Cafe Central

This place has fantastic food, it may be listed as just a deli, but they have food that definitely stands up to sit-​down places. Probably my favorite Mediterranean place on Alameda :)
Friendly clerks behind the counter!
Terrific falafel!
Great prices!

Time: 12:47pm/54°F partly cloudy
Purpose: Potential client account pick up.
Ambiance: Feels like one of those commercial kitchen were a businesses rents it for food prep. From outside looks promising when you enter it just didn’t feel right from the beginning. Royal blue trimmings with white paint outfitted the place along with built in planter box tuck underneath window. Two counter top seating on both side of front window 3 tables inside, one table outside with one chair. This was during lunch hour no one inside but the elder owner sitting at the table day dreaming, I thought she was a customer.
Staff: Other than the elder owner there was two hispanic girls and boy all three of them had so much time staring at me while I try to figure out what I wanted, actually was there to pick up account. I guess all the work was done for the day all three of them looking at me like a foreigner I had polo, khaki pants, black loafer with laptop, that’s normal wear for me.
Cleanliness: Definitely hiding something in back area just dont know what it counter was too high too peer in.
Eats/​Drinks: They’ve two sizes of gyro, falafel, and shawarma. 7’in-$ 6.45/9in’-$ 7.25 I took the gyro 7’in was afraid to order any larger as I don’t know how good it can be. It’s not the best bread was rather near dry out stale, sauce tasted very canny like leaving mouth with meatl taste. Spices can not be seen or tasted, my question is how long ago were they made prior to me entering? 3pcs of dessert something cover on cake pedestal tells me a lot bout the place.
Products: Gyro, falafel, shawarma, chips, cold drinks, sandwiches, salads, side items.
Punch Line: Good for people in a hurry as theres virtually no line not a soul inside.
Final Thoughts: I wanted to come in shake hands and intro myself but all that was not met. I just knew from years of experience when things like this happens just get your food and leave don’t even think about eating there, stare at you like a hawk ready to attack. Not comfortable for me!

This restaurant is meager at best. Moreover, I was struck (never ever seen this and I travel all over North America) by a sign on a post stating the «Restrooms are for Customers only, with a Penal code 602. (t). I looked this up today and realized these guys are stretching the Trespassing code and there is nothing illegal about anyone using your restroom.
Here is the legal definition:
What is Trespassing (Penal Code 602)?
Trespass means many things to many people. To one person, it means walking into an area posted with signs that state, «No Trespassing.» To others, it means walking into a business, loitering for a long time and then leaving without making a purchase. To others, it may be a homeless person living for several days, or even weeks, at an empty foreclosed upon house without permission.
These ideas are all correct to some degree. Under California Penal Code 602, trespass is defined as willfully entering another person’s property with the specific intent to interfere with that person’s property rights. «Willfully» means on purpose or deliberately. «Specific intent» means that one intends to not only do something, but that one intends the consequence of the act, i.e. loitering in a business with the consequence of interfering with that location’s business.
I have a lot of friends I will tell to never patronize your restaurant for your lousy food and service in addition to this ridiculous policy. Your a a public nuisance to public health and safety! Pull this sign down now!

Yummy shwarma chicken sandwich on Plump, fresh pita. Messy! Convenient downtown Alameda location.

Best Falafel I’ve had in the Bay Area! The hot sauce is amazing! I crave this falafel pita!

Best sandwich on the island! Sidewalk dining (dog friendly).

Café Central bills itself as a mediterrean deli but only the appetitzers were in plain view. no shwarma, no pitas, no gyros were in sight.. being a bit weary, i went with sammies.
eats: «italiano» #10, 6.45
–had salami, mortadella, cheese, all thu usual stuff
–only 3 breads of choice, sourdough, white, wheat. (maggiora bread?)
–choose sourdough, not a good choice since it overwhelmed the meats.
sammie thick in middle, thin on sides,
–tasty but doesn’t scream: «mama mia, that’s italian»
ratings: 3ish.
crumbs:
–sammies meatier, better value than sandwich board.
–polite, courteous service
–a viable sammie alternative.

Tasty food, but VERY poor value. I ordered the $ 8 Mediterranean Plate and it came with one lonely falafel. One! For eight bucks!!! Middle Eastern food is supposed to be cheap and cheerful. I won’t be back.

Ok gyros… not the best, nor bad tasting… just ok. There’s just something about eating meat fresh sliced off a spit that gives it such a juicy, mouthwatering flavor unlike meat that’s a bit tough and has been reheated. Café Central offers the latter.
Personally if you want gyros I prefer Dimitras on Park or Troy on Central. Now those places don’t offer meat fresh off the spit either but, to me, the gyros taste better.

I first discovered this when I began teaching at Alameda high school, which is next door. Pretty much everything I’ve had on their menu is wonderful. Great variety of sandwiches, all of which are quite good. Their Mediterranean platter is wonderful if you’re not quite sure what you want. Their falafels are also really great.
Word of warning: if you go when the nearby high school is on lunch break, it can be a bit of a wait. The times be wary of our noon to 1:00 on Mondays and Fridays and 12:45 to 1:30 on Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays. A good option on those days is to call ahead and let them know when you’ll be there and I’ll have your order ready.

This is my favorite little sandwich shop on Alameda! The Avogobble is my go to sandwich :)

This is a wonderful café. I have been a regular customer for 15 years. The people here professional and they will make you feel at home. They are caring and want to please you. I would highly recommend this café for any who is looking for a delicious sandwich.

This is a great quick eats place that serves meditarranean style schwarmas, gryos, and falafels.
It’s located in the «Rydell High… think the movie Grease”-like part of Alameda. Plenty of parking nearby to walk in and grab a gyro and split.
It’s not as good as the Gyros, etc. that you’d find in Europe but on a hot day after a long run, it sure whets the appetite.
I think they could do things to make it more authentic, such as adding pickled cucumbers to the gyro and using roma tomatos instead of regular old hot house tomatos.
Be sure to ask for the hot sauce on it if you like a little kick. The beef and lamb on the gyro was awesome.
Will come here regularly on days where I finish my long runs at lunchtime.

An alameda secret with the best falafels around!
Best middle eastern food and awesome sandwhiches that have that delicious homey taste. Yummy comfort food!

Everyone who works here is super nice, and generally the food is pretty good but it’s definitely no longer a 5 star place in my book. Still a good option for a nice sandwichey lunch if you’re in Alameda though.

I eat here pretty often, probably about 3x a week. I should have mentioned this immediately but their deviled eggs are like crack! They are extremely good.
I usually get the avocado/​hummus sandwich and stuffed with veggies! The service and the food is always consistent.

I’m eating the falafel as I post and it is definitely nothing to write about. I agree with Kate H. that it is dry and a very unfreshness about it. I had a feeling as I watched the perfectly nice employee behind the counter open the slam shut what I assume was a microwave.
They really smother on the sauce and it ends up being a soggy mess. I expect better from this neighborhood and for a 7 dollar sandwich. Disappointed.

Good for the price. Although I think the falafel could be more moist.
Ordered FOUR items:
–Falafel in Pita $ 6.45
A full pita, halved, stuffed w/​two falafels on each half. Yummy hot sauce.
–Gyro $ 6.45
Lamb & beef w/​tzatziki, tomato & red onion, made to order, fresh & meaty.
–Americano $ 6.45
Typical sandwich with turkey, ham, swiss & american cheese.
–Mediterranean Plate $ 6.95
Hummus, tabuleh, rice/​lentil, dolmas, babaganoush, falafel, greek salad & 4 pita halves, generous portioning. LOVED. Literally 3 mini meals.

Yum, I love this place — it’s great to have a cheap spot that serves my favorite type of food in li’l ol’ Alameda. While I haven’t been able to tear myself away from the Mediterranean sampler plate (falafel, dolma, hummus, tabouleh, baba ganoush, greek salad, rice & lentils and pita bread), the rest of the menu looks good too. The sampler is plenty for two to share, but I usually wolf it all down myself!
There’s not much atmosphere, but if it’s a nice day you can sit at one of the tables outside. Otherwise, take the grub to go! The family that runs it is very nice and they always throw in a Hershey’s kiss to end your meal on a sweet note.

Let me preface this review with the fact that I’ve had a completely crappy day so far:
1. I got very little sleep and am not a «Morning Person.»
2. Some large birds crapped gynormous sh*ts all over the windshield, top and sides of my car. Or maybe it was just the one great white heron I chased off my balcony last week seeking revenge. In any case, a hose cleanup was required when I was already running late.
3. My 13-​year-​old son overslept and claimed he’s got a stomachache. I know darn well it’s because he really just wants to stay home alone and try to crack my TV parental control code in order to watch porn, play Halo, *and* live on MySpace all day.
4. A teenage UCB sorority dimwit side-​swiped my car over a week ago and she still hasn’t spoken to her insurance about it. The damage was minor, but I still want the scuff and scratch taken care of ASAP. It’s no fun getting messages from your insurance company like this first thing in the morning when everyone knows that she was clearly at fault. She didn’t even realize that you aren’t supposed to cross a solid white line when trying to get into a turn lane. *sheesh*
Two words: Driving School!
There are a few more things but I’m trying to block them out so I can concentrate on my Café Central experience on Sunday.
The place is pretty much a little boxcar sized hole in the wall and the staff was very pleasant. I was desperately hungry for lunch, so my daughter and other half decided to try it. After all, we all love Mediterranean cuisine. I’d like to give it 2.4 stars but I have to round it down here because we just hit a bad day here (and I’m not talking about today’s bad day, but Sunday was a bad day at this place).
Maybe it was just because we were there on the last day of the week, but everything we ate tasted like heated up leftovers. I ordered the falafel sandwich with hot garlic sauce. I can’t say if it was awful falafel, because the garlic hot sauce overpowered everything else and made the pita pocket fall apart in a soggy mess. Texture-​wise, the falafel was too dry when I tried to salvage it from the hot sauce. Part of the pita pocket was rock hard so I ended up giving up on it and I was still hungry.
My other half ordered a spinach and cheese piroshki that was clearly just warmed up from a prior-​cooked state. My daughter ordered a chicken sandwich on dutch crunch bread which ended up being the best thing, but even she only ate half, which she rarely does.
The Hershey kiss garnish on our plates were kinda’ cute but a tad, well, odd. Just one kiss would have been a serious insult if my five-​year-​old had been there!
Here’s the one thing that *really* made me wonder. When we were ordering, the water cooler was clearly out of water. I told the gal working there that the cooler was empty and I’d like some water expecting that the cooler would be refilled. Instead of doing anything about the cooler, she cheerfully offered to put water in a Styrofoam cup from the sink behind the counter. Okay, nice gesture, but the cooler still wasn’t refilled the whole 45 minutes we were there and I needed refills to get the hot sauce taste out of my mouth.
So, there you have it. I really don’t like dissing local businesses and may brave this place on a weekday again so I can add stars. For now, the place needs some work.
Food: 1.5 stars.
Service (their hearts were in the right place, just not their thinking caps!): 2.7
Ambiance: what’s that Unilocal term, *meh*?: 2 stars.
And as for my crappy day: if that great white heron shows up anytime soon, it will get shooed away with the gesture of a menacing broom!