This place is kind of a mixed bag. Â Some things were very nice, other things, not so much. Â Generally, the food is good and flavorful. Â Generally, the service is warm and friendly. Â
But the main problem, I guess, is that they constantly up-sell you while you're eating, and there's a lot of hidden costs. Â I came in expecting a cheap lunch, and ended up paying over $20. Â The only extra things I ordered after they suggested them were mint tea, one piece of baklava, and some other piece of pastry that resembled a lady finger.
I also turned down several other offers, so I can only imagine what the cost would have been if I'd accepted them all. Â Sometimes in my experience, Middle Eastern places will offer you little things and then not charge you for them. Â Definitely not here, though. Â So watch out for that.
I'll probably come here again, but just be more aware now and not accept any of their offers. Â I would give them a higher rating and probably be more apt to come more often if their up-sell and charging policies were different, though.
Underrated, very good small joint for real Mediterranean food. Don't forget the dessert. Owners are from Tunisia (we asked).
I wanted a kefta in pita, but they were out, so I had Kibi. Was delicious. Decor is nothing special so don't expect it to be.
Its a small joint type place that serves good food in this niche.
While this place has great Mediterranean food, and is fairly price, I would like to warn people about the service.
Friendly but deceiving. Everything I ordered had some secret type of up charge. That layered on with the fact that the staff upsells like used car sales men will keep me from going back.
Additionally the ambiance is lackluster. Good for pick up only and at these prices, I'd expect a waiter and menus.
DisGUSTING ATTITUDE!!! Â DON'T GO!
AVOID. AVOID. AVOID!
This review is to help other yelpers avoid a terrible dining experience.
The REAL REVIEWS are here on Yelp:
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/pita-paradise-fort-lauderdale">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>
I think that they put up "Pita Cafe" on Yelp so they could ask friends to put up good reviews to MASK THE BAD REVIEWS. Â
ALSO, check out the other reviews on Google places and Urbanspoon.
*** There are many amazing, local joints here in South Florida and there is no need to subject ourselves to this kind of treatment! ***
Here's our experience....
We arrived at pita paradise at 20:44, on our way to catch a flight at fort lauderdale international.
Upon arriving, we said hello and immediately notified the man (Ikbal or Ishmal - sorry for not perfect spelling pronunciation) that we had a Groupon.
We told him that we felt like vegetarian, and he mentioned a plate that sounded really good. We told him that we would take one of those and would look at what else was on the menu.
He then told us that because it was a groupon that we had to order 2 plates for two people. IT DOES NOT SAY THIS ON THE GROUPON.
Feeling confused and bad, we took a look at the menu some more.
As we looked a the menu, we also asked his co-worker if they used pistachios or walnuts in the baklava. The young man didn't know since he was new there and said we would have to ask the owner, pointing to "Ikbal."
Ikbal told is that they were made with both,
We ordered our veggie platter and he started to make it. He was training the same nice young man at the same time.
Our second "plate" were some desserts.
I must say that the portions that we saw him make were VERY SMALL.
When it was time to pay, I took out my iPhone and showed him the groupon again, which went from valid to expired as I showed him! It was 9pm on the nose!
We didn't think this would matter, because something similar at estancia de Argentinia (really fun place) happened the night before and the staff there said it didn't matter at all.
Ikbal still took the redemption code and then told us that it was no longer valid. Â He then told us that he would have to charge us full price.
What a total SCAMMER!!!!!!
We were VERY taken back by this.
We didn't feel very good about shenanigans like this AT ALL.
We asked him him why he couldn't just press the redeem button on my iPhone? He said his system doesn't work like that and that he could only do it his way.
Then he tried to CUT US A DEAL, for 10$!
Eventually he went down to 7$.
What kind of weirdness was this?
We asked him why he couldn't just press the redeem button and settle it like that, but he refused to.
He told us that he was just a manager (when the trainee told us he was the owner) and couldn't perform that function.
Very weird since he seemed very willing to take 7$ ??!
I believe in karma. Â
At the end, we told him that we did not feel right about the whole ordeal (although we were really looking forward to support a local place).
As I said I was sorry and thanked him for "trying" he started to barrade us with yelling and insults.
I don't like confrontations and this really left a terrible impression.
This dining experience was TERRIBLE and poorly reflected the trust and quality that we feel Groupon tries to deliver between it's vendors and clients.
We then had to go through the whole process of requesting a refund, which isn't difficult, but still a pain after such a terrible experience. Â
I hardly ever write reviews, but this one is needed to protect other people considering going to this place. Â
It was only after that I saw all the poor reviews, I only wish I would have investigated beforehand. Â
My advice: DON'T GO HERE.
There are too many other local restaurants that would welcome customers with smiles and open arms. Â And really make someone feel appreciated. Â
Like the saying goes...
It takes a lifetime to gain a customer, a second to lose one.
Maybe that's the way Ikbal like to do business?
This place is AMAZING! Â From the service to the food to the presentation, the place was spectacular.
We walked in and were promptly greeted by the two guys behind the counter (one of whom we eventually learned was Toufik...sorry if I spelled that wrong man). Â They were super friendly and willing to adjust the menu items so that we could each taste a little of everything. Â They weren't pushy, but wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything. Â
We decided to order the special Mediterranean Eggplant as an appetizer. Â This was delicious. Â A thick slice of Eggplant roasted with delicious spices, a hunk of feta in the middle, and a drizzle of olive oil was accompanied by sliced pita. It was perfectly cooked and tasted delicious.
After that, I had the mixed grill platter and my friend had the gyro platter.
Each plate was presented wonderfully. Â Served on a white square plate with well sized portions, each platter was just perfect. Both plates had a small greek-style salad, tzatiki, hummus, a hot pepper relish, tons of pita and the most delicious, perfectly marinated meats. Â We also got some fallafel which was the best fallafel I've had since living in NJ and getting it in NYC. Â
Throughout the meal, the guys behind the counter, and one of their wives who swung through before going to work, made sure that we were happy and taken care of. Â They were not only happy that we were enjoying, but shared thier joy in that fact!
We ended the night with some of the most delicious baklava and this other dessert that had pistachios, shredded wheat, and honey...SPECTACULAR! Â A perfect ending to a great meal.
Now, let me not fool anyone...this place is not the most beautiful or up to date facility, but let's be honest, often the best food is found in the small local places. This is that place. Â I can't wait to come back~!
I've eaten here a few times and I LOVE IT! While they have a menu, they also ask what you like. When I told the gentleman I was a vegetarian he said "ok, I'll make you a veggie plate" Yum!! Hummus, falafel, salad, pita, grape leaves, pita. What?! So good. My friend got the Kibi platter (wish they had veggie kibis) and love it. There are a couple of tables outside and they brought the food to us when it was ready. Fresh and delicious. Hummmm, maybe I'll go there for dinner, LOL.
Review Source:I'm from Los Angeles where middle eastern food is plentiful so I was very excited to come across this great little family-owned restaurant. It totally hits the spot if you're craving something quick (it's really just a take-out kind of place) and authentic.
The lamb/gyro meat is good. Sliced off the skewer and perfectly seasoned. The salad that comes with the meal is more like a spoonful worth of  shredded lettuce and a few pieces of chopped tomato but  I love the salad dressing and I suppose I could always request an extra serving. The hummus is... well, it's hummus. I don't know what else to say about that! But the best dish of all is their falafal. I am not vegetarian but this is rather exceptional even for meat-lovers. They use smaller balls of falafal than is typical and I'm wondering if the size helps prevent them from drying out when they're cooked. Whatever the secret is, it works. Lastly, baklava... I can't leave without dessert and this little piece of honey coated goodness is worth the extra calories, dollar, or whatever other extravagance that you, in particular, happen to worry about.
Small casual joint with inexpensive Middle Eastern fare. Uses a slightly thinner pita that's ca. 12", rather than the more normal 8", so your sandwiches are two-part big guys. The pistachio baklava was great, not too surypy or big, with whole nuts inside. And while I didn't have it, while I was there a woman came in who drove miles just to get some of his lentil soup to go; she'd been dreaming about the flavor so strongly. If that's not a recommendation I don't know what is! Also sells some Middle Eastern products retail in the cafe, and keeps a few hookahs for a lazy smoke outside.
The big problem isn't the friendliness or flavor; it's the cleanliness! The walls, ceiling, equipment and cooking area (it's close up front so you can see him cook) all look like they haven't been cleaned in a decade! As much as we liked the owner and the pita, I'm not sure we can eat there again.
Putting this place on the map...the food is great, the prices are absolutely awesome, and the authentic middle eastern cuisine is on point. The owners are from Jordan so they brought a piece of the old country over to Florida with them. Spectacular, spectacular, spectacular, my gf and I frequent this place often.
I've had pita wraps and dinner plates here, all are bursting with flavor and freshness. Guilt free too...
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