Cafe Landwer

⸻ I recently visited Landers Café in Toronto, and it was such a great experience from start to finish. The food was incredibly tasty, fresh, and full of rich Mediterranean flavours that truly felt authentic. Every dish we tried had that homemade touch, and you can really tell the chefs put a lot of care into their cooking. The café was absolutely packed with people, which instantly showed how popular this place is. Despite being busy, the atmosphere was warm, lively, and enjoyable, with everyone around us clearly having a great time. The staff handled the crowd professionally and kept things moving smoothly, which made the experience even better. If you are craving delicious, authentic Mediterranean food in the city, Landers Café is definitely a spot you should visit. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for flavourful dishes and a vibrant dining experience. It’s the kind of place you’ll want to come back to again and again.

Had a delightful time at cafe landwar! We ordered the Mediterranean salad, rose ravioli, pesto chicken pappardelle & Italian focaccia for food. They were all tasty. We also ordered the pesto pasta without chicken to make it vegetarian. For drinks we got the raspberry sour & the margarita. The drinks were both delicious. They have specials on drinks. They’re all either $5, $6 or $7. The prices and food was good but service was really slow here. This was the second time I’ve been here and both times they were understaffed & service was slow. it seems like the managers should staff more people during busy times. Other than that tho, we had a great time here and would come again.

I recently visited Landwer Cafe and had an outstanding experience from start to finish. The food was superb – every dish was flavorful, well-prepared, and beautifully presented. The quality of ingredients really shines through. What truly elevated the visit was the excellent service. The staff was attentive, friendly, and professional, making sure we had everything we needed without being intrusive. You can tell they take pride in creating a welcoming atmosphere for their guests. The ambiance deserves special mention as well. The cafe has a warm, inviting atmosphere that makes it perfect whether you're meeting friends, having a business lunch, or enjoying a quiet meal. The attention to detail in the decor and overall vibe creates a comfortable and pleasant environment. I highly recommend Landwer Cafe and will definitely be returning. It's rare to find a place that excels in food, service, and atmosphere all at once.

If you check the low online reviews of this place - poor service and poor food quality are the common reasons for the negative feedbacks from customers. You would think that management will addressed these concerns. I guess not, since it's an ongoing thing and I've experienced it firsthand. We went for their breakfast and ordered the Protein Packed Omelette and also ordered the Shakshuka with a choice of challah bread. The omelette which contains turkey bacon and beef sausage tasted bland. It doesn't even taste good and primarily because of the minuscule meat quantity in the omelette. So basically you're just eating scrambled eggs and for 20 bucks definitely not worth it! When I got my order of Shakshuka it came with a multigrain bread instead of challah (which is what I originally selected). When I told the server (Eden) about this, all she said was 'I put in a challah bread with your Shakshuka.' No apologies from this server nor the willingness to correct the mistake. Clearly you can tell that staff here don't even care about customer's concerns. And this is not the only occurrence of their bad service. When you ask for something like say butter, expect it to arrive at your table when you're almost close to finishing your bread. That's how slow their service is. And the Shakshuka was such a disappointment. Eggs were unevenly cooked, the tomato sauce so salty. Definitely the worst Shakshuka I've ever tried. For a restaurant that doesn't value customers, staff that continuously delivers bad customer service and inconsistent food quality - a repeat visit is highly unlikely to happen and will certainly not recommend this place to families and friends.

Food is delicious. We went twice. First time service was quick and food came out relatively quick. Second time the server took forever to come but food came quick. Generous portions and reasonable prices. Drinks and food arrived hot and food had soo many flavours.

This place is an absolute gem. We loved the gorgeous, sunny patio and relaxed atmosphere. The food was outstanding: the fluffy skillet omelet was perfectly cooked and loaded with fresh feta and vegetables, and the braised meat and mushroom sandwich on sesame bread was a rich, savory showstopper. Everything tasted incredibly fresh and high-quality, and the service was attentive. A delightful experience—we can't wait to go back!

Stopped in for lunch at Cafe Landwer and it did not disappoint! From the moment we walked in, the staff were on the ball. Extra shout-out to the manager, who seemed to be everywhere at once—always checking in and making sure everyone was happy. The atmosphere had a nice buzz—lively, but not too loud to talk (so yes, we could actually hear each other!). Our only “wait” was about 20 minutes, but honestly, the food was totally worth it. One word of advice: do not leave without trying the challah bread. It was so pillowy soft inside, I’m still thinking about it. Everything else was delicious too! All in all, this place gets a solid 4 stars from me.

We went there to have brunch on October 5th right after the 5K run for the cure. It was a beautiful day and we were so happy to find table as it was pretty packed. The food choice was amazing. There were many vegetarian options. I was told by the waiter that the Coffee is unlimited. Price was reasonable and the atmosphere was great. Definitely worth to check out.

Great food with a range of entries to satisfy any palate. Prompt, welcoming service. A cozy place to dine.

Been there a few time and the service and food are amazing We tried a few breakfast and lunch items and everything tastes good. Shakshouka, with lamb was very good. Good atmosphere and great service

Just picked up takeout this time around. The restaurant was busy even right after opening. It's cute and quaint and had a great menu selection. My order was tasty, but it did sit on the counter for a while until I gave a wee nudge. understandable in such a busy establishment, but perhaps room for organization improvement. Other than that, I was happy enough!

Loved the food, service and many variety. We sat out on the patio which was beautiful and not crowded. Service was friendly and at a nice pace. Turkish coffee was fantastic! So rich and delicious. Shared the Mezza Platter which was a whole meal on its own. The pita is unbelievable! Had the grilled Mediterranean salmon. It was good but very thin slice. The crushed potatoes on the side were delicious! Loved the falafel, so light and the hummus was thick and creamy. Can't wait to go back!

Food was mediocre & my cocktail was awful. The service was very nice tho. Loved the patio seating on a crisp Autumn day but not enough to make me come back.

If you're looking for a quick and reliable place to fuel up, you can depend on Cafe Landwer to deliver! Everything came freshly prepared and the bustling café ambiance highlighted the fact that I was right in the heart of the city. Lots of savory and sweet options to choose from, and they do a great takeout business as well. Service could be a bit better.

I honestly think the tiramisu and the halloumi sticks were the best here, easily a 10/10. I don't think cafe landwer is a great spot for dinner even though they have quite a few vegetarian options. The ambiance is cute and this place is always busy so I recommend getting a reso. Service was pretty quick too

Cafe Landwer was the farthest we wandered about for breakfast. It wasn't very close to where we were located but we wanted to try it since we had saved it prior to our trip. Cafe Landwer is definitely more of a brunch place than just a quick coffee pickup spot like some others that we tried, so definitely visit with some time. I was so excited to see that they had a nutella latte on their menu so of course I had to try it. All our drinks came in super cute glasses, but unfortunately the latte itself was not my favorite. I ordered a salmon eggs benedict and while it was good, my favorite part was their house potatoes, which were so well seasoned and yummy! The service here was very nice and overall I'm glad we had this experience.

This was a cute little cafe lots of history! I tried the shakshuka I'm glad I did but it isn't for me. The sauce was good but the meat was kind of bad. Their bread was excellent and the staff and place were clean and friendly. Prices were pretty high. Coffee was cold and the refilled coffee was cold which is pretty disappointing for a cafe. Glad we tried it but probably wouldn't return.

Cafe Landwer is a great place to grab a casual breakfast! I come here frequently with colleagues for a bite before work. Service is always courteous and quite quick as well.

Had a lovely dinner at Cafe Landwer last night with several old friends. We made reservations with Yelp, and we were sat down 5 minutes early. Our servers were awesome - very attentive and kind. I've been to another location and had the shakshuka, which I would highly recommend. This night I had the chicken pesto salad. It was great - but not my favourite. We shared the tahini egg land and that was lovely. Would highly reccomend for a casual sit down for brunch or dinner!

Delicious! My hubby and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast here before leaving Toronto! This is a definite brunch spot to add to your list! The mimosas were also exceptional!

My shakshuka with beef kabobs were great! I would definitely come here again for that. My Turkish coffee was nice but lukewarm warm. Service was super fast. It got pretty busy by 8:30am for breakfast on a Friday.

Phenomenal brunch spot for mediterranean food! I came on a Saturday morning and had to wait ~20 minutes for a seat, so be sure to book reservations if you can! The inside of the restaurant is adorable, with lots of decorations, and very spacious. They have a pretty vast menu but my friend said that they were famous for their shakshuka, so we had to give it a try. In the end, we ordered the sinia shakshuka, hummus, and carrot cake. Everything was phenomenal and the portions were huge. I loved how flavorful the shakshuka was and their fresh hummus went so well with their warm pita bread. Carrot cake was absolutely divine. Would highly recommend this spot!

This restaurant has a lovely interior and decent service. Tragically, I have no kind words for the food. Horrible, I dont know how you can make food this tasteless unintentionally. Sinia Shakshuka: A shakshuka with kebab and eggplant, and a serving of salad. The salad was your standard affair, with a slightly sweet vinegarette. Nothing offensive. The shakshuka was bad. The entire thing was underseasoned, and even after a generous shake of salt and pepper it was still bland. It was a challenge to finish. I would've left it unfinished if I weren't hungry.

Put us on their wait list, but not seeing the confirmation. Hopefully it's not too busy by the time we walk over. At cafe Lander just after 10am. It's so cold outside to have to wait at all. It's a 15 waitlist for a seat. Join the waitlist when you arrive. The Yelp online wait list doesn't line up to the restaurant's wait list. Wishing we had gone somewhere else now with it only being 40 degrees outside. Hoping this place is good and worthy of a wait out in the cold. Seated by 10:27am. Sab is waiting on us. Grabbed some Nutella latte with oat milk, Berlin 1919 tea with a side of green tea, croissant Benedict with turkey back, Landwer's Greek yogurt, chocolate babka, mezza platter. Added two fresh squeezed OJs to help boost our immunity since it's rather chilly here. C$111.25 / $79.95. The chocolate babka has a lot of chocolate swirled throughout it, not too bad. The pastry didn't do a lot for me though and wasn't as good as the croissants here look. The yogurt is good, light dusting of granola. A good amount of fruit. The Nutella latte is good, as is the Berlin 1919 tea. The cinnamon stick, sliced of orange and ginger and lemongrass and sage is pretty good with green tea leaves. The pita is soft and billowy, outside is soft and squishy. The fried halloumi and humus are just okay, as is the lebneh, would be better for me with zaatar seasoning on it. The hummus is super bland to us. The garlic tomato sauce with the Halloumi is good as is the red pepper on the lebneh. The croissant turkey bacon Benedict is good, the croissant was a nice change than the usual English muffin. The fresh squeezed OJ is so yummy. It tastes just squeeze The service is good here.

We tried a few different items that were delicious! The one that stole our hearts was the Sinia Shakshuka. It was ultra-flavorful and felt like the best kind of comfort food while somehow being not too heavy. Service was prompt and friendly, and the food was prepared relatively quickly for how busy they were at the time. It felt lively inside the restaurant with nearly every table full. We were lucky enough to put our name on the wait-list ahead of time so the wait wasn' bad when we arrived. Would recommend!

My food pick was middling, though their Berlin 1919 was spectacular and the ambience was fantastic enough that I'd definitely consider coming back.

Great and busy place, very popular among business community. Also good for families We came with two kids and they have a very nice selection of kids options

As an American, I loved this place! It felt so cozy and the service was amazing. They also serve alcohol, which is great for my morning mimosas. The food was also great. I got the chicken schnitzel, but the bread stole the show. I remember they had an interesting check in process with a kiosk but it was effective. The wait wasn't too bad, but boy does this place get busy! I'll definitely return the next time I'm in town.

Was visiting downtown and was in the mood for some food. Tons of paid parking and public transportation. The service was top notch and the waiter and the team was super friendly and on point. I had a the falafel. I had to say this was probably the best falafel I have had. Cooked perfectly and was so light and fluffy. I could have eaten both orders of it. I also had the chicken swarma plate. The chicken was super moist and you could taste all the spices. It was a decent portion and not over cooked. If came with hummus which was a nice size portion and was very fluffy and creamy. You can tells it's home made and not store bought. It also came with the Israel salad. Chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions. Needed a bit more salt for my taste . But it was freshly made and cut. This is a good place to go to get some authentic food.

There was a wait line when we arrived, but it went by quickly, the monitor to put your information in for the wait line is in front of the entrance, but we didn't see it as it was close to the hostess area. The seating is quite comfortable, not stiff, and they have various sized tables, open lighting coming through all of their windows. Really beautiful. The latte I ordered tasted more like water with a splash of Nescafé, and some diluted skim milk. I also ordered the sashuka with the meat kabobs. This one I really regretted. The eggs were quite raw. The whites were runny, and I wasn't able to get through this dish. The meat was also quite pink on the inside. It was nicely charred on the outside. But the inside was cold. I ordered a side of fries, but it came with the salad, the runners were quick to replace them when we flagged them to ask, this was nice of them. I also ordered the mezza platter. Totally worth it! I really liked the fried cheese sticks and the tomato sauce, the lebneh was well flavoured, tahini and hummus were meh, the pita is quite thick and fluffy, great for this platter. Our waitress was also really uninterested in any conversation, to the point that she didn't even care to ask for the side options and such. Just wanted to bang out the order and get a move on I guess. Didn't check on us for food quality. Service could have been much better.

During our visit to Toronto, we tried a new place for breakfast. The restaurant was packed, and we waited about 10 minutes for a table. Once seated, the service was excellent. We ordered the Mediterranean stuffed omelette and a croissant--both were delicious. We were surprised to learn there are so many location across the U.S., though unfortunately, none are in our state.

Everything was just okay. I got margherita pizza with pepperoni. I thought that it would be served with fresh tomato slices, basil, and mozzarella but it was nothing more than a cheese pizza so that was underwhelming. service was slow. The server stopped checking on us at one point and I had to approach her for our check. The best part was looking at the interior. I really like how it was decorated and it was in a nice walkable area. connect with me on IG: @tableforjsmn

Came here to meet a friend and it was definitely worth it! If you're looking for a cute date spot or a place to go, I would recommend Cafe Landwer. The atmosphere was cute and retro, definitely aesthetically pleasing for those who like to take lots of photos. The service was just as good as the servers were attentive and had some great menu recommendations as we were really struggling to order as everything sounded good. We ended up getting the Merguez Shakshuka, with a Margherita pizza on the side and Truffle Mushroom & Cream Pappardelle Pasta with Chicken. Everything tasted as good as it looked, but a special mentioned to the Shakshuka as it was my first time having it and would definitely go back to have more.

I had the mint leaf lemonade. It was very sweet, like it hadn't been mixed properly. As soon as I took a drink it was like pure syrup. I had the halloumi shakshuka. It was ok and definitely lacked some salt and pepper. The eggs cooked in the sauce were slightly underdone. Service was good. Waitress was attentive. Hostess was very hostile and did not seem like she cared to serve anyone.

An excellent meal and outstanding service, especially from Salomé, who took great care of us throughout the evening and made our dinner truly enjoyable. She was very attentive with everything, including the water service. We're very grateful for the delicious food and the wonderful hospitality at this place. Thank you so much!

Awesome little coffee shop! The place has a nice, uptown, college-esque aesthetic combined with some scrumptious food! I really enjoyed the Landwer shakshuka which came with freshly baked bread, poached eggs marinated in a hearty sauce, a refreshing salad, and yogurt. My friend ordered the Sinia shakshuka (+$3.00) which was similar to the Landwer shakshuka but came with beef and lamb kebabs. (As a side note, being from the US the exchange rate worked in my favor, which dramatically reduced the cost of the meal! We each paid approximately $35 Canadian which is about $25 USD.) My only gripe is that you have to scan a QR code on your table to use an electronic menu. While the concept is nice ("order online straight to your table, no need to wait on a server!"), the user interface is a bit tedious so I actually preferred ordering from the server face-to-face. However, because the server came a tad infrequently, my friend and I ended up waiting for about 10 minutes, both to order and to pay. (However, this comment might be specific to my experience/server and does not necessarily reflect upon Cafe Landwer as a whole.) All in all, I enjoyed my visit and would 100% return if I were a local resident! I might even bring a book to read.

Absolutely wonderful food and service. Visiting from the US and accidentally bumped into this place. Breakfast and coffee were perfect! Even my wife says better than home food! Huge 5+ star!!

So, I have been a regular at Cafe Landwer for last 6-7 years, visiting various locations. This location never fails to disappoint me. Proximity from my work I happen to visit this location as I love the food. So to be clear I love the food, so even after disastrous service experience I keep visiting Cafe Landwer. Now , lets talk about consistently rude, entitled staff. Last visit, I ordered chestnut ravioli and a side of potatoes. I also ordered famous ice tea, I also specifically asked for water to be served. After that I was served with my ice tea, so I requestedthe lady checking people in for a glass of water, she served me, next was the food, one person served me food and ask for anything else( kind guy). I tried my food and wanted some condiments, kept looking around for my server who didn't even coem to me until I put my cutlery down. I had to call another server for the check as I was now over with waiting for my server to see me. Only for the check she came expecting tip. Me being in a position to be providing constructive feedback, after paying my bill without tip, mentioned HER, I didn't tip this time but would like to share why I didnot. I mentioned both reasons and her response was " well, I was busy and our tips are shared so this doesn't affect me at all" So the server was not only incompetent but also careless of her job. Not sure why servers in GTA feel entitled of tips, wheb they are too busy to SERVE! To owners/ management: while tip sharing is a good practice for overall service but people like her, are taking away from other harding working employees, or servers like who actually served me( going above and beyond) . Servers should be respectful and shouldn't be treating people differently and rudely

Walked here for brunch on a Sunday afternoon. Was quite busy as expected, waited about 40 minutes for a table for 2. Great ambiance and space. Got the halloumi shakshuka, a rose ravioli and smashed potatoes. Potatoes definitely could've been seasoned more but still tasty. Overall great experience, would come back

A very forgettable meal. Drinks- OJ: 4 Halva latte: 4 Lattes: 4 Strawberry milkshake: 4 Landwer shakshuka: 1 (flavorless) Protein omelette: 1 (tasted like old water. Had two bites and quit) Side of Potatoes: 1 (distasteful) Pita and labneh: 3 (pita is not traditional, but a thick/doughy bread; labneh was everything but the creamy, thick goodness labneh truly is) Service: 3 Setting: 4 Wouldn't ever return, convenience or otherwise.

Quick business trip and this breakfast place came up close to hotel. Stopped by and was very happy with my choice. Service was wonderful. Food was amazing. Had Shashuka and loved it. Highly recommend if you're in the area!

A friend of mine really wanted to try this place because he had heard that this is a go-to place for brunch in Toronto. We decided on a Sunday morning that we wanted to try this place out and were hoping to get a reservation for 10 people.. I know it was very opitimistic of us. Cafe Landwer does take reservations but only for parties up to 6, if you are more then you have to put your name on the waitlist. My friend went to their location and put our names down assuming that it would take them more than an hour considering how last minute this was, but to our surprise the table was ready in 30mins! The staff were very kind and made arrangements to make sure we were all sitting together. Now let's talk about their food, to start off I would highly recommend their Nutella Cream Hot Chocolate, it is as good as it sounds!! For food, I got their roast beef grilled sandwich which had thinly sliced roast beef sautéed with caramelized onions, parsley and mushrooms, with pickles and garlic aioli. It was really good and the portion was pretty big!! My friend also tried their feta and olives grilled sandwich which was pretty nice as well, it came with a side of salad. My next favourite thing from here was their Mediterranean Shakshuka which had Feta cheese, eggplant and parsley. So delicious!! I can't wait to go back there the next time I'm in town :)

Lovely spot with outdoor seating on a open terrace facing Berczy park. Excellent espresso, affogato, lava cake, and best of all, warmed knaffe! Yum. Nice, varied Mediterranean menu, with lovely service. Highly recommend!

Great selection of food especially for pescatarian, vegan or vegetarian. Service is good too. The only thing that I would recommend is that the kitchen staff pay more attention and check the order properly. We asked for mushrooms as extra in the falafel burger but they missed adding it and we also asked for extra crispy fries and they came soggy!

I usually dislike places that have too many stuff in their menus from varied cuisines because I feel like they won't get any of them right. Despite this, I was pleasantly surprised by cafe landwer. The food was amazing, in the mezze platter the baba ghanoush was to die for. The burger was good but nothing out of the ordinary. The pastries were heavenly and the drinks refreshing. Service was a bit lacking, it was hard getting their attention. The restaurant itself was very clean but nothing special

I've been to this restaurant a few times and I love the general vibe of this place. The service is quite fast and the servers are friendly. My favorite dish to get is the chicken shawarma hummus bowl. It's spicy and flavorful. Love it. Would definitely visit again!

Saw it driving toward my destination in the am, and remember seeing a recommendation about it during the week. Conveniently near the ballet, I came out and went for dinner. A glass of bubbly and a sandwich perfect for the night. Schnitzel Sandwich was delicious and a large one. I felt very happy with this meal. I definitely will come back.

Adrian was our waiter and he was so amazing. Very efficient and pleasant and knowledgeable. Our foods came out piping hot and he gave us some great recommendations when we ordered our food. The 3 types of shashukas were so delicious. And the types of breads were so fresh and moist. I would recommend this place if you want delicious food and great customer service!

It's been years since I've been here but it truly never disappoints. Visited for a late lunch at 1:30pm on Saturday and the place was busy! I've tried a few items on the menu but always seem to gravitate toward the shakshukas. It looks small but is actually very filling. The coffee and drinks were also very good. My friend from out of town was very pleased with Landwer, especially the food and service. Great location too. You just can't go wrong here!

You know a dish is good when the whole table orders it! Brunch at cafe landwer is incredible. With a few locations throughout GTA now, you have to visit to try for yourself! They have so many different options on their menu, including vegan and gluten free. We ordered Halloumi Shakshuka, Landwer's Shakshuka, Sinia Shakshuka, and Mediterranean Shakshuka. I love the decor inside and lots of different seating too!

I really had high expectations from Cafe Landwer. Seeing it all over Toronto made me think it'd be amazing, but unfortunately I was disappointed to say the least. Being my first time going, I wasn't sure about the queuing and how it worked, so just put myself in the back of the queue and waited. Only after a few other people joined the line did I notice you had to sign in, and when I jokingly mentioned it to the front that I didn't realise then the staff looked at me blankly and said "you should've known". We got our seat after about an hour of waiting, and it was a seat outside. I mentioned that I don't mind waiting for a seat inside and they said to me , "it's either this or nothing" which was soon followed by another couple being sat inside. We ordered the halloumi shakshuka and eggs Benedict. The eggs were overcooked in both and not runny at all far from the expectations of a simple poached egg, the hollandaise sauce on the eggs benny was bland and tasteless and the general meal just had no flavour whatsoever. We also ordered two coffees which, despite asking for multiple times, only came near the end of our meal. Generally really disappointed and will not be dining here again.

We went here on a Wednesday for breakfast around 8:20am since it was next to our hotel and there was already a long wait! We didn't get seated with our food until around 8:51am. We got the Merguez Shakshouks and the Landwer's Famous Schnitzel. It was my first time trying Mediterranean food, so I didn't really know what to expect. The Merguez Shakshouks basically comes with a big piece of bread and you're supposed to tip pieces off and dip it in the soup it comes with. The soup has a lot of toppings so that helped make it more filling. The Landwer's Famous Schnitzel was cool too, but is a very plain and simple dish since it's basically just a crispy breaded chicken breast with your choice of side. I'd recommend this place for the experience! It seems like a popular place that many tourists probably visit since it's right next to a hotel. The food wasn't bad either, but I'm just not familiar with Mediterranean food.

Came here before a Jays game. A bit of a line but pro-tip you can check in on the Yelp app before you get there, and start the queue process. Big menu. Good service. I had a tasty chicken shawarma sandwich.

Worth the wait! Food was flavorful and fun to share. The drinks were yummy! It was busy but they move people pretty quickly. You can also get takeout.

Waited for a table for 6 and had a wonderful breakfast. Service was wonderful and had a great time.

Very disappointed with this one. I wanted to treat my wife to a nice brunch and took her to Cafe Landwer. We ended up ordering the Shakshuka, eggs Benedict and two cappuccinos. The service was okay.. quite slow to be honest. Once our shakshuka arrived, the eggs were overdone and not runny. The cappuccinos also didn't arrive till we almost finished our food, even though we reminded the waiters twice. Flavouring was okay, but could have been a little better. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be coming back.

First meal in Toronto! And one completely by accident. We were on our way to the Taylor Swift concert (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), needed food, and just picked this random spot because there was no wait and it looked cute and inviting. And it was! There's a nice, unpretentious old worldly vibe inside, and one of us had an espresso martini for the first time in decades because she needed a little energy boost for Tay-Tay. Damn those things are good. For dinner, one of us got the Bolognese and the other one got the sabich bowl. Our kiddo got a pretty sweet looking plate of mac and cheese with a fancy pasta shape (campanelle!) and what looked and tasted like an actual béchamel-based situation. The Bolognese was unfortunately a bit disappointing; while the sauce had a lot of meat, the tomato base was way too acidic, so it tasted slightly off. We loved the sabich bowl except that the poached eggs were slightly undercooked so that was, well, gross. The only major red flag of the evening was the comedy-skit conversation we had with one guy about the "roselah," which took unnecessarily long to both understand and order. We guess that they're freshly made so you can't really pick and choose and it took forever for us to get them when we were already itching to leave, so that was frustrating. When they finally came out (half halvah half nutella), they were good but so hot you could barely enjoy them. This is supposed to be one of their signature things? A little finesse please! Anyway, the craziest part of the night is that we were seated next to another couple also on their way to Taylor Swift (bracelets) and we started chatting with them and the guy told us that the cafe actually started in Israel. We had literally never heard of this place and looked it up afterwards and it's true. AND it turns out that one of our cousin's went to school with an heir of the founder. Apparently there are also some other locations in the US, and we just can't believe that it never was on our radar before. Small world! So even though we had more of a 3.5 star experience, we're rounding up to 4 stars for the personal connection and we'd like to go back to another location at some point. In whichever case, the price is right, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the food is good enough with the potential to (hopefully) be really good.