We ordered 4 dishes of Chicken Pirzola. In 3 of the 4 dishes the chicken was completely burnt. It was inedible. This was a very disappointing experience. read more

As a Chinese, I was born to hate chicken breast. However, chicken garlic in this restaurant totally changed my bias towards chicken breast. Even though the same dish tastes slightly different every time, I would still give it 5 star. read more

Efes Mediterranean Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Princeton, New Jersey

The food especially gyro was really good here.Today we ordered gyro sandwiches which are extremely oily and not fresh.Do not recommend Efes anymore! read more

Meh. Went here with two friends and was not impressed, at all. Prices are decent about 6-9 dollars per sandwich or burger. I ordered a cheeseburger that was over cooked and I could barely taste the cheese. Two friends got mixed gyros which were better than my burger but still could use some help with flavor of the meat. Was fine considering there aren't too many food options in the area but I wouldn't go back. read more

Efes Mediterranean Grill - Lamb and beef gyro - Mediterranean Near Me - Princeton, New Jersey

Food is super good! Love the Dorado. however, the staff is rude and unfriendly. Definitely makes you not not want to come back...

The first time we came for dinner it was packed so we came back a few weeks later- 1. $10 card minimum 2. Limited seating so expect to wait during dinner esp on the weekends, and don't come with large groups Now in terms of the food, we ordered the mixed appetizer dips with hummus which was really good and fresh and flavorful! I had the chicken entree- super tender meat served with rice and lettuce/salad. My friend had the falafel entree which I tasted a bit of- the falafel was crisp on the outside and really well seasoned on the inside, not too salty and a perfect texture. My mom had the vegetable casserole served with rice which was also very tasty with a variety of ingredients in the dish! All in all very fresh and tasty and really enjoyed the meal! Staff was very friendly and I'd definitely go again!!! read more

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Eh. Probably would only come back to try the kenafa or the baklava The lamb sandwich and the massouka were mediocre Staff was friendly though read more

I got a gyro that was fresh and flavorful. Quick service. Good number of seats to stay and eat.

I cannot say enough about Efe's in Princeton. It is one of my favorite restaurants. The food is wonderful... very fresh and flavorful. All the meats are seasoned nicely and taste very fresh. We usually get the gyro Doner platter. It comes with beef and lamb over rice and a side salad. Sooooo delicious. They give you two different sauces to add to your meat if you want a little extra kick. We also get the large appetizer platter , which includes 5 different cold spreads. It includes humus, baba ganoush, eggplant, tzatziki sauce and beans. They are all full of traditional spices and are nice on the pitas. The staff is friendly and accommodating. Efe's offers outside seating in the warmer months, which is nice because the restaurant is kind of small. It is also BYOB! If you are in the area, don't miss Efe's for a wonderful Mediterranean meal. You won't be disappointed. read more

Efes Mediterranean Grill - Gyro Doner platter for 2... delicious. The meat is so flavorful and fresh. Nice spices. Comes with rice and a side salad - Mediterranean Near Me - Princeton, New Jersey

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Another solid efes experience. While the Princeton location is considerably smaller than its New Brunswick counterpart, we were easily able to get seated (no reservations taken) at 715 on a Saturday evening. Parking lot in the back is also a plus. Service was attentive and quicker paced here. The mixed cold appetizer (small) was delicious and as expected the sauced eggplant knocked it out of the park. Honorable mention to the babaganoush. The lamb dumpling entree that I got was different. It was just ok but not as good as my fiancé's dish (chicken kebab) which was juicy and full of flavor. There was no room left for dessert so I can't speak to that. The bread was better than I remember it being also. I'm wondering if they have started making their own or perhaps just switched up their supplier. Will definitely be back to this location. One of the few BYOBs in Princeton. read more

The food was pretty authentic compared to what I had when I lived in turkey. Friendly staff, many options to choose from, and decadent desserts. If you visit I recommend an Adana kebab and have a piece of baklava with tea! Cok guzel ! read more

I emailed the owners about be being overcharged and they never cared to respond. I really like this place but I'm not going to do business with a place that scams you. read more

Very rude staff . Racist . Changes prices and tries to charge you double if you're black

My friend Nick is a long-time resident of Princeton who comes to Efes occasionally for lunch. Four of us joined him for dinner at Efes last week. Following Nick's example, I ordered the orata (royal dorado) with a salad (instead of rice). The fish was enormous; it had been grilled very simply and was perfectly delicious. The salad was copious, and it was tasty as well. Efes is BYOB; we came with a 6-pack of IPA. Our server brought over a bottle opener but didn't supply any glasses. We drank our beers out of the bottle (southern style) instead of troubling our server with an additional request. Because Efes is located outside of the core downtown area, street parking at nearby meters is free after 7PM. If you want to park before 7 without feeding a meter, you'll need to walk a bit. I thought that the good quality and ample portions pushed Efes into the 3.7-star range. We don't do decimals on Yelp, so four stars it is. read more

A couple of poor dining experiences here caused me to write this review. Food is fine but their system for seating outdoors is informal and ridiculous, not to mention managed by staff who can be rude and unaccommodating to families. Essentially, if you want to be seated outside they observe a first come first serve policy. However, they do not evenly enforce the rule if you have a large group and need to wait for two tables to be put together. As we just sat down to save the table and others were leaving the one we needed, staff rudely booted our family despite our offers to purchase appetizers. After hearing "I'm not dealing with you" we will never visit this establishment again, which is a shame because we live a block away. Our suggestion? For groups larger than two where you wish to sit outside and deal with professional staff, try the other spots nearby like Despana or Blue Point. read more

cold store-bought pita served alongside bland hummus... no thanks. a few dry, underseasoned falafel stuffed into the same cold, store-bought pita... no thanks. fresh lettuce and tomato in aforementioned falafel sandwich... okay. huge pile of sliced raw red onion at the bottom of falafel sandwich... not nice. two stars only because: it's byob, has outdoor seating, and is relatively inexpensive for the area (though definitely overpriced for the quality). read more

Efes Mediterranean Grill - hummus appetizer - Mediterranean Near Me - Princeton, New Jersey

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I would give 0 stars if I could. Waited for 3 minutes after paying for my order and it turns out that they lost my order. I wasn't the only one in this situation. There were 8 other people waiting forever to get their orders. The girl at the cash counter had no clue. The guy back in the kitchen were bumping into each other like their heads cutoff. After 30 minutes of wait, the guy put my order into the kitchen. I got a Adana kebab sandwich in which the meat was not cooked and was smelling like gasoline. Took a couple of bites and threw it right into garbage. Wife got a egg plant salad that she said tasted like crap. Save yourself some grief and run to hoagie have or George's across the street. We will never be going back again read more

I really wanted to like this place, but I didn't. The atmosphere is casual- to the point of being bare bones; will they pack up and be gone within the hour? Also, SO LOUD. Granted it's a tiny space, but surely there's a solution to make it just a tad quieter. The service is pleasant, but you may as well be at a counter-service restaurant if you're going to get your own beverage and have to flag them down to ask for everything... twice. Finally, the food. I skipped the falafel because the order on the neighboring table looked grotesquely battered. Is it possible to go wrong with hummus? It is. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt that it's homemade, but the texture and consistency is so visually unappealling that you can all but picture it being mass-produced. The taste was sub-par, the shredded lettuce was tacky, the pita store-bought, and the "hot sauce" resembled watery salsa that may or may not have been left over from the Mexican restaurant that previously occupied the space. Is this what passes for Mediterranean food in Princeton? read more

We came here from Philadelphia after an hour of drive. And it totally worth it. Delicious food and friendly staff. I would highly recommend the cold appetizer platter. read more

We were in a group of three. I got the small Shish Kebab and I recall that they got an Adana Kebab each (get the small size, all of us got the small and it was enough!). We also ordered humus as a side and Kadayif for dessert. Please, don't go there thinking you're stepping into a 5-star restaurant. It's an okay place to eat (terms of hygiene and food quality), but definitely not what they're trying to sell it for on their website. I guess I'm giving it 2 stars because I though that the rice was too tough and the food lacked seasoning. I didn't finish my plate. Maybe a little too picky of my part, but the waiters could try to be just a little nicer... read more

A little salty, but to me better than local greek and anything in Montgomery are. Got the chicken breast with rice and salad

Pros: The food is very decent, particularly for the price point. My husband said the chicken in his wrap was cooked well and my lentil soup was pretty good-- a little thin, but well-seasoned. We shared a mixed plate of cold apps, and all of them were good. The humus was fluffy and fresh tasting. No complaints about the food really-- the 2 of us left stuffed to the point of discomfort for $25. Cons: The service leaves something to be desired. We had to ask for water 30 minutes after being seated. No one came to take our order, give us the bill, etc. All of that involved getting up, flagging someone down, and asking them to come help us. And this was on a Sunday night at, like 8 pm. The place was pretty empty. There was no excuse. Also, the ambiance sucks. Usually I don't care about ambiance that much, but the tables are crowded, it's noisy inside, and there was a dead bug on the windowsill next to us, which tells me those don't get wiped down very often (unless said bug just died, in which case, they might get a pass on that). read more

Excellent food. Their chicken kebabs and gyro are the best in the area. And their baklava is always fresh

Just had the worst experience .., ever!! The employees were not wearing masks or gloves. Well actually a few had masks but wore them on their chin. We witnessed a chef not only not wearing gloves or a mask but in between cooking he was browsing his cell phone. We have been longtime customers at Effies and wanted to help our local restaurant. This was more than a gross disregard of current health standards. The department of health needs to close them down. Below is a picture of the Effes staff. read more

Efes Mediterranean Grill - A picture of Effes employees on Sunday May 10, 2020 - Mediterranean Near Me - Princeton, New Jersey

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This place was great. Four of us went after a long morning of touring Princeton. We chose it because of its Yelp reviews. Short version... The servers - all of whom I believe to be authentic Turks - were great and the food was awesome. The four of us had the gyros plate, the Adana Chicken Kebab, the lamb Kebab, and the moussaka. Having lived in Turkey, i have a great love and appreciation for Mediterranean food. All four of the dishes were great. My wife particularly loved the moussaka, which was served with a companion serving of pilaf. All three other Kebab dishes were also excellent. I forgot to mention that we started with hummus appetizer which was served with fresh hot pita bread. read more

Don't want to waste my time writing about an establishment my family and I will NEVER set foot in again.... just doing this in the interest of others: 1) The service is HORRIBLE! The owner (or whoever the skinny bald 30ish guy is) is downright rude and indifferent: He could care less about your business even if you're a repeat customer - which in our case was twice in 3 days since we moved to the area. But never again. BTW Looks like multiple people have posted about this garbage service: https://www.yelp.com/biz/efes-mediterranean-grill-princeton?hrid=SSgE5ab3NUSYpCHEhlzYnA&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct) 2) Food quality and price: What a JOKE! We order meals for 4 people and all 4 of us were rolling eyes. The lamb tasted like it was out of a can. If you're naive and have never tasted quality Turkish/Mediterranean food then this is your kind of place read more

My husband is Argentine so he is a total meat snob. The fact that he loves the Mixed Grill here says something. We order that to share plus an extra salad and Lentil Soup. That's our happy meal. read more

Sat down. Was ignored multiple times. Couldn't even be bothered to be looked at or acknowledged. No menu handed to us. Nothing. It's embarrassing. If you want to be served. Don't come here. Or if you really want Mediterranean food. Just get their delivery because clearly the incompetent staff cant handle even saying hello. By the way, the restaurant was far from full. read more

I ordered my food through yelp and they were using EatStreet to deliver my food. They were very late in bringing my food. I searched for where they were located from the hotel I stayed in while visiting from another town. They were 12 minutes away by car. I could have done a pickup or gone there to beat. But I wasn't feeling well. It took them 55 minutes before I called to find out what was happening with my order. They said it was en route 10 minutes I would get my food. When my order arrived, my food was no longer warm anymore. However the only positive I can say it was edible and tasty. It would have been tastier when it was served to the table or delivered on time. At least let us know how or when the food would be delivered when coordinating with driver and cooks so that the food will be hot/warm for delivery read more

It is possible to eat a decent vegetarian meal at this small restaurant, if you can settle for hummos, falafel, and the like. One OK lentil soup. Also, in warm weather if you arrive not at peak times, you can sit outside, which is very pleasant. Decent service at all times, reasonable prices. Like most restaurants, most of the menu is meat-oriented, but at least there are a few options for those of us who are vegan. Inside quarters are a bit cramped and there is noise from a soda machine or something like that. Still, I like going here from time to time. Parking is usually available on Chestnut St nearby. Also, they share the wifi from a neighboring business, so wifi is available. read more

The food here is pretty good. Definitely not the best Mediterranean food I have had though. However, being a vegetarian, I have tried the falafel plate and the spinach dumplings. The falafel plate was very good, where as I believe the dumpling had WAY too much yogurt on them. I also think that the pricing is way to high for simple dishes. Additionally, the weight time can be a lot. read more

I just had the most incredible dinner with my wife. The lamb kebab was extremely tender, the falafel crispy and delicious, and of course we finished with the sobiyet which was insane. It's a tiny little joint that has gotten complimented by the New York Times and other big names but the food and atmosphere are real homey. Loved it, highly recommend it. read more

i enjoyed the appetizer sampler which allowed me to taste 5 different apps. i loved the eggplant salad. the zucchini pancakes were tasty as well. BUT, upon further review.... i am a bit disappointed that the pita bread was store bought. when i opened up my leftover bag the next day, they didn't even bother to remove the pita from its original store bought brand. read more

3.5 stars.... Glad to see a Turkish place open up in Princeton NJ, with some affordable options. Efes makes pretty decent food... The bean appetizer, Tas Kebab and the Iskender were all quite good. The doner felt more authentic and tastier than anything else in central jersey vicinity I've tried. Certainly a big improvement over mall gyros / Zorba's brother. They really need to expand out of that tiny spot so that there's breathing room (summer might be better), keep the floors a bit cleaner, and step up the service slightly. I'd have to complain about the amount of meat in the adana wrap I ordered... this was like a half-size adana kebab that was further cut in half along its length, it was nearly vegetarian... I know it's cheap -- but the doner sandwich did have a good portion compared to it. Similarly, the Shish portion that our neighbors ordered looked very small. We also didn't get the salad claimed by the menu to come with one of our orders. read more

Was a fan of the one in New Brunswick. Was super excited when they opened one here in Princeton. So basically this place has bad service, the prices make no sense, and the pita they give you is sometimes good and sometimes very bad (I think they ran out of the good one). But the food is DELICIOUS. Just like the one in New Brunswick. Love the mixed eggplant salad and the lamb. Anything lamb. The gyros especially. The dinner plates make no sense; it's basically the same as the sandwich but with a pile of rice and some vegetables. For a lot more money. But the gyro is the best I've had anywhere, whether on a food cart in NYC or in the Lebanese Flower in Abu Dhabi. So yeah, I don't think they quite have the 'run a restaurant and keep customers happy' thing down, but they're doing fine on food. As long as you order the gyros. And the hors d'oeuvre platter. read more

My wife and I had lunch recently at Efes Mediterranean Grill, a restaurant just a few blocks from the Princeton campus. The food was excellent. We ordered six items: The spinach Manti dumplings were delicious. This dish consisted of delicate tiny dumplings in a yogurt sauce. I want to go back and order it again. My wife said her falafel was the best she ever had. It looked better than typical falafel, as well. It was served on hummus. We also ordered the tasty zucchini pancakes, which others on this forum have also recommended. My wife had a large shepherd salad, which consisted primarily of diced tomatoes. I ordered a non-alcoholic cherry drink import from Turkey, which was very good. For dessert, we tried the kadayif, very similar to baklava in taste, but better in my opinion, which was big enough to share. The total tab was very reasonable at under $46 before tax and tip. The restaurant (and bathroom) is very clean and offers indoor and outdoor seating. The service was helpful and prompt. I look forward to returning soon. read more

Crowed. Horrible customer service, took forget to attend to attend. Fish was salty. Dint even have utensils, napkins or glass of water set up. The food is not worth the price at all. It's humid inside. The only thing good was the eye candy. Do not recommend at all. This experience was so bad that Ive never had to write a review on a restaurant my entire 23 years of living and this was my first. read more

Staff was extremely rude and not friendly and also told us that we can't have a sandwich after 4pm and I was there at 4:15 lol it's joke, if I'm paying for a full price then I want a sandwich instead of the meal, I should of understand what they were doing with these new rules until I paid $ 14.00 for arnavut cigeri (liver) this appetizer should be the cheapest thing you can get any Turkish restaurant but no they want to charge you what ever they can, ended up paying $200 for 4 people for dinner, this isnt a fine dining restaurant, if I'm paying this much I'll rather go to a more high class place but not here sorry, and FYI their food is not the same quality especially the gyro!!! read more

The worker consistently has her mask off sitting below her nose and handles the order simultaneously. So, unfortunately, I will be avoiding this location. read more

I don't think this place needs reviews since it was beyond capacity on Saturday nights. If you've ever tried the efes in new Brunswick, this is very similar and that's a good thing (for those who haven't had the other place). Very surprised by the first review. Granted service wasn't excellent, but that's not their forte, their food however, should have compensated. I would suggest he take another attempt--- their food is very nice, and one of the very few turkish places in a 20 mile radius (I also suggest people try Istanbul Cafe in North Brunswick). We always order an appetizer platter at every mediterranean spot, and a chicken kebab platter. Here, we enjoyed all the appetizers, and a solid 4* Marinated and juicy chicken, very well done (about 15 minutes waiting). The combo platter is good if you like meat since thats the focus (but note the gyro meat is delicious!! Definitely stop by for either sandwiches (pick up and go though)!! For those eating platters, have it nice and warm. read more