphere though.I'd recommend the unique and tasty Turkish tea. It comes with free refills. We also had the Burma which was similar to Baklava in taste but more like a cookie in texture. It was nice, but I wish we would have chosen the Baklava.

by N G.

It was yum-eeeeeee.  My falafel was really flavorful, and the side yogurt/spicy stuff made it even better.  I loved the homemade pitas - definitely not gross and crackerlike, which you get at a lot of mediterranean places.  Wished the hummus had a smidge more lemon to it.  We were there at lunch on a weekday, and it wasn't terribly busy, so the waitstaff was really quick and attentive, and we didn't have to wait long for our food.  The Turkish hot tea was excellent.

by Lyndsay K.

My friend and I had an amazing Efendi experience....problem is I can't properly review this bad boy because at the time I was dating someone who worked there, so I have no clue what we had.As soon as we arrived he ushered us to a great table and the drinks poured in...then dish upon dish of food that made us want to sing. I'm sorry, though. I was too smitten with the later-to-be-discovered douche to remember any of the awesomeness he brought us. He didn't let us order, just brought us samples of pretty much everything. Glorious!Too bad he was a douche or I'd be there damn near every night. Yeah, it was THAT good!  I want to go back when the douche-ed-ness dies down a bit....so I can really experience it and write an unbiased review.Seriously, though....everything I ate was amazing.