I love this place. The food is very good and so is the service. The owner is very friendly and sweet. She makes sure everything is perfect. I have been to Alev several times and never had anything that wasn't delicious. The olives and warm pita and Turkish bread are a great way to welcome guests. The falafel is very good and has tremendous flavor. The piyaz salad is still my favorite appetizer. All the entrees are excellent. The kofte, kebabs, chicken chops and chicken gyro are my standard choices, but it's all fantastic. Dessert too. The kazandibi and kunefe are wonderful. Make sure you have the Turkish tea. It's the perfect end to a perfect meal. FYI one of our friends has gluten issues and the server was more than happy to offer alternatives. The side of roasted vegetables was a nice substitute for the rice. read more

This place is great. I love bringing my family here. My kids lick their fingers and their plates every time. Highly recommend to all!! Shame on certain customers for blasting a fine establishment with their petty complaints and being insulted with free dessert. Especially during these covid /trying times when we need to be good to one another! And even more so during this holiday season where you should be grateful, worship and pray for others you needlessly attack instead. You were offered a free dessert just accept it. To make matters worse, to add insult to injury you blast them for their kindness ...it shows your lack of character. I have eaten and ordered take out several times with them and their food is awesome every time. Every establishment has their moments where it may not be perfect you can address it appropriately with care, respect and class. Not trying to destroy a business on social media while hiding behind your keyboard. You should be ashamed of yourself. You know who you are. read more

This place is great! The prices are reasonable, the food is DELICIOUS! And the servers are polite and great on checking on you. No alcohol served, but the Turkish coffee is strong and a bit chewy, as it usually is. If you aren't expecting that, you've been warned! The baklava was a crowd favorite. I ordered a gyro but I think if I went again I'd order one of the kebab plates because I had food envy looking at the rice and kebabs. read more

Alev is the number one place to go for Turkish cuisine in the tri state area. I been to pretty much every Turkish restaurant and nothing comes close to Alev. You can tell they use the freshest ingredients and as a native of Turkey, I can tell you that it is authentic Turkish food. The service is great and the staff is so friendly. They treat you like family. Alev is my and my wife's favorite place to go. read more

If you haven't been here you are missing out!!! Great mediterranean spot in Rockaway! FYI the inside is nice and spacious, great for dinner parties or events! First off, the staff is amazing, and the owner makes you feel like royalty when dining here! My family ordered a variety of options. We shared chicken wings and babaganoush to start! The babaganoush was accompanied with pita, which was nice and warm. The spices were delicious and the wings were the perfect amount of zesty!! Next to share we ordered the combo kebab and the fish tilapia! The portions are great to share! The food was so delicous we ate everything on our plates! My favorite part as usual is dessert! We shared a few pieces of baklava followed by Turkish tea. I prefer Turkish tea because its nice a dark and accompanies dessert nicely. I will definitely be here soon, and would love to try some different things on the menu! The food is halal which is a huge plus! read more

Excellent food and service! I have stopped by this restaurant yesterday, thanks to a friend's recommendation. Chicken shish kebab was very good. We also ordered fried Kalamari as appetizer, which was yummy either. I wish we tried their kibbe (icli köfte) - maybe next time. The service was excellent, they were polite and nice from beginning till the end. The prices were very reasonable. And don't forget to try their baklava!!! Great experience all together. read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - chicken shish kebab - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

The food is spectacular here! The service is warm and friendly. The place is small and spotlessly clean. I definitely recommend this place for Mediterranean food. read more

Stopped by with my son for lunch on a weekend. There was only one other table being served at the time. We both had one of the lunch specials that included salad or soup, entree and a soda. Food was good. I thought the food tasted fine and fresh. We were only passing through and were planning on eating somewhere else, but glad to have found this place. Service was great. read more

Amazing Mediterranean food, local and great service We loved all of the Kabobs, Hummus, Salads. Highly recommend this place and it's now they will have us as a regular customer read more

Great food and service. A hidden gem. Restaurant is small and could use updating. Parties and large reservations sometimes limit available tables. read more

So glad I came to try this hidden gem tonight. The food was absolutely delicious. Service was great as well, you can tell that the owners take great pride in their food. The gyro took a bit longer than expected but was 100% worth it. It was cooked to perfection and clearly fresh. The chicken kebab was also on point, the flavor was amazing. Baklava and knuffe made the perfect ending to a great meal. read more

Wonderful value for money lunch. Adana kebab, the lamb, rice. Shepherds salad very tasty. Pita quite flavourful. Service at a relaxed pace. Owner friendly and gracious. Good Turkish coffee. read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - Dining room 5 4 tops and 2 2 tops - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

The food here is good to very good. We started with the baba ghanoush which was unbelievably awesome! We then got the white bean salad, The shrimp mushrooms appetizer and Bronzino a with a tomato and cucumber salad on the side. The white bean salad was excellent. Very fresh and loaded with flavor. The shrimp with mushroom appetizer didn't come with any mushrooms which we were told is how it is made. Someone needs to fix this in the menu. Although it was good, it tasted like garlic shrimp you would get in a Portuguese restaurant. Now my Bronzino. They did not have the fish listed on the menu so they substituted it with Bronzino. Honestly, it tasted like a piece of bland fish with absolutely nothing on it. No salt, pepper...nothing. VERY disappointing. I would skip the fish. See the pic. I would go back, but eat something other than fish. read more

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Three meals here, all great, love the kebob sampler. Homemade gyro today. Two thumbs up. read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

Amazing authentic Mediterranean food. Tried many places and this is one of the best. Food will not disappoint. Nice cozy atmosphere and great service read more

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Definitely our new Mediterranean go-to. Perfect falafel with a crispy outside. We got the gyro platter and gyro wrap with deliciously seasoned meat sliced thin. Highly recommend the hummus and the Shepard salad. And don't forget the baklava! read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

Ugh. I want to give this place so many more stars because I could literally lick the babaganoush off the plate and the pita was to die for. But homemade gyro was awful. Bland, dry, flavorless. Same can be said of tzatziki. The ALEV choban sautee description said "tender chunks of filet mignon.." instead it was more like minced pieces of some cut with fat on still attached. Not at all like the description. Aside from the amazing start, the customer service was second to none. But despite those highlights of dinner, we couldn't get the awful taste of dinner out of our mouths... read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - Alev choban sautee...fatty pieces on filet? - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

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Drove past this place several times before it opened and then when it opened it was crowded.. Took a chance tonight .. Got inside I overhead hostess say to the people in front do you have a reservation.. I said uh oh need a reservation.. she asked how many I said two.. seated right away ... Ambience is nice . They have about 8 tables. Maybe 9 . . We were given pita bread and traditional Turkish bread with olives in oil to nosh on. We ordered the shepherd salad feta Delicious I have the chicken chops with wheat rice Chicken was very tender cut with a fork. Definitely a return visit but highly recommend a reservation.. read more

Awesome new Mediterranean place. Good addition to local landscape. The lunch special is a great value for the quality. The restaurant is bright and clean. Huge television. Friendly staff was kind. I would definitely go back. The yelp check in bonus sent it over the top. read more

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Delicious food! Excellent find. My son worked in Istanbul and after visiting there we seek out Turkish food whenever we can. He was in NJ and we found ALEV. Small dining room, great service. Don't let the outside fool you. Try the red lentil soup and babaghanoush, followed by Chicken Kofte, Adnan Kebab--all delicious and well priced. Definitely recommend! read more

DELICIOUS! My family has been to Turkey and I have Turkish friends all of which have mentioned how authentic the food Alev serves. When I saw the restaurant at first I was skeptical because it looked like a small kind of hole in the wall but was pleasantly surprised. It's small yes but quaint and cozy. The staff is super attentive and fast to get you seated and served. The food is excellent (have to try Adana platter and the Baklava!) every time. I'll be coming here again and again! read more

Nice people , good food, nice atmosphere- not fancy, but very real. Tried a few things, no disappointments. read more

I stopped here today for lunch and all I can say is WOW!! You can taste the freshness, quality and love that went into the food and the entire place. The staff was incredibly friendly and that only added to the amazing experience. I ordered the Lamb Adana and Shepherd Salad and finished my meal with a delicious turkish tea and AMAZING baklava. I can't wait to come back for dinner! read more

Came here to try out the lunch special. You get a choice of soup or shepherds salad, soda and an entree. I chose the Shepherds salad and it was fresh and delicious. I asked for a seltzer and it was nice they brought over a bottle of Perrier. For the entree I chose the gyro with bulgar. The bulgar had tomato paste and onions. It was excellent. A nice change from rice. You can have rice as a choice instead. For $9.50 it was a great bargain for authentic tasty food. I definitely will be back to try other dishes. The staff was also very nice and accommodating. read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

Here again and again a great dining experience. Delicious food, great service! A wonderful place to bring friends and loved ones:) Our server was Büşra and she is awesome! read more

While I have a few complaints (end of review), this place is awesome- the food is beyond flavorful!!! I ordered the chicken gyro lunch special. I would go there all the time if I lived closer. Good deal and price but they skimped on the french fries. However, for $10 it is hard to complain. You get salad, fries, drink and the gyro (other options available as well). White sauce is wonderful - need more :) Sheppard salad is one of the best salads I ever had. I literally drank the leftover dressing - yummmmy!!! Now my complaints- why did I have to put the gyro together - I dont get that part. Also, there wasn't enough lettuce or tomatoes for the gyro. Lastly, our order came up to $23, but you wouldn't deliver to us unless it was $25. You could have just let us go for the $23 - kind of lame, especially since your app would have let us order if we spent $15. read more

They were really busy this past Saturday night, but we were able to get a table in about 10 minutes. I really like Turkish/Mediterranean cuisine for the freshness and unique flavor profiles, Alev has both. We had the doner and loved it. I had it over a salad and my partner had the platter. It was nice and tender without being greasy and sliced perfectly. After I ordered I noticed a family sharing a plate that looked familiar but wasn't​ on the menu, when I mentioned it to the hostess she confirmed that the make it if requested. Next time I will go off menu and order that. We shared to custard for dessert and both liked it. It was a bit loud when full to capacity, the warmth of the hostess and servers and the food made up for the acoustics read more

Recently, my wife and I ordered dinner from here. In the past, we have almost always been very satisfied. This time was much different. We both ordered shishkabob. There are multiple choices of how you would like your beef cooked. We both chose medium and both were closer to well done. Also, I had a coupon for a free dessert for my birthday. They have several choices on their menu. The coupon did not have any restrictions. The person who "helped" me insisted on giving me rice pudding. I told her multiple times that I did not want that dessert; but, she ignored me. She went into the kitchen, got rice pudding, came out of the kitchen, put it in my bag and immediately went back into the kitchen. Finally, The prices have gone through the roof. There are way too many restaurants around for this one to not make our order correctly, to play the dessert game and to be overpriced. read more

Not a full review because I only had lunch take out. But the food was tasty and the portions we're good. The kofte was nice and tender and everything was seasoned well. Looking forward to trying more of the menu. read more

What a surprise! Although the look of the place is not what one would expect for fine food, the food is spectacular. We trie the kebabs, both kinds, their hummus and baklava. We will be repeat customers. read more

Food is just OK. Service is so-so. How can they don't have mint tea? I got a Lipton green tea bag???? At a sit down table, I had to pack my own food. With five boxes, they didn't give me a bag??? Fish was too dry and no flavor. Eggplant too greasy. Falafal too hard. Baklava is too sweet. Worst was, I had two nakins stacked on top of each other. They saved the bottom napkin that looked not used, but it was used ...... read more

Nice looking new place clean and friendly service priced reasonably and overall Ok they served pit and Turkish bread - both good but really should come out warm to hot and these were served room temp we ordered 2 appetizers babaganoush and falafel the babaganoush was very good the falafel not so much... appears they were made a while back and then maybe frozen and then heated to be served when ordered but came out mildly warm and a very cold center falafel is the most basic dish but was poorly executed We then shared a mixed chicken platter main course which was well enough for 2 in terms of size all the types of chicken served tasted the same and all had the same seasonings - not so good the chicken breasts were also undercooked the other items were just ok I am hopeful they will improve the kitchen as we could use a decent casual Turkish restaurant in the area read more

Incredible experience, amazing Food, service, location!! If you're in the area, come by for sure!! read more

Our favorite Mediterranean restaurant! Always FABULOUS! The hummas is the best... we can't say enough good things! Just ordered online and picked up tonight's dinner... Everything is packed well, can't wait to get home and eat :) read more

They have the carry-out system working perfectly. They also have outdoor dining. I have not tried this yet. We place our pick-up orders using their on-line system. That way we can pay ahead. Food is always ready on time and packed carefully. Food here is consistently excellent. The cold appetizer plate and shepherds salad with feta is a great way to start. All of the entries are great. Don't forget some baklava for dessert. read more

We stopped here as a diversion off I80 leaving NYC heading west! We are so glad we did! Service is great! Food and portions are amazing and the environment is relaxing! Great place to eat! If I lived here, I'd never cook. Hummus is amazing, Shepard salad is refreshingly delicious, lentil soup is light and very tasty! Bulgar rice is scrumptious and FALAFEL is superb! Totally on point Mediterranean cuisine! read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

This is a great restaurant with great food, staff and atmosphere. Food is delicious and prices are very reasonable. We've had the lunch special chicken and donner kebabos. Very good and the rice comes in two types. They have authentic dark Turkish tea. A must try. read more

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Not bad... The menu is v. reasonably priced, the venue is clean, and the staff are friendly. However, I've found that the food is good but kind of underwhelming. I expect bigger flavors and bolder spices in my gyros but this fell a little short. I prefer the shawarma from Carmel Haifa in Morris Plains. read more

Okay, guys.. this place is seriously good. I grew up eating Turkish food as a kid in Brooklyn and I have tried so many places in Morris county that are either too expensive, too salty or just have terrible service. I finally found the place with THE best Turkish food reminiscent of my childhood. The quality is fresh and flavorful. I'm so happy they opened up, Rockaway needed this! Get the cigarette/cigar borek, shepard salad, any of the cold mezes are must have starters. Pretty much every main course is delicious. The lunch menu is reasonable too. The staff is polite and the food comes fast- a plus. read more

ALEV Mediterranean Grill - Chicken platter - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockaway, New Jersey

All I can is...I stopped in because of the recommendation of a friend a couple of weeks ago...and never wanted to leave. Tulin (the owner) and staff are beyond fabulous--the food makes you crave to return for a repeat performance, the atmosphere relaxed and inviting. Just for the record, I had the Shepherd's Pie and topped it off with Shish Kabob (Filet Mignon)...Must Haves!! Not usually in the area but TOTALLY worth the drive. Nobody does it better. Yes, I'll be a Fan for Life. read more