Olde City Cafe is a go-to for great Mediterranean food. The kafta and shish kebab platter is one of my favorites, well-seasoned, flavorful, and always satisfying. Their hummus is smooth and really good, and the hot sauce adds a nice kick that brings everything together. Definitely a spot I keep coming back to. read more

I absolutely love Old City Cafe & Grill! They serve some of the finest Lebanese cuisine I have found in New Jersey. Located in the heart of Cranford, this intimate yet homelike restaurant features a hospitable staff that takes the time to explain the menu, making the entire experience feel so warm and inviting. They offer a comprehensive menu ranging from lamb and chicken to shawarma, seafood , falafel, and so much more. Since they are a BYOB establishment, they will gladly open and serve your bottle for you without any hassle. For starters, we opted for the dip sampler, which includes pita and three distinct spreads. The Mouhammara is my personal favorite; it's crafted from red peppers with a pomegranate syrup that adds a hint of sweetness, while crushed walnuts provide an incredible texture. Next is the Baba Ghanouj, a roasted eggplant dip with garlic and tahini that creates a savory, slightly smoky, and velvety delight. Finally, it includes their classic homemade hummus, which is a classic and delicious choice. I love that you don't have to choose, you truly get the best of all three varieties. For our main course, we ordered the Old City Mix. It's a generous portion for two that typically comes with a garden salad and rice. I personally prefer the greens, so I swapped the rice for two garden salads tossed in a zesty minty vinaigrette. The platter features kafta, shish tawook, shish kebab, lamb chops, shawarma, and four falafels, all served on a bed of pita with tahini and garlic sauces as the finishing touch. Everything is remarkably fresh and seasoned perfectly. The falafel is crispy on the exterior and fluffy on the inside, the meats are grilled to your liking, and the salad perfectly balances the rich platter. I thoroughly enjoy this spot for both lunch and dinner and am even looking into their catering for my next party. Do yourself a favor and visit them soon! read more

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Nice, casual restaurant in Cranford serving up fresh and authentic Lebanese dishes. I stopped by for dinner and tried some dishes I've never had before, including Fooul (a very garlicky but delicious hot fava bean dip served with pita) and the Old City Arrayes (reminded me of a quesadilla, but made with pita instead of tortilla and filled with flavorful spiced beef). Both were great! I also shared the Kafta Kebab Platter, which was a nice, solid entree. We didn't have enough space for dessert, but would love to check it out next time. The lunch specials here also look fantastic. read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

I had Kafka lunch platter - it was fresh- all home made- delicious tahini sauce on the side, their rice is perfect! I highly recommend this place for a charming atmosphere, prompt friendly service and delicious food! Can't wait to go back ! I met a friend there and she loved it too. read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

Arrived at 7PM on summer Saturday evening to a nearly empty restaurant. Had the three dip sampler which was pleasant, although they barely gave us time to enjoy it with our wine, bringing our entrées out and crowding all the dishes onto the small table ten minutes later. My wife had the tabouli salad with a side of falafels. she enjoyed it. I had the "filet mignon" beef tenderloin souvlaki, smartly ordering it rare, as it is small pieces of cut-up lean meat. The meat was tender, but it completely lacked seasoning, as did the rice pilaf, so I doused both with the small ramekin of tahini sauce to give it some flavor. This restaurant is worth returning to, but the food is bland, and they need to add seasoning to the dishes or put salt & pepper shakers on the tables. read more

Solid 3.5 The dips were all great. The pita needs to be grilled and olive oil. The mixed kebab platter was good. Rice and salad great. The 3 kebabs all lacked seasoning. If we come back I'd definitely ask to spice everything up. $60 for an entree and appetizer. read more

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Really good food, everyone at the table enjoyed what they ordered! The restaurant is on the smaller side, but it's nice inside. Be aware that the online order menu is different than the dine-in menu though. The menu that you can find online has lunch specials and sandwiches etc that aren't available for dine-in, at least for the weekend, not sure about weekdays. I ordered the shish tawook (grilled chicken medallions) platter. I was pleased with my dish as the chicken was moist and smoky, and it came with a garlic dipping sauce (toum) that was addictive. It also came with two sides and I opted for the rice and salad. The rice was surprisingly flavorful and had some veggies mixed in. The salad was fresh tasting as well. Also ordered the foul which is stewed fava beans and chickpeas, and it was really good too! My friends ordered the dip sampler and the falafel platter. Both were great! My friend said that the falafels were crispy and fluffy on the inside, and not dry. Service was friendly, I would recommend this spot for date night or takeout for a cheaper option. read more

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Stopped for a quick bite and both the items we tried tasted pretty good. Falafel felt a little underdone in the center but not a big deal. Service was quick, and the staff seemed polite. Nice spot for Lunch and Dinner. read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

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Let me start by saying it's a cozy little corner hidden gem. The food was fantastic and staff was very sweet, patient and helpful with me. As it was my 1st time & I wasn't sure what to order. I'm always very indecisive and It's not often I eat Lebanese/Mediterranean food. It was after work and wasn't very busy. Loved the music made me feel like a belly dancer was coming out to dance for us lol. It's a BYOB and very conveniently there's a liquor store across the street. Parking was no issue either. Overall very good experience. I will definitely be going back. read more

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I had the beet salad and they used can beets. It should be noted that it can beets. I could taste the can.. I could have made it home myself.. The Falafel to me was way over cooked yet it tastes ok.. The server was very polite yet she never came over once to see how everything was except to see if I wanted coffee or dessert.. Then the owner came over to the table and said something about me not leaving a tip.. she arguing with me about this so you know I have left the table yet. I did pay for my meal on credit card.. the owner was trying to tell me that they make fresh beets, yet when I got the salad the beets were perfectly sliced which doesn't happen when making fresh beets.. read more

Authentic Lebanese food taste just like home !! Can't wait to go back and have some of the best humus , taboule Batata Harra and kebabs .

Came here for dinner. Liked the outside dining options. We had the grilled lamb chops (perfect) ($35.00) Spinach Pies ($10.00) & TFeyrn@hotmail.com Shawarma Platter ($22.00). All good. Spinach pies slightly drier than what I'm used to but good. The best part was our waiter Benjamin who was very attentive, friendly, professional, and honest about his recommendations. We'll be back. Thanks Benjamin! read more

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Love this place! Great humus. Food overall is delicious. Great menu. Service is on point. Love the downtown location. Nice ambience. Casual but nice. read more

We were greeted and seated immediately on arrival. Enjoyed a delicious meal including beet salad, shrimp platter, rice pudding with cinnamon, and decaf (an unexpected find) cappuccino. Spinach pies were warm, soft pockets of dough. A little more filling would have made them even better. Our server, Dogan, was knowledgeable and attentive. Rafi, the owner, came around to check on us. The authentic décor and "fireplace" on the tv made for a nice atmosphere. Tables are close together. BYOB with a liquor store across the street. 4% surcharge for credit cards, which we did not see posted. We look forward to returning and trying other dishes on the menu. read more

I want to order salads for July 4th. I asked if I could taste (teaspoon) the tabbouleh. The young man in front went into the kitchen, came back and said "No". Great way to encourage business. Keep it. No problem. I'll find it elsewhere. read more

I was looking for somewhere to have a quick lunch and a local from Cramford NJ recommended this place. Very simple decor, clean, and the waitress who I believe is the owner was very nice. They take the COVID -19 pandemic seriously although they do offer inside dining. They have hand sanitizer, They do a great job disinfecting between customers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and you can see one of the devices in my photo, require masks for everyone. Prices are very reasonable, nice take on Mediterranean food and the experience was nice for a quick lunch. There is not a ton of atmosphere and the only criticism I had was that they could use more help. There was only 1 person to serve the tables, clean the tables, take phone orders and clean the plates. She did a great job although I felt bad to have to ask for things. We had Mouhamara dip which is spicy and sweet flavored red pepper paste with chopped walnuts. We also had the Sharma sandwich and the Spicy Shish Towook which is marinated special hot sauce and pepper paste with chicken. The Shish sandwich had a nice kick to it. They are BYOB and their is a liquor store near by. Overall good experience and I would recommend you try them. read more

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Literally the best local place for authentic Lebanese food as someone that is Lebanese I approve. I also love the arabic music they play in the restaurant such a nice vibe overall and reminds me of family making a meal at home. Service is also good and they make sure to bring your food out in a timely manner. read more

This Lebanese restaurant here serves 'next level' falafel!! From the moment you walk in the door you are greeted with Mediterranean style service and hospitality... warm and friendly! And the jazz music playing in the background perfectly complements the vibey and modern feel of the dining room which comfortable and inviting. Situated on a corner in the heart of town dining district, this spot has ambience for a casaul date or just enjoyable lunchtime/dinner alone. The food was excellent... the humus, pita and falafel were all fresh, made from scratch and you can savor the freshness in every bite! From texture to taste, the food was delicous and the serving size on point. I enjoyed my dish thoroughly, and in the end the price was budget friendly as well! read more

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A really terrible meal here. Started with the hummus, which was ok but came with almost paper-thin pita, which had the texture of eating paper. Never saw pita this thin before. Then had the kafta kebab platter. The kafta had absolutely zero flavor. I've never eaten anything so flavorless in my life. The rice had no flavor either. It's like the cooks here use no seasoning at all. And the fries? You guessed it, flavorless too. The were batter-dipped (note to all NJ restaurants: just stop with the batter-dipped fries. It's not the 1980s anymore.) read more

We grew up eating Lebanese food, so were anxious to try the Old City Cafe. The food is excellent; beautifully prepared and presented. The kibbeh was delicious! We had been told that the Old City platter was the "way to go", so that's what we did for our entree. Not at all disappointed. The kebabs were excellent. All the meat was perfectly cooked and spiced. The rice served with the platter was also nicely spiced. We barely had room for dessert, but couldn't resist the rice pudding and the pistachio cheesecake! Delicious. Service was attentive and pleasant. We will definitely go back to try more of the menu! read more

Finally the good weather has arrived. Enjoyed a beautiful weekend day by having lunch outside of this restaurant. Liquor store right across the street which is convenient since they are BYOB. The waitress/host was very friendly and attentive even though we were outside. Ordered a lentil soup and a wrap. My lentil soup came out and my mom liked it so much she got her own. Freshly made today the waitress said. You can tell, the lentils were very fresh. The sandwich had a very thin wrap which I liked and the meat was very tasty. Went very well with the white wine. Loved my meal ! read more

I love middle eastern cuisine so I knew I needed to try this place. It's BYOB which is nice and there is a liquor store across the street. We started out with the different dips and pita and the meat arrayes, which is almost like a middle eastern quesadilla. Both were incredible! I then got the shish tawook for my entree which was chicken with rice and vegetables. Everything was delicious and the flavors were so yummy. We didn't have reservations and we're seated right away on a Friday night. Since it is located in downtown Cranford, the parking is street parking but we had no problem finding a spot right next to the restaurant. It is also free parking after 6! We can't wait to come back and try more dishes from this place. I especially want to come for lunch to try one of their sandwiches. read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Dip sampler - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

This my friends is one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants in the area!. We started off with spinach pies, baba ghanouj, and yogurt dip which were all fantastic. For the entrees we had the kafta kebab platter and the lamb chop platter. Both platters were delicious and the meats were cooked to perfection, I'm very picky with where I order lamb because not a lot of places know how to make it but this place surely does. The lamb was rich and succulent and packed with flavor and goes perfect with their side of garlic sauce / tahini and hot sauce. The staff is extremely nice and the owner Rafi is a great guy, very friendly atmosphere overall. Please stop by and check them out when you get the chance, 5 stars. read more

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The food was outstanding. Had the chicken shish kabob lunch platter (the kabobs with accompanying garlic sauce, hummus, cucumber salad, and rice), and my friend had a sandwich which was very similar to a beef gyro. We ate everything on our plates. Service was a somewhat slow, and waitress a bit curt - but definitely was not a major detraction from the deliciousness of the meal. Ambiance I would call functional. Tending to be dark and simple - but this isn't a place you'd expect to spend hours lounging. read more

I've never had a bad meal here. I've dined in and have ordered take out. The food is fresh and authentic. I absolutely love the baba ghanouj! My favorite thing to order is the shawarma sandwich. read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

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We ordered for the first time tonight and everything was so good. We could tell from the appearance and the smells and most importantly the taste that a lot of care and thoughtfulness was put into the dishes. We hope to dine at the restaurant soon! My daughter ordered tonight after we got home from work because it's my birthday! Thank you for making a lovely meal for us. read more

The food here is fresh and really really delicious. The spicy chicken shish tawook is so tender and has just enough of a kick. The platter comes with 2 sides--I got the salad and the rice--both fantastic. I'm sure the fries (the other option) would have been just as good. The garlic dipping sauce is out of this world with such great flavor. The restaurant was not crowded, so the waiter only had 2 tables, so the service was pretty good. The mint iced tea was also light and delicious. I would definitely recommend this place if you enjoy authentic, fresh, deliciously prepared Lebanese food. A+. Reasonably priced and really hits the spot! I'll be coming back for more!! read more

I completely enjoyed my experience eating at old city Café and Grill. The Lebanese food itself is similar to other Middle Eastern cuisine that we have had. We particularly enjoyed the appetizer trio of different dip variety. Our entrée was the shared mixed grill platter which had a literally everything you could think of to try! Great staff and great experience, a restaurant with a nice vibe. read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Mixed grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

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Clean yes, staff friendly, yes. Way over price for what you get most definitely. They claim Lebanese cuisine but very limited at best. Better to walk across street foe Greek place you get a lot more.foe your dollar and.food is.excellent. read more

Wonderful middle eastern & mediterranean food made with a passion for giving customers an authentic meal. I've had the falafel, shawarma plater and lamb burger and they were all really good. The baklava dessert was outstanding and a great finish and it was a complementary from the gentleman store owner . A fine downtown Cranford restaurant and service was a top notch . Keep it up!! read more

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Food was fresh and delicious. Friendly, accommodating staff. If you are looking for authentic Lebanese cuisine, visit Old City Cafe. Great place for lunch and dinner. BYO read more

Overall good experience every time I've been here. I usually get the dip sampler and one of their mixed grills. Everything I've tried has been delicious. Nice location in town. More of a casual / relaxed vibe than some of the other places in town which I like. read more

Wow! This place was fabulous, the food was amazing service was fast and friendly highly recommend. read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Old City Platter - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

This place is great for eat in and mediocre for take out. I ordered from here before and it was just okay but ate in the restaurant yesterday and it was a 10 out of 10 everything was delicious and fresh. read more

I can't recommend highly enough! The shawarma sandwich is so frigging good! Get it w. fries and hummus (only available to-go during dinner hours). Greek salad is excellent and the garlic mayo is highly addictive. My wife loves the shish tawook platter - chicken always tender and cooked perfectly. Hands down the best restaurant in Cranford in my opinion. read more

Love the food! Loved the ambience. Meatballs were amazing. Lambs tasty. Missed the Moroccan cookies, hope they come in the summer. Highly recommend this place for upgrading taste buds read more

I had a not so great experience at this place. Let me preface by saying my friend and I were walking around Cranford Saturday night looking for a place to eat and landed here. I noticed that the Greek restaurant across the street was poppin' with people seated inside, outside, everywhere. I kind of wondered why this place was empty in comparison being that Mediterranean food is all kind of similar. My friend and I proceeded to order two apps and two shish tawook sandwiches like on the menu. They asked what sides we wanted and we mentioned we didn't know it came with sides. When the food arrives, we get a pita with some chicken in it, no salad, pickles or tomato like mentioned in the menu. I asked the waiter to bring out some lettuce/tomatoes for the "sandwich" because it was too spicy on it's own. He looked kind of confused and sent out a more senior staff member who was also confused by my request and said they didn't just sell lettuce, so she couldn't key it into the system. I'm not kidding. I said fine and settled on ordering a side salad. Even though I think it was pretty ridiculous to make a big drama out of bringing some lettuce to the table without charging me. In the end, out of my own curiosity, I pointed out their menu where the sandwiches said they included lettuce/tomato & pickle and that's what we'd were expecting. That's when the waiter told me that we'd ordered the platter by default because sandwiches were not served there after 4:30pm *even thought this is stated nowhere on the menu* I even pointed this out to him. They later sent someone else out to apologize, but honestly I hate the old bait and switch. We're not some cheap diners, we just wanted sandwiches and had ordered apps as well. If they take issue with cheap diners I recommend they have an item minimum or purchase minimum like many of the bars/restaurants in NY do (although this tends to be during live entertainment) AND explicitly state it on their menu. I really have no reason to go back which is a shame because this looks like it could be a nice family owned spot. Now I understood why the Greek place was poppin and this place was dead. read more

First time here Recommended by my son - great place Trying a Lamb burger with fries AC is working Lots of tables inside and outside read more

Old City Cafe & Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Cranford, New Jersey

Pros: Meat always flavorful no matter what kind, shawarma sandwich is my fav. This time when I ordered they didn't have it listed on the app so tried the mix grill. Was also delicious and a good bang for your buck, gave a lot of high quality food for a fair price $20-23. Pita was so soft, fluffy and tasty, like an English muffin and a pita had a baby. Best pita of my life. Hummus was also pretty tasty, though pricey. Cons: These are moreso cons with their DoorDash app account being consistent. For example the time before the last, I went to order and they had randomly took the restaurant out of my delivery radius. Was weird because I've been ordering from them for a year, so didn't get why readjust the delivery area, but figured maybe they expanded it during covid to increase business but decided to readjust it with indoor dining being back for most places, which sucked but whatever. Then they randomly started to come up again as suggested in my area, which was great but inconsistent for a regular customer. I decided to take advantage and order before they took my address out of range again, and the item I've always purchased this year, the shawarma sandwich, was no longer listed on the menu on DoorDash. When I tried to reorder the sandwich from past orders , it just said "item no longer available." It felt like a way to force people to buy platters instead, priced at $20+ which sucks for someone who doesn't want all that food, doesn't want to pay the extra costs, or just prefers sandwiches more than the platters. They should just have BOTH options so you can get what you're in the mood for like most shawarma or gyro spots. Lastly, which is avoidable but was still an inconvenience, the first time I ordered (when they still had the sandwiches on the menu, in case they ever readd them) they give a check box to add fries and I took it as adding a side of fries but they put the fries on the gyro directly, which messed it up and I had to dig all the fries out which was annoying. After that, I just never clicked that option again so it wasn't an issue. Still feel like for a first time customer or person trying the sandwich for the first time, they're more likely to see "add fries" as a side then something that's on the sandwich so they should find a clearer way to phrase it, like "add fries ON SANDWICH*" or naming the subcategory as "toppings" so we know it's a topping they're suggesting. read more

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I hit this place twice last week for takeout. First of all, Old City's amazingly friendly on the phone and in person. Then, if you like your meat on the moister side, you can request how "done" it's prepared. Of the starters, my favorites are the smoky eggplant-based Baba Ganouj, lemony-garlicky Hummus, fresh and finely prepared Tabbouleh salad with the perfect amount of bulgur, and the warm kidney bean and chickpea-based Fooul stew- excellent over their fluffy vegetable-strewn rice (which can come with entrees). Their Spinach Pie deserves an honorable mention with a mildly lemony spinach filling. Of all the meat entrees, I totally love the Shawarma platter which comes with a grilled spicy jalapeño and tomato and your choice of a garden salad or rice. Trust me... go for the rice! For dessert, I thoroughly enjoyed the crispy Baklava- easy to eat and literally handle with a light drizzle of simple syrup and the classic Rice Pudding- the kind that sticks to your spoon upside down in all its creamy, ricey goodness. read more

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