Francesco&#x27;s Cafe

(198 reviews)

8.6 mi

Warm & friendly staff checked on us numerous times throughout the meal. Celebrated my birthday and…read morethey personalized the occasion with a birthday card. Such a lovely & thoughtful detail! Cocktails & food were delicious and they served a complimentary slice of pistachio cheesecake for my birthday. Wonderful dining experience!

We have been waiting for quite a few months for an opportunity to come over to Saffron restaurant…read morein Palm Springs. We were greeted warmly by the very professional waitstaff. We loved Persian food so much when we lived in Los Angeles, so it was a special treat to find Saffron in Coachella Valley where it is unique. Our appetizers were the beautiful watermelon tower with feta and arugula, and the three dip sampler of hummus, eggplant dip and masto kheyar made of yogurt. Flatbread served with the dips is out of this world delicious! I had been dreaming about these foods after seeing them on Instagram. We loved the zereshk polo chicken with bayberries over perfect saffron rice, fessenjoon with pomegranates, chicken and walnuts, and a lamb shank which was seasoned so beautifully. There was no possibility of dessert as we had such a great time dining on these gems. I love that the seating is well spaced, and you're not on top of other people and their conversations. During happy hour, there were some people singing at the piano, which finished at about 6 PM. The noise level became a little quieter at that time for conversation over dinner. The decor of the space and the kindness and efficiency of the stuff were very much appreciated. Five stars and bravo for an amazing dining experience. We very much look forward to coming back soon.

Beautiful interior design

Dining Areas

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Luna Grill Palm Desert

Food was very good.. great meal for the price. The chicken is delicious…read more Our server Nathan was very thoughtful and checked in on our needs often. Thank you Nathan! Very very nice. Inger and Bob

Let me start off by saying I've never been disappointed with the food. It's fresh & delicious, my…read moreissue is with the website system that places the pick up time, that needs to be adjusted immediately. I placed my order online and the pick up time was 12:50pm. I arrived a couple minutes early in the chance that the order may be ready, no luck, that's okay, no problem so far. The staff said it would be 6 minutes for my bowl to be ready. I sat to wait and watched countless orders by Uber Eats/Postmates/etc. be completed and picked up. I hadn't heard my name called but I got up anyway to make sure they knew I was still waiting. They said my order was second in the queue, at least four more orders went out until my order was ready. The promised time was 12:50pm I didn't receive my order until 1:10pm. That's 20 minutes late, that's not acceptable. I completely understand you can't rush and grill chicken faster but if my promised time was more accurate I would have arrived later and wouldn't have had to wait so long. Please make some adjustments so this doesn't happen to anyone else, some people only have 30 minutes for lunch. Oh, and check with the cook if you want to give an accurate wait time don't just say 6 minutes when it's clearly more than that. ****I updated the review to 4 stars as I received a phone call from the business apologizing for the wait time and issuing a refund. I appreciate their prompt attention to this matter.

Shrimp skewer, Mediterranean salad with rice.

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Grilled Chicken kabobs, Mediterranean Salad, hummus & pita, beef kabobs, desserts, rice, wraps and sauce.

Yucca Kabob

I'm so mad.. that I didn't discover this place sooner…read more Service: the guy was really nice, patient and helped me order. Food: 10/5 get the chicken shawarma entree plate! They give a generous amount of the white garlic sauce. The portion and taste were both perfect. I might have to go back 2 days in a row. Take away: adding this to my go to spot!

We ended up visiting this place twice during our trip because the first time left everyone so…read moreimpressed with the food. The space itself is small and simple -not fancy but the staff is incredibly personable and welcoming. The food is outstanding. We especially loved the kibbeh and it was a clear crowd favorite. On our first visit, we ordered takeout and got a combo platter, which was so generous that it easily fed all six of us.On the day we were leaving, we decided to come back for lunch, and the experience was just as good. We were a bit disappointed that the kibbeh was sold out the second time, but everything else we ordered was excellent, and the portion sizes remained very generous. Pricing feels fair for both the quality and quantity of food. I would definitely recommend this spot if you're in the area.

You'll have to eat out of take-out containers after 8pm

Kofta Kabob Wrap

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Great rainbow from their parking lot on Jan. 1 2026!

Kan Zaman Restaurant

I had a wonderful experience at Kan Zaman Restaurant. The lady owner was incredibly welcoming and…read morehospitable. She even treated us to complimentary Arabic coffee and sweets, which was a very thoughtful gesture. I ordered the mendi, and it was absolutely delicious. The portion was generous and came with fresh Arabic salad, making it a satisfying meal. The warm hospitality, authentic flavors, and excellent service made this a memorable visit. I'll definitely be coming back and would highly recommend Kan Zaman Restaurant to anyone looking for great Middle Eastern food and a genuine welcoming atmosphere. Nabil N

Still my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in CA! They are consistent with their food and…read moreportions. The red hummus and fresh pita is a must! The beef steak kabob is so flavorful as always. The Chef's Special chicken rice is a favorite. Even with different wait staff they always manage to get good people who are attentive and nice. Come to find out they are all family today. Great job! I would say for the portions and quality Kan Zaman is still a better value than going to a chain Mediterranean restaurant. If you're in the area this is a must visit!

This Mediterranean Vegetable Spaghetti is delicious! Comes with fresh olives and mushrooms!!!

Back of restaurant

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Chicken Shawarma

Mitra's Cafe

So sad they're closed! When we were there the owner was kind enough to feed some hungry people who…read morecame in. May the owner be blessed wherever he is! Max was a kind & compassionate man.

Made it just in time before they closed at 9!! Mitra's Cafe is located off Winchester & Murrieta…read moreHot Springs Rd. Parking is meh... not very many spaces since there's a Panda Express, Pizzeria & a Taco Bell within the vicinity, so you might have to park far. I got the Mixed Koobideh Plate (1 ground beef & 1 chicken skewer), and you can choose 2 sides, so I opted for basmati rice and salad. Both protein choices were very good, vynikající!! Basmati rice is always good (i love, love, love that perfectly aromatic sweet scent of basmati rice), and salad was good, too!! That white yogurt sauce is fire!! Definitely pairs very well w the food. Yummmm!! Service was good. The girl at the front was super helpful since I was undecided on what to order she helped me choose this plate.

That's my chicken mushroom melt along with 1/2 of my husbands pastrami..we spilt!

Pastrami on marble rye

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Chicken kabob with rice & salad. Only 4$!

Aria Restaurant

We found this place while searching for a Persian restaurant during our road trip and I'm so glad…read morewe stopped here! They have dizi! It came with bread and was super tasty. I've honestly been craving it for years and was surprised to see it on the menu. We also tried their koobideh and homemade doogh, both were really good. Service was great too. Our server was friendly, checked on us throughout the meal and brought everything we needed quickly.

Disappointing experience overall, especially for the price point…read more I Spent almost $100 for a family dinner. While the chicken and gyros were actually really good, the rest of the food was a letdown, the rice and salad were completely bland, and the bread was stale. Also the beef kebab was dry and saltier than the dead sea. On top of that, we got hit with surprise charges for sauce and peppers that nobody mentioned to us beforehand. Every restaurant i went to gives out sauce and condiments for no additional charge or notifies us. They didn't even bring us water until we explicitly asked for it, and they never came back to refill it once. Most places keep water topped off, but they definitely cut corners here. Our waitress was nice, but the waiter had a super forced smile and made it obvious he didn't want to be there. The bathroom itself was clean, but they had a sign telling people not to flush anything including toilet paper, which is a total health hazard and a weird oversight for a restaurant. Some people may interpet this literally Between the mid food, hidden fees, lazy service, and weird bathroom signs, we won't be coming back. Save your money and go somewhere else.

Greek Salad with Chicken Shawarma

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Beef & Chicken Combo lunch

Corner grill

Tried Corner Grill in Vista today and had such a good experience…read more I ordered the koobideh and chicken combo plate and both were delicious. It came with safron basmati rice and a side salad. The dressing was AMAZING! Everything tasted fresh, well seasoned, and cooked perfectly. The portions were great too and made for such a satisfying meal. Also have to mention the service because the man who took my order was seriously the sweetest. He was so welcoming and kind and made the experience even better. This was my first time here but definitely not my last. Already looking forward to coming back whenever I'm craving Persian food.

This is one of our favorite local Mediterranean spots in our area. The staff is always courteous…read moreand attentive and the place is kept very clean. We usually order take out and all menu options are pretty affordable. Our go to item is the beef koobideh combo, but there's plenty of choices to please every palate.

Small selection of Mediterranean groceries.

#7 Barg(prime Center -Cut Filet Mignon) & ##6 Chicken Combination (Combination Of Our Boneless Chicken And Strip Of Kobideh

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Shiraz Persian Cuisine

My first time and we used a Groupon coupon to try it out and see if we like the place. We really…read moredid. The Koobideh kabob and chicken kabob were awesome and the hummus appetizer was great. Going back to try the full menu soon. Recommended Thx

Only tried the koobideh kebab which was good. Cook and flavour was great. Just one skewer by itself…read morewas $10. A skewer of chicken kebab just by itself was $17!! North Park Produce Grill gives the same for 7! And it's delicious! Overall this place is quite expensive. And it has always been. Maybe it might be worth it for a nice dine in dinner but it is cost prohibitive for take out or a casual dinner.

Chicken Kabab & Special rice

Lam Shang &zereshk polo

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Halim

El Basha Market and Grill

We were craving gyro and rice and tatziki so I checked on Yelp to find the closest place to us - El…read moreBasha is what popped up. Upon entering we were immediately greeted by a nice man that I am assuming is the owner that other Yelp reviews have raved about. He helped us quickly at their food counter at the back (did I mention they are also a specialty foods market?) and we ordered two meals and an appetizer. We grabbed drinks from the cooler and sat at the table in the front. Our grape leaves came out first. Accompanied by chopped lettuce garnish and sliced tomatoes and oranges, they were tasty and delicious! Our food came out and we dug in to a gyro plate and a beef shawarma plate. Both came with a salad, pita and a choice of dip (we chose hummus). The portions were generous, the seasoning was mouth watering, and the presentation gorgeous! We could have easily also shared a plate, but we will always want more than one thing so it just means more chances to try new dishes! Their prices are very reasonable for extremely high quality fresh healthy food! We will be back for sure, and I also notice they deliver through DoorDash and Grub Hub. Thank you El Basha - we are your new biggest fans! At the end of our meal they gave us a beautiful baklava dessert!! You have to come here!

The moment we walked in the owner was FRIENDLY. We were so excited to come here and he immediately…read morewelcomed us in. This place reminded me so much of Los Altos or El Toro so I felt right at home. It's small but the vibe cozy and homey. We took our time looking through every aisle and even grabbed some snacks and a plate food before grabbing what we came in for. My mom and I got the Chicken shawarma plate and oh my god it's SO FLAVORFUL. We needed help finding the meat section, pita bread, and more hummus and dips and the owner was so sweet and helpful Even told us to come back Friday when they restock. We are definitely going to become regular customers here. Thank you so much to the owner for making our time shopping there so pleasant, we hope your business continues to prosper

Yummy Gyro Wrap with white sauce

Box front of dates

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El Basha - International food galore!!!

Joyce's Sushi

The server was very observant, I was happily eating what I thought to be a spicy salmon roll but…read morewas actually spicy tuna when my server Eddie came by and asked how everything was. I said it was good but he looked closer and realized my order was wrong without my knowing. They comped the one I had been eating already and gave me the one I had originally asked for.

The sushi was fresh and delicious. The miso soup and salad that came with the meal were a nice…read moretouch and made great appetizers. Highly recommend this place!

Best Fresh wild Ahi Tuna at Joyce's sushi...

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Best bluefin Tuan guaranteed....

The Palms Cafe

Love this diner in teh desert. Nice large seating inside & out. Food is always fresh & good. Great…read moresalads & breakfasts. Reasonable prices & good service.

Visited with the boyfriend, June 2026…read more Ordered eggs, toast, hash browns and a side of onion rings and the BF had a hamburger with potato salad. When my breakfast arrived, the hashbrowns were almost cold and whilst the toast was nice and brown, as I had requested, I wasn't happy with the hashbrowns. My boyfriend said his burger was good. The potato salad was good, but the potatoes were a little hard. Our waitress, after dropping the food off, did not come back to us to check if everything was ok, not once. I was going to make a complaint about my cold hash browns, but there was no one to talk to about it so I gave up. There was also a greasy flavor to the eggs and the hashbrowns, which can happen if the oil is not changed enough. All in all it was a disappointment, I have driven by this place so many times on the way to my library in Rancho Mirage and I had wanted to try it for years. But if you're serving lukewarm hashbrowns with your breakfast, and if your waitress does not come back and check on you one time to ask you how is everything going, that is not good. She literally didn't even come back to top up my coffee. The coffee was not great either. Another server did to up my coffee once and then when someone came to give us the check, they left the wrong one. It was for a different table. All in all the service was not good. Conclusion, if you look at some of the reviews here, many people have said that no one checked on them once their order was delivered to their table so obviously no one's reading these reviews because this is still happening. I mean seriously this is basic service 101. You drop off the food you give them a little bit of time and then you go back to make sure everything's OK. Maybe they know it's not OK so don't want to ask.

Mexican omelet and ham steak n eggs (can sub potatoes for fruit or something else)

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Slice Italia

Great spot for extremely well prepared Italian food, made with excellent ingredients. Just had…read moretheir chicken piccata, exceptionally excellent; best I have had (yet) in Coachella Valley. Great service too.

Pizza is such a personal thing. That someone finds it just okay...and someone will say it's the…read morebest on the planet. I happen to think the pizza I ordered....was okay. I ordered the Favorite Pizza. I love onions....so I ordered extra onions. I want to say.....it's the very first time I actually got extra onions!! They indeed know how to give extra onions.....and they were darn good! Huge plus for me is a lot of onion. This pizzeria is just down the street from us...so we will more than likely give it another go.

Always enjoyable

American combo slice

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14 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

J H.

181

5 years ago

Date of Visit August 17 2021 4pm OUTSTANDING Food 10+ Service 10+ Value 10+ Portion size 10+ What a treasure to find. We started with Caesars Salads and a bottle of house Chianti (San Antonio Winery) I ordered the parmiagana - FOUR THUMBS UP Husb had the lasagna and again, FOUR THUMBS UP. We took half of both orders with us and shared a slice of chocolate cake for dessert .. OMGoodness - light choc mousse layered with cake -- not too heavy or sweet - delicious! Phone was ringing non stop with to-go orders. People were stopping in to pick up their to-go orders during the entire 2 hours we were dining. If you are lookin for 'impressive ambiance' try another place, BUT if you are looking for an absolutely outstanding dining experience in every other way, put this family owned and operated restaurant on your MUST GO TO list. And do tell your family and friends too! read more

Loretta T.

5 years ago

Francesco's Cafe is excellent food. A blend among Persian and Italian. The provider is speedy and the food is delicious. The atmosphere is so so. You should carry your circle of relatives right here or you may have a romantic eating experience. It's pretty flexible in that regard. Parking is a chunk limited. I fantastically advocate Francesco's Cafe for individuals who need to get in, revel in top notch tasting meals and head out inside a fairly quick length of time. read more

Tony G.

9 years ago

I love this food it is the best if your hungry you should eat it. I love the Service and the people that work there I eat a chicken kabob and some salad on the side this is the best I am going every day to eat here. If you like the best food eat here read more

Kim S.

8 years ago

There food is simply Wonderful and we love going there. The reasoning behind the 4 star is we went early one day and the husband and wife were not there yet and it was horrible service and can taste the difference in the cooking. A new favorite place!!! read more

Lori S.

15 years ago

Hubby and I stopped in for lunch today. Very friendly, clean and good food. The falafel pita was good and brought back memories of old city Jerusalem. read more

Aiesa V.

5 years ago

this place is amazing! Great food! Amazing service! Excellent staff ! Everything is good, try anything and everything

YMA K.

2 years ago

We are checking has Francesco Cafe reopened after the fire they had, or any update when they will reopen.

Taylor N.

4 years ago

Great food, even better service. .......................................................................

Leslie R.

11 years ago

Wonderful! Came in with a party of 6. Excellent food. Prompt service. Very clean. We will be back!

Dj S.

4 years ago

This is is very consistent with all there menu items I have never had a bad food experience there read more

Ian L.

5 years ago

Lovely little place. The staff were super friendly and the food was great. Can't wait to go back!

Vanya F.

3 years ago

Great food! Awesome people All employees and owners are wonderful, very lively! Love it!

Grace B.

3 years ago

The food is great, and the place is quiet. Thanks for the great service!

S. M.

425

310

13 years ago

Pleasantly surprised!!!!

Francesco's Cafe - persian - Updated August 2026

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Been trying to find a good Mediterranean spot out here since I moved and the Wrap Shack is about to…read morebe my new spot!! I got chicken shawarma wrap and WOWW the flavors were on point. Absolutely delicious!! Not to mention this is a small business and their service is incredible, they make you feel like your family and they're just so sweet. I will definitely be coming back here as a regular and try more of the menu. But I totally recommend giving the spot to try if you're in the mood for some delicious Mediterranean food. And try the baklava too. It's delicious!!

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