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    Shirin Cafe

    4.5 (73 reviews)
    ModerateRussian, Uzbek
    Open 12:00 pm - 10:00 PM

    Order Shirin Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Shirin Cafe Photos

    SHIRIN CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Romantic
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Shirin Cafe

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    Walter E.

    Thanks for great home cooking made me remember my background luv you guys Frankie my bestie plus Nadia, Inez Albert you and Marina rock my taste buds. The best place this of the Caucus.

    Kompot (homemade cranberry punch)
    Stacy N.

    John, me, and our friends Yuri and Lou did some celebrating at this charming and exotic little cafe on Route 9. Shirin Cafe specializes in dishes of Central Asia, featuring grilled meats, pilaf, stuffed doughs and dumplings, and hearty soups. Recipes from Uzbekistan, Armenia, and the Caucasus region are represented. Our goal was to sample as many appetizers as we could without exploding. We waded through: Uzbek traditional bread (a round, flat, dense yeast bread traditionally baked in a tandoori oven) Armenian lobio - a kidney bean and herb salad topped with julienne-cut basturma (dried meat) This was outstanding! Chuchvara, boiled (small meat-filled dumplings) two kinds of Samsa (stuffed flaky pastry triangles), the first filled with meat and the second with sauteed pumpkin and onion (ohhhh my!) two varieties of Kutabi (a thin round flat dough, filled and folded over, and stuffed with ground meat or a combination of leafy vegetables, onions, scallions, and dill) Hachapuri - a flaky triangle stuffed with cheeses, scallion, and dill Plov (pilaf) - an entree of rice and vegetables topped with sliced lamb Homemade Kompot (cranberry punch) and hot tea accompanied the meal. Russians, (and I suppose central Asians) often accompany a meal with sweet fruit punch. These beverages are almost always waaaaay too sweet for me, and this one was no exception. I would have to cut this with a lot of club soda to enjoy it, however, John, Yuri, and Lou -- all sweet tooths -- were as happy as clams. The tea was brewed from loose leaves. My three companions enjoyed drinking it through their cut sugar, while I, not surprisingly, sipped it straight. Everything was fresh and tasty, with lovely textures, seasonings, and flavors. My favorite appetizers were the lobio, the pumpkin samsa, and both of the kutabi, but I would happily order anything that we sampled again. I look forward to dining here again and trying soup on my next visit.

    Uzbek green tea.
    Edward C.

    Uzbek food = new foodie experience so sign me up! Had a chance to try Shirin Cafe (and Uzbek food) for the first time and what a nice experience. Located in a strip mall off of Rt.9, the restaurant is decorated with a lot of Uzbek themed clothing and ornaments that were pretty and not over the top. Service was very polite and cordial. Ordered three appetizers: Uzbek bread was delicious. It was very similar in texture and taste to Turkish Pide bread marked by a crispy crust exterior and airy, light, soft, and pock-marked interior perfect for any types of spreads and/or butters. The Pumpkin Samsa and Hachapuri were both delicious too. The puff pastry on each was so delicately flaky and buttery. Pumpkin Samsa filling of shredded pumpkin and other vegetables was yummy, but the cheese filling in the Hachapuri was wonderful. It was the most delicately pungent (a good thing) spiced goat cheese. Note that the Samsa and Hachapuri are made fresh to order as our waitress told us right away that each take 30 minutes to prepare, cook, and serve. Entrees consisted of: The Lamb Kebab was served on a huge metal skewer, on top a bed of vinegar brined white onion slices, and a side salsa-like dipping sauce. Lamb chunks were pretty substantial, but I think a tad more salt & pepper would have helped as well as a bit more grill flavor and a notch lower on the temperature (the lamb was a tad above medium, but I would have preferred medium-rare. Nonetheless the lamb was fresh and very meaty. The vinegar brined white onion slices were delicious! Beef Stroganoff was excellent. The slow cooked beef was so tender and beefy. The beef and gravy taste was so reminiscent to that of the Polish Hunter's stew I've enjoyed at Krakowiak (Polish restaurant). The bed of fried potato strings (basically French Fries) were fresh and awesomely soaked up a lot of the meaty stew and beef rendered beef fat (not the most appetizing of descriptions, but trust me....delicious). Also ordered a piece of the Napoleon. In this case my sister enjoyed most of it, as Napoleon's happen to be one of the few desserts I don't like, and she indicated it was excellent. I also have to mention the Uzbek green tea which was a perfect drink to compliment the meal, as the tea was mild and soothing. It was served in a very pretty and almost British high-tea formal style of cubed sugar, raisins, and a sugar-crusted peanut snack. Aside from the slight foibles on the Lamb Kebab, Shirin Cafe is a really solid 4 to 4.5 on my scale.

    Beef stroganoff  -  not one of their better items on the menu

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    8 years ago

    Delicious Uzbek food. Good service. Everything is made fresh. Everything I had was good from Samsa to plov. The soups are really good too.

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    8 years ago

    Delicious food! The chicken tabaka and Rendezvous salad is amazing as well as the fried potatoes! Definitely coming back!!!

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    14 years ago

    Who would have thought this great restaurant existed right in town. Will definitely be back.

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    Old Bukhara

    Old Bukhara

    3.9
    (46 reviews)
    45.1 mi

    Great food. Reasonable Prices. Service needs a little bit of improvement…read more Came here to celebrate a friend's birthday. Happened to be on Wednesday night. Place wasn't packed but there were some customers there. So the restaurant is not much for decor IMHO but has excellent food. Even on Wednesday night. Chuchvara, Lagman, Shurpa, Achik-Chuchuk, Various Kebabs, Beef Tongue, and most importantly Cheburek. The only dish that can go wrong like a puffer fish. Underdo it and it's inedible, overdo it the same, wrong oil or too much oil and your customers will run screaming for the hills. This was actually done so well we went for seconds, light and crispy on the outside and nice and juicy inside. I'm drooling just writing about it.... A great place to visit, service on the slow night could've been a little better but I can't really complain.

    The food was great - unfortunately the service was awful. Normally I ignore reviews that talk about…read moreservice because I think it's specific to the server. Not here. The system they have set up - at least downstairs - is that you don't seem to have a specific waitperson. It seems to be whomever you can flag down. Someone brings out the food and stands there looking befuddled until you recognize what you ordered. Sometimes your food goes to other people. The decor downstairs is dismal compared to upstairs. They had dancing going on upstairs and it looked fun.

    Photos
    Wall art
    Wall art
    Uzbek Style Lamb Short Ribs
    Uzbek Style Lamb Short Ribs
    Old Bukhara

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    Plov House

    Plov House

    3.5
    (11 reviews)
    40.8 mi

    Wife and I decided to check out Plov House after hearing many good things about it. Plov House is a…read moresmall 9-table 24-hour place but was brightly lit and appeared clean with white tablecloths and plastic covers. Single page menus on the table, and customers were constantly in and out. Surprisingly, every customer coming in was a young male, some singles but most in groups. There's a couple of large refrigerators full of food in containers ready to go. After some language barrier ordering, we ended up pointing to what we wanted on the menu. I tell you EVERYONE who came in ordered Plov and bread. We did, too. Along with the assorted kebabs, lagman soup, and two Samsas. The soup was tomato based with homemade long noodles, beef, celery, peppers, onions, carrots, and celery. Had to alternate between a fork and spoon to eat it. The bread was extra tasty and was great to dip in the soup. The kebabs were fresh, very tender, and came with onion and some pickled hot peppers. My wife liked her samsa but I was getting full and took mine home. But the star of the night was the Plov with the most tender and flavor filled slow cooked rice with lamb, beef, carrots, and onions. I could see why most come in and just order it for however many were in their party. It's that good. Best I've had so maybe as others mentioned it was a fresher batch made. With two bottle Cokes and a wonderful pot of black tea, our meal came to $77 including tax and a small upcharge for credit card payment. Tip was left in cash. I will say that the prices on the bill were slightly higher than what was listed on the menu so be mindful of this. For instance, menu Plov is $14.99 but bill Plov is $16.19. Menu tea is $1.99 but bill tea is $2.15. You have to know that when most of the customers are holding court in their language enjoying their food in a constant stream, that Plov House is doing something right. The service was quite friendly. Highly recommended.

    VERY Rude on phone Would not recommend…read more ....................:.::::.:.:::::::...................::..::..:....::...:

    Photos
    Plov House
    Assorted kebab
    Assorted kebab
    Menu

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    Menu
    Gamarjoba

    Gamarjoba

    4.1
    (74 reviews)
    39.6 mi
    Family-owned & operated
    Free WiFi

    Definitely a fun place to try visit. Even if you have never had Georgian food, the menu along with…read moreyour server will help you pick things you will enjoy. We have been here several times since my last review and have tried other Georgian restaurants in the area and we keep coming back here. We sat out on the enclosed porch, which has a nice feel to it. The place has a full bar with Georgian wines and beer as well as more familiar options but give these other ones a try - you won't be dissapointed We had 4 other people with us who had never had this cuisine and they all enjoyed it. Our server was fun to talk with and he made the night even more enjoyable. From the Cheese Boat to the Chicken Chqmeruli (both a must try) to the Dumplings and the whole Branzino to the Kebabs, I'm sure you will find something new and delicious to try.

    This is a take out review and I will for sure go back to dine in…read more I love Georgian food specifically the dumplings and bread boats. I was happy to be in the area and wanted to try them. They have take out orders towards the back of the restaurant. They also sell sauces, cheeses', beer, wine etc. My order was ready when I arrived. Packed well with utensils. I missed getting a menu but I willl be back. They have a dining room and out door patio/beer garden. It was busy and lively. Parking available. I got home and could wait to try the khinkali. They have beef and pork or lamb. I got the lamb. It was so juicy and yummy with the sour cream. I also wanted to try the Kharcho, a tomato based soup with beef and herbs. The small was $8 and very small but very good. I will defiantly go back to dine in and try all the other amazing menu items.

    Photos
    Gamarjoba
    Restaurant Gamarjoba - Restaurant Gamarjoba
    Restaurant Gamarjoba - Restaurant Gamarjoba
    Megruli Khachapuri - Restaurant Gamarjoba

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    Megruli Khachapuri - Restaurant Gamarjoba
    Samarkand Restaurant

    Samarkand Restaurant

    4.3
    (483 reviews)
    38.3 mi
    $$
    13 years in business
    Free parking

    Absolutely delicious food and incredible service…read more I've lived in this area the majority of my life and only recently dined at this restaurant. I am not an adventurous eater, but I could kick myself for not going sooner. The food was that delicious and very importantly reasonably priced. My husband and I decided to try it during a date night, and I can't wait to go back. The staff was very friendly and attentive. Our starter was Tandoori Samsa. Our entrees were the Classic Lamb and Plov Samarkand. For dessert we shared the Pahlava. If I had to change anything I would have ordered my own Pahlava. We are already planning to go back for his birthday with the whole family.

    My family and I came here with my father-in-law and absolutely loved our meal. My kid found this…read morerestaurant after searching reviews and we wanted to try a new place. Grand Slam Home Run. We found out that most of the people (regulars) who usually come here are on their vacation season so it was not an issue getting a six-top reservation with only a day's notice. The restaurant is huge with at least two mega rooms downstairs and one upstairs. We actually went to the upstairs door to check in only to be told we had to go to the downstairs door and check in there. Once we did, the staff asked if we would be ok with being in the "party" room where there would be a DJ. We were fine with that and the staff was more than happy to accommodate us. Once at our table, the extensive menus made it almost too difficult to decide what we wanted. May want to consider reducing the food options here. My wife and I split a tomahawk steak. Once we ordered it, we were told we should probably move to an eight-top because we would have more space. The place was almost empty at 6:15pm on a Saturday so we got to move and give us some more room. We also had two serving of Plov, a prime NY strip, a roasted beet salad, and a chicken fingers with fries. We added some bread, too, along with some compote. The Plov was some of the best we've ever had with lots of tender meat. Both steaks were cooked to our liking. Fries were killer and the chicken fingers were fine. I did not care for the compote as I'm used to it with fruit still in the drink. At about 7pm, the DJ started but there was no separate party which is what we thought was going to show up. The DJ sang some and played up-tempo dance music but also threw in some known music like Ob-Bla-Dee Ob-Bla-Dah from the Beatles also in the dance music style. So much fun after drinking a lot of our BYOB alcohol. Service was excellent and more than accommodating for us. He even advised when we were getting ready to leave that it was raining hard and we could stay until it died down. The restaurant is colorful with lights and designs on the walls including projector lights and white linen sheets above. The place was clean and also the bathrooms on the lower rear level. $305 not including tip for six adults which included two steaks, two Plov, chicken fingers with fries, three breads, and a compote. I mention a lot with my reviews that I'd come back to a place. I really can't wait to return to Samarkand! It was just a lot of fun with excellent food and service. I hope it's just as good when the place is slammed and full.

    Photos
    Char flamed Salmon steak
    Char flamed Salmon steak
    Greek salad
    Greek salad
    Cowboy steak

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    Cowboy steak
    Suzani Restaurant

    Suzani Restaurant

    4.3
    (129 reviews)
    41.8 mi
    $$

    Often times while traveling, my wife and I always make an effort to grab…read more different types of food that we don't have in our area. Imagine our surprise, that while in town for business, and with time to kill before an art exhibition, we discovered an Uzbeki restaurant. Immediately upon entering, we were greeted and led to a large comfortable booth in the back of the restaurant. The lighting was warm, the walls were adorned with beautiful rugs, and the customers' spirits were high. Each table had been pre-set with the resutarant's lovely plates and crystal drinkware. Given that this was our first time at an Uzbeki eatery, we asked our server for some suggestions. Upon doing so, she then asked us if we prefer meat or fish. After perusing the menu a bit more and taking her suggestions into consideration, we had decided to order a wide array of sorts, opting for the pickled herring and potato appetizer, some Tandoori Samsas, a bowl of the Kharcho soup, and an order of the Guyru Dumplings. Our dishes were brought out promptly and our server made sure to check on us periodically throughout our meal, at one point even offering to allow the kitchen to split some of our dishes up for us to make it easier to share with one another. The pallet of flavors we were presented with was colored and wonderful; the pickled hairing playing a perfect duet with the hearty roasted potatoes, pairing well balanced acidity and perfectly crisp potatoey goodness, the kharcho simultaneously lightly spicy and fully refershing with that dill coming throough alongside juiicy chunks of lamb, and the the delectable dumplings, swimming in a flavorful bath of broth and sour cream. As we were nearing fullness, we realized we had forgotten to add one more piece to this meal...the dessert! After this realization, we decided to share a piece of wonderfully sticky Phaklava, adorned with and generously filled with walnuts and golden raisans. Suzani Restaurant is not to be missed. It is a dining experience that makes me feel like you've been invited into someone's home, but also that you are sitting down for a royal banquet. Be sure to check it out if you ever find yourself in the area. 5/5 stars

    We were invited out to dinner by friends - they wouldn't tell us where we were going - they picked…read moreus up and drove to Northern Philadelphia. We pulled into a shopping plaza and saw our destination - Suzani. I had never eaten in an Uzbeki restaurant - our friends, who had eaten there before said "...come hungry!" They recommended a few appetizers - we ordered the Potato with Mushrooms, Eggplant Salad, Achichuk, and Kutab. Let's start with the Potato with Mushrooms - which the menu describes as "Fried Potato Slices with Pan Roasted Mushrooms and Onions. It should say "Potato Chips with Pan Roasted Mushrooms". It was a very unusual dish, to say the least. While the chips were homemade and tasty, having roasted mushrooms and onions with them didn't work at all for me. It was difficult scooping mushrooms onto the chips - and the combination was not that tasty. The mushrooms and onions would have been better by themselves. Once the chips got soggy from the mushrooms, it was very unappetizing. Next, the Eggplant Salad - which was fried eggplant, red and green pepper, tomato, Korean style carrots, garlic and cilantro served in a soy sauce. It tasted fine - I'm not a big fan of eggplant, but the veggies tasted fresh and I had some of the bread they served with it. The next appetizer was Achichuk, which is a traditional Uzbek salad of thinly sliced tomatoes, hot peppers and onions. I did not taste the dish, but was told it was okay for spiced fresh tomatoes. The last appetizer was Kutab - which was a flattened shell, which tasted and resembled the exterior of a fried dumplings, with meat and onions on the inside. It was super thin, and tasted okay. We ordered our main dishes after we finished the appetizers. The couple we were with both ordered the Salmon Kabobs - I tasted the salmon, it tasted good, and was tender. I ordered the Lamb kabobs - the lamb was tender, but it was a little too salty. However, when I had a piece of the lamb with the saffron rice, it diminished the saltiness of the lamb and tasted fine. My partner ordered the Filet Mignon kebab. It did not come with the other 3 orders - the sever said it would be out momentarily. Almost 15 minutes later, I was amazed my partner didn't have her entree! I gave the server a 'look' - she went in the back and FINALLY brought out my partner's dish. The meat (Filet Mignon) was tough and difficult to chew. I took a piece of my Lamb kabob to compare - my lamb was very tender compared to the steak! Not only was the order overly delayed - it was below average. While the other dishes were acceptable - they were mediocre. I would like to point out we were there during the dinner hour and we were the ONLY patrons there during the entire dinner. I wasn't surprised.

    Photos
    Tea time!
    Tea time!
    Phaklava
    Phaklava
    Decor

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    Decor

    Shirin Cafe - russian - Updated July 2026

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