Karma Cafe

by nikki m.

i really love this place. the inside is very dimly lit which i love, and there is a fountain right in the middle. very pretty.after eating their hummus.. i can't eat it anywhere else. its the best hummus i've ever had and now i am spoiled. i just wish the portions were bigger! the service is great, the owner and waitresses are always nice and recommending new things. one waitress recommended this eggplant thing [can't remember the name] with feta cheese wrapped in fried bread, it was SOOOOO good. i'll definitely be getting that again. i also like the falafel sandwich. very good and great for vegetarians. it gives you the filling aspect of meat but it's completely vegetarian.they do need to invest in fountain drinks instead of cans which i'm sure they'll do eventually.i love love love that they're open late because i'm pretty nocturnal. i actually wish they were open later hah. i think everything should be 24/7 though and i mean EVERYTHING why not? it would greatly benefit us vampires.overall AMAZING place. nothing bad to say about it. try the hummus... soooo good.

by Jalal B.

I have been once for dinner, craving a Moroccan/Mediterranean meal, So hungry after a full day at the beach, I would not have mind mediocre food, but the lamb meal was worse, even the roasted chicken which is usually hard to screw up was dry and tasteless, and don't start me on the service...just awfulI will never go back.

by Taz A.

I went here for a catch up date with a gal pal a couple of weeks ago. But after I walked in, I kinda was wishing she was a guy because the ambiance was hella romantic, with the dim lighting and seductive belly dancing music playing. But I made do.The food was really good and we got tea with our meal. Be warned, it's not an endless pot of tea like at most places but $4 a pot. Which I think is a little pricey for tea. I ended up getting chicken skewers, but instead of getting it with rice, I got couscous. Totally the right choice. My friend got a sweet meat dish wrapped in pastry, but I wasn't a fan of it. We also got dessert of baklava in almond ice cream which is always divine. The problem happened when we were trying to leave. The place is ridiculously understaffed and there was a big party of 20 right next to us. It took forever to get the bill and when we gave him our card, it took him forever to give us the receipt to sign. If it wasn't for this horrible service, I would have given them more stars, but I thought it was really uncalled for.I'd go again, but would be wary if they got a big party of folks...

by Kristen M.George U.Vamshi J.Anthony V.Ingrid V.

I don't usually write my reviews like this but I thought it would be good this time around.Food:  Farmer's cheese appetizer, not worth it, and would be better served warm, in my opinion.  Pita bread was not very good, wasn't warm, had no discerning flavor, very bland....sadly, I prefer pita bread at daphne's or something.  Chicken kabob meal:  chicken was good, not amazing, rice was rice and the hummus was also good, not amazing.  Basically, I could make everything I ate at home, and probably better (and I'm white), with the exception of pita bread...Don't know how to make that.  Menu:  Pretty scarce.  I wanted to order a sauteed chicken dish, with garlic, saffron and onion, sounds awesome, right?  Well, it is no longer available.  Apparently they are re-working the menu.  All the standards were represented, but nothing noteworthy or particularly interesting.Service:  A++!  Amazing service.Ambiance: Very cute inside.  You can tell the owners are trying really hard to make this a comfortable and stylish dining experience.  Everything is very clean, too.Value:  I've had better food, for cheaper, but in San Diego.  I don't really know what the competition is around Fu-town these days.I tried this out after seeing it was down the street from where I worked.  I found out I liked it.I ordered the Tagine Lamb and drank their Mint Pomengranite tea.  First off, this place is small.  I think there were six or eight tables.  I found the fountain in the middle of the restaurant to be out of place.The staff was nice.  The waitress was accomodating and explained most of the menu.  I asked about the tagine lamb and asked if it was made in the tagine pot, but it was explained to me that not a lot of stores carry it and explained how they prepared the lamb without it.  I was a little sad, but the dish came out pretty good (probably be better if it was allowed to slow cook in an actual tagine pot).Also, since my friend and I were first time customers, they gave us some baklava, which was very kind.  I plan to come back here on the weekend with a few other friends to see if this place would be good for dinner since the owner said they have hookahs and belly dancers.Date visited - 09.19.09Appetizer - Fire Fried ZestasEntree - ShawarmaLunch - $7.99Dinner - $12.99This is a Moroccan, Greek, Lebanese fusion restaurant/hookah lounge. The person (owner??) who took our order was very knowledgeable and he patiently explained us each dish and the specials they had that day. We didn't order any specials but its always good to know what they have in store.For starters, we had the Fire Fried Zestas which is basically Pita bread stuffed with feta cheese and eggplant bruschetta. Four pieces in total and very delicious. For entree, I got the Shawarma. It comes with rice, fries or special rice with a side of Hummus or Baba Ghanouj. I got Rice and Baba Ghanouj.I dug into the beef and it was very flavorful. He mentioned that they let the the beef marinate for 4 days with all the spices and sauces mixed and hence the distinct flavor. The portions were huge and I took almost half the food home.He suggested us the coffee based dessert which is a double shot espresso with a couple scoops of vanilla topped with whip cream and cinnamon sprinkled over it. Try this, but remember, it will fill you up.There is no separate area for the Hookah Lounge, so if you are too squeamish about the smoke while having your food, maybe this is not for you. But I must say, they have a state of the art ventilation system so you hardly smell the tobacco. Parking is easy and they have belly dancing on Fridays and Saturdays. I will be back to try their other stuff.Don't forget to check out their website for offers.I've passed by it all the time when I was attending CSUF. Its sign by the side of the road always caught my eye. Not because of its design but because of its name. I always thought to myself "If you get bad food or terrible service there, Karma literally is a bitch." I'm here all night guys.Anyways I love Middle Eastern food. And when I was invited to a birthday dinner here, I couldn't turn it down. To my delight, the prices are very reasonable. On top of that, I did not have a problem with the service throughout the night.We all shared 2 orders of hummus and shawarma combo. I really like their hummus. It was mixed really well. Not too thick and not too thin. There shawarma was cooked nicely. It was very moist.I personally got the karma fries appetizer. You can perfectly see the influence of carne asada fries over me. These are the Middle Eastern version of it and I loved it. They used feta cheese, shawarma, and all these sauces. So good.For the entree, I settled on the kabob platter and the option of baba ghanouj and rice. Their chicken and kefta kabobs were good but I found the lamb kabob the most tasty. They all were very flavorful. Their baba ghanouj is really good too. I don't what was the better dip between that and the hummus. Its a toss up.Ultimately, Karma's not a bitch! Its damn tasty!Hubby and I had the muchies tonight (Sunday) and he searched online for restaurants in Fullerton that were open late.  He came across the Karma Cafe and we both decided to give it a try.  What a wonderful surprise this place is!  Tucked behind a Korean BBQ off State College, it's not that easy to spot the building, however the signage outside is brightly illuminated.  We had the Tabouli appetizer (A Lebanese salad made with parsley, couscous, tomatoes, onions and mint, with a yummy lemmony olive oil dressing).  Served up with warm pita bread, it was delicious!Hubby got the Combination Kabob Platter.  It was a dish piled high with  Chicken, Lamb and Kefta (beefy / lamb / meatloaf thing).  There were roasted red peppers and onions cooked in a way that I had never tried before.  It was almost as if they were grilled and smoked at the same time, locking in all the flavors.  This platter came with a side of basmati rice and hummus.  Hubby usually isn't too big of a fan of hummus, but this had such great flavor he was using french fries (that came with my sandwich) to skim all the hummus off the plate!  I took a few bites of his and was shocked at how tasty the rice was.  It had a light cumin flavor and was fluffy and light.  I had the Lamb Kabob sandwich.  My pita was bursting with flavorful lamb.  The juices leaked out and mingled with the yogurt, lettuce and tomato in the pita making it all the more tasty.  They serve pita bread with dip while you wait for the food.  I think someone mentioned earlier that they had a bad reaction to the dip... We were curious about it so we asked the server.  It's really nothing more than olive oil, sesame seeds and ground oregano.  Nothing funny in it.  It was really good!Point of interest, I'm not sure if there were refills on the drinks as when I ordered a Diet Pepsi, the server brought out a glass with ice in it, and the can.  I didn't ask for another one just in case.  The service was terrific.  Our server was very attentive and came by our table often to see how we liked the food.  He was very proud of the fusion theme of the restaurant, speaking to the Greek, Lebanese, and Moroccan influences on their menu.  It was our first time there, and I think, also the first time of another couple who were seated across the room.  When they got their food, I heard a lot of, "Oh wow's!" and "This is really good!"  and "I think these have got to be the best Kabob's in Orange County!"  ...You know how when you're hungry, all the food just tastes better?  It's good to know that it wasn't just my stomach talkin' when I heard that other couple as enamoured with the food as I was. The prices were a bit higher than expected, but the portions were large.  We would definatly go back.

by Lauren M.

I've really come to love this place. Warm, welcoming decor and a super-friendly owner. I'm very picky about Mediterranean food and when it comes to stuffed grape leaves, Karma's are just as good as what I grew up on. Other great dishes are bountiful here including their special rice, tabouli and chicken kabob sandwich to name a few. As many others have said they have great desserts.

by Kristen M.

I don't usually write my reviews like this but I thought it would be good this time around.Food:  Farmer's cheese appetizer, not worth it, and would be better served warm, in my opinion.  Pita bread was not very good, wasn't warm, had no discerning flavor, very bland....sadly, I prefer pita bread at daphne's or something.  Chicken kabob meal:  chicken was good, not amazing, rice was rice and the hummus was also good, not amazing.  Basically, I could make everything I ate at home, and probably better (and I'm white), with the exception of pita bread...Don't know how to make that.  Menu:  Pretty scarce.  I wanted to order a sauteed chicken dish, with garlic, saffron and onion, sounds awesome, right?  Well, it is no longer available.  Apparently they are re-working the menu.  All the standards were represented, but nothing noteworthy or particularly interesting.Service:  A++!  Amazing service.Ambiance: Very cute inside.  You can tell the owners are trying really hard to make this a comfortable and stylish dining experience.  Everything is very clean, too.Value:  I've had better food, for cheaper, but in San Diego.  I don't really know what the competition is around Fu-town these days.

by Katherine L.

Saw the place on http://restaurant.com, and thought, "hey, why not?" so six months later, bf and I ventured to this place. First impression was that it was tiny! Tiny tiny tiny! Cozy? Perhaps, but the tiled floors kind of take away from that cozy feeling. The food was good. Nothing special about it, but good enough to come back. We had the spanikopita pie, which was good, and came out piping hot. Then I had the kabob combo, and bf had the lamb kabob. We were both happy with what we got- there was plenty of food, and the meat was tender and had good seasonings on it, eliminating the necessity of salt. The rice wasn't as good as I was expecting, I think it was lacking salt (bf says salt and many other flavors). I got the "special" rice, I don't think it was worth the $2, might try to get fries instead of the rice next time I go. Overall, it was a good meal, with decent sized portions, i mean, I have enough meat left over for two lunches! I'd like to go back on a Fri or Sat and check out the belly dancers.

by Phil A.

Fabulous Moroccan/Mediterranean food, in my neighborhood? Heck yes.The food is wonderful, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the owners are nice as hell. I recommend the tagine chicken. Also, they serve pastilla, which my ex-wife was in love with.If you have any interest in this style of food, Karma Cafe won't disappoint.

by Anthony V.

I've passed by it all the time when I was attending CSUF. Its sign by the side of the road always caught my eye. Not because of its design but because of its name. I always thought to myself "If you get bad food or terrible service there, Karma literally is a bitch." I'm here all night guys.Anyways I love Middle Eastern food. And when I was invited to a birthday dinner here, I couldn't turn it down. To my delight, the prices are very reasonable. On top of that, I did not have a problem with the service throughout the night.We all shared 2 orders of hummus and shawarma combo. I really like their hummus. It was mixed really well. Not too thick and not too thin. There shawarma was cooked nicely. It was very moist.I personally got the karma fries appetizer. You can perfectly see the influence of carne asada fries over me. These are the Middle Eastern version of it and I loved it. They used feta cheese, shawarma, and all these sauces. So good.For the entree, I settled on the kabob platter and the option of baba ghanouj and rice. Their chicken and kefta kabobs were good but I found the lamb kabob the most tasty. They all were very flavorful. Their baba ghanouj is really good too. I don't what was the better dip between that and the hummus. Its a toss up.Ultimately, Karma's not a bitch! Its damn tasty!

by Edward C.

FLAVOR. Man...this place keeps drawing us in because the food has taste!I found Karma Cafe while I was yelping for Indian food. Fortunately, along with Indian restaurants, Moroccan food was part of the find. Trust me guys, don't let the exoticness of Moroccan food scare you. The wait staff (also owner) is very friendly and ready to offer suggestions. I would recommend the Schawarma, Baba ghanouj (kind of like Hummus but with garlic and more awesome), Hummus and well...just about everything is good. EVERYTHING is so very fresh and made to order...so be patient as the food is not pre-fabbed and specially made just for you. All in all, if you never had Moroccan food...you MUST give this place a try. BTW...Morocco is in norther Africa...I know ...right?