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    Silav Cafe & Grill

    4.5 (37 reviews)
    Updated 3 weeks ago

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    Interior
    Nadira Y.

    So glad we tried Silav cafe, which is a Kurdish restaurant. It was not busy on a Saturday afternoon, which was suprising given the quality of food served. I started with the pomegranate drink that was ordered at the counter. It tasted as if I was biting into a pomegranate itself, very refreshing. I wish I had asked for no ice, lots of ice in the drink and water glasses. I ordered the gyro platter and asked what kind of meat it was. It was a mixture of lamb and beef, even though the menu highlighted beef. The portion sizes are huge and very fulfilling. The platter came with rice, freshmade naan, and salad. The naan was exceptional, very pillowy soft and warm. Tasted great with the flavorful gyro meat and dipped into the side sauce. The feta fries were also delicious and one order will go a long way! My husband got the chicken tikka platter. It was cubed chicken and I must say the flavor was spot on! Really good, very tender meat. It came with the the same sides as the gyro platter. We also tried the beef kubba that my cousin ordered, which was nicely fried, but I thought the minced beef could use a bit more spice. The jajik was really simple, but very good as well. The downside was that there were only two workers. The food took a while to come out and we cleared the table ourselves to make space for the complimentary tea. The tea was a great ending to a great meal. It had the perfect hint of cardamon and I always love adding a sugar cube, although it was equally good without. I saw that they have a breakfast service as well and everything sounded delicious, so will definitely go back.

    Lavender Latte.
    Syed S.

    I went to Silav Cafe with high expectations, and our visit started off well enough. As with most places downtown , parking is metered, but easy to find on a quiet Saturday morning. The entrance to Silav was partially blocked by stacked chairs, and generally uninspiring. The inside was mostly minimalistic with a small corner set up with Kurdish rugs and pillows, and some wall decor. The rest of the restaurant could be mistaken for a cheap takeout Chinese restaurant. The lady at the front was very friendly and gave us s rundown of the menu. We ordered the Traditional Breakfast, the Chicken Shawarma Platter, the Loaded Fries with Chicken, and the Lavender Latte. Even though the place wasn't busy when we ordered, the food took a while to arrive. This is fine since it's a small mom and pop operation and most of the food is prepared fresh. The food itself was just ok, and generally lacked flavor. The latte too was underwhelming. The manager (perhaps also owner) stood around while the lady at the front did all the work. However, as soon as a large party of 10 arrived to dine in, he and the lady both got completely busy to cater to that table, and (mostly) ignored us and the other smaller tables while catering to the needs of the larger table. We had to flag them down several times for our naan, which arrived much later into our meal, and we never received the complimentary tea at the end of our meal. All in all, we received a subpar service for meh food. While I am all for supporting new local ethnically diverse businesses, I don't see myself making my way here when there are tons of better Middle Eastern/Mediterranean options in the Bethel-Clintonville area.

    Kurdish kabob and tea
    Amina D.

    The service was perfect. You can tell the owners are passionate about their culture & food. They were so helpful in answering questions. We had the Royal Breakfast. It easily stuffed two of us and we had left overs. It was a unique Kurdish breakfast experience with savory cheese, breads, and dip as well as traditional tea. We also tried the recommended house made Kurdish kebob. It was tasty but personally I prefer a bit more spice but I think next time with a side of hot sauce I would enjoy it more. All the food was very fresh. The location is downtown but parking was a breeze since we came on a Sunday. The inside is thoughtfully decorated & very clean. The overall experience and prices were good.

    (09/20/2024)
    Gwen W.

    This is actually a perfect spot for a restaurant, and Silav has done a great job: The space is skinny but long, plenty of room for tables and a cool counter top bar in the back. Lots of light, a cool nook up front with a couch; seems like a good place to get some work down if needed, too. Tried their Kubba starter: Three kubba, I picked two chicken, one beef - the meat mixed with flavorful spices surrounded with a thin layer of rice, then deep fried crispy. Delicious! Assembled fresh every morning, then deep fried to order, mine were great! I especially like that the rice layer was very thin, serving its purpose to hold the inner guts together. The chicken is legit fresh round chicken (no canned poultry), too. Their homemade kurfish gyro sauce was also great: A wonderful accompaniment, great subtle flavor that did not overpower but enhanced the kubbas. I saved my beef kubba for later, fingers crossed it's as good as the chicken. The gal that owns Silav, I didn't catch how to spell her name, was great. She seemed to be interacting with staff to get things rolling for the evening traffic and weekend anticipations; making sure stuff was getting done and to the quality she expected, kudos. The young gentleman running the front of house and register was pleasant. We talked about Kurdish food in general, and he offered me a glass of their Kurdish tea. Ooooo yum! More spiced and aromatic than Turkish tea, I could definitely smell and taste the notes of rose water and cardamom. While I love Turkish tea, this Kurdish tea has officially moved into the #1 spot for my tea time taste preferences! I'll DEFINITELY be back! Love that the menu isn't too long, there's several dishes, including a few breakfast dishes, I want to try. Very, very glad to now have a Kurdish restaurant in town!

    Egg & Cheese on Naan

    The top is what it is supposed to look like, the bottom is what it actually looked like. What's the green? Non existent. The cheese was only in the last 25% of the wrap. Overcooked eggs with no cheese, sauce, or greens, is SUPER dry. Rice was microwaved and watery. No saffron or herbs as pictured. Not even salt! I reached out to the restaurant before posting but they didn't respond. Was so good when it opened, how has it gone downhill so quickly?!

    Kurdi Kebab Skewer
    Moe A.

    I came in late at night and was stumbling upon this place from my hotel. Was recommended their Kurdi Kabob so that's what I got. All I can say, it was really delicious. Spiced well, not too fat or oily and had nice zesty seasoning on top. Veggies were charred good. The rice was average but still decent. It came with lentil soups which I honestly didn't like at all kinda had a weird taste to it so not sure if that's how they all come or just the one I had. However, the Kebob definitely made up for it.

    Lentil soup, hummus and naan bread
    Kate F.

    This place was fantastic! Had lunch here while on jury duty and food was delicious! Would definitely come back.

    Chicken Shawarma Sandwich

    I've had a lot of shawarma before and this was different than what i've had before. There's fries in the wrap and the tahini sauce comes as a side rather than inside. I liked it, but it was a bit pricey(14) for 1 wrap cut in half. I enjoyed the complimentary tea, presentation is very nice

    Silav Potatoes -- simple and delicious!
    Rob M.

    Ohio's first Kurdish restaurant so said our server! Great place for something different.

    Great food and service pick Adana kebap , Fast service and flavors Definitely would come back

    Mixed Breakfast Bowl

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    4 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    4 months ago

    Amazing food!!!!! I saw them making the bread fresh!!!! Definitely a must try for breakfast

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    10 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    10 months ago

    Cute space, friendly staff, but I was there for the breakfast sandwich on naan bread and it lived up to expectations.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Best breakfast potatoes I've ever had. Everything was seasoned so well. Fast service!!! It was also huge --good for groups and kids.

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    2 years ago

    Absolutely delicious food! The customer service is impeccable, they are so helpful and respectful.

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Everything was excellent. We especially loved the house hot tea and house salad dressing!

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    2 years ago

    this is the best middle eastern food in all over ohio their kebab plate was amazing , definitely would go there again

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    Silav Cafe & Grill - mideastern - Updated September 2026

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