Seta’s Cafe

Food is great. Salads are fresh and always have a creative twist. Really enjoy their menu. But the three stars are because some of their dressings are so sour and tart. The lemon mint isn’t edible. It’s beyond sour.

HIGHS & LOWS
I was in such a quandry about the number of stars to give Seta’s Café.
There are a number of good points, as well as a number of bad points, and the bad slightly outweighs the good. Since 3.5 stars is about average, I decided to assess 3 stars. I’ll start with the good points.
POSITIVES
1. SETA — She is a lovely woman who tries very hard to please.
2. LOCATION & PARKING — The café is located in a very accessible location between Watertown and Harvard Squares, so it’s easy to find FREE parking spots on-​street.
3. INTIMATE AMBIANCE — The space is relatively small and intimate, providing 20 seats.
4. COUNTER STAFF — They’re friendly, competent, and cheerful.
5. QUALITY INGREDIENTS — Everything is fresh.
NEGATIVES
1. MENUS — Items are listed on 3 chalk boards to the left which are difficult to read, and make for an awkward time with the counter person when trying to place your order. Printed menus should be additionally available, but they’re not.
2. SUN NUISANCE — There are floor to ceiling windows in the front of the building, and the sun streams in during lunchtime in an intolerable way. Indeed, no one likes to sit there with the blinding sun in their eyes, which reduces the seating to only 8 spots. You would think that Seta would have provided shades to alleviate this problem, especially having been there for a while, but she did not.
3. FOOD QUALITY & PREPARATION — I had Lamb Kabobs, and they were tiny in size, which caused them to be overcooked and a bit chewy. Also, there were to few Kabobs for the somewhat elevated price.
4. PRICING — Prices are at least 50% higher than most everywhere else.
5. VALUE — Since quantity is low and prices are high, Seta’s provides little value.
6. RETURN? — Yes, but only for Seta’s delicious and fairly-​priced $ 4 hand-​cut French Fries.

This place is delicious dont get the 3 stars wrong, If you are willing to over pay for a salad. Ive been here 4 times including today. I have actually gone out my way to come here since I live about 15 miles away. The first time when I ate in, everything was amazing and it really made an impression on me. The second time I went there at 11:45AM and had to wait until noon to order a greek salad left the place by 12:20PM. This has been a mayor reason to keep me away. Usually lunch starts at 11AM in most places. the 3^rd I was closer (by closer I mean Downtown Boston) and took time to go there. Today might be my last time, unless I eat in with a friend. I ordered my usual a greek salad this time I made it a large to be able to have it for dinner also. WRONG! Small and Large come in the same container they just pack more greens (as per the girl in the register, yes i went back in when i notice the salad was the usual small salad ive gotten previously) Paying $ 17 for a large greek salad with chicken I would expect a difference in size as in everything else in the world .s m a l l. &. LARGE!!!
and they forgot to add the dressing!!! which is the best part of the salad.
Onto finding another place, this one is no longer worth driving to anymore.

This neighborhood joint has come a long way since it opened (more food choices, better hours). The good — fresh food with good flavor, lots of Mediterranean options, great falafel sandwiches, very good chopped salad, good portions, and it has a really charming and cozy décor with lots of sunlight. The not so good — a little on the expensive side, and sometimes the seating can be hard to find if it’s crowded. But it’s nice to have a place like Seta’s available in the neighborhood and I will be back.

I’d like to give Seta’s more stars, but they have to do a little better first. For example, their French fries lately have been shriveled and overcooked. French fries are never health food, but why make them even worse for your diners by basically burning them? Also, Seta’s has a meal on the menu that’s supposed to be a «½ roast chicken plate.» What you get if you order this is not half of a chicken by any means. It’s less than a quarter of a chicken, in fact. You get a drumstick and maybe half of a breast. Please, change the menu to reflect what you are really giving your customers. Don’t embarrass them by making them have to ask you what’s up with your menu.

Beautiful restaurant with great pastries as well as lunch options! Had a half a falafel and a half cup of vegetable bean soup that the friendly girl at the counter, Maureen, suggested. I’m glad she did because the falafel was so yummy and the crispy fresh fried falafel balls and the fresh sprigs of mint really made it a knockout. Being 100% vegetarian, I was happy to know the soup was made with a vegetable stock rather than chicken and the beans and veggies were chock full in every bite. Maureen also suggested a fresh pastry, which was the pumpkin pound cake. That was too filled with a surprise, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, and a delicious cream cheese frosting in the center. So moist and not overbearing sweet! I would definitely recommend this spot to those who enjoy vegetarian delights!!!

The food was very delicious. I had a falafel sandwich and it was rather tasty. The coffee was not bad either. Food takes a bit longer than I’d like for a lunch meal but was worth the wait.

Our party of eight came for Sunday branch and left disappointed. We didn’t find a place to accommodate all of us even reviews indicated that this place has enough space. No help was offered and we had to move tables by ourselves. Our food arrived without any bread because they ran out of it. We were not offered any replacement. Food itself was delicious but I would not recommend this place.

I absolutely love the falafel wrap here — such delicious, fresh flavors and they have one of the best falafels around! Salads and meats are delicious too but the falafel wrap just speaks to me.

This is the most amazing and freshest middle eastern food I have ever eaten. Just amazing. And I love the staff. I hope it’s here forever because I can literally walk to it. I love you guys

I’m so grateful to have this local gem nearby. Seta’s food is always fresh. We like the luleh plate for dinner. For brunch, the scrambled eggs with feta and herbs are creamy and fluffy — mouthwatering. If I want to indulge, I love their chocolate croissants. I do wish they had better espresso. It’s decent, but nothing special. And I wished they opened earlier or served breakfast more often.

We had parked next door to eat at another restaurant… This used to be chicken express. We decided to look at the reviews… had great reviews so said lets try it… BIG mistake… it looked and sounded good but oh man no it was not. We both orderd the same thing. half sandwich and soup… and shared a strawberry lemonade… the lemonade was pure sugar… im glad they had free water cause i had to pour it in a few cups and water it down… as we were doing this the young lady came over and said they only had enough soup for one person and gave my husband a full sandwhich… it was a burrito not a sandwhich… my soup arrived luke warm… and was strong with lemon… and to top it off they have bins with label’s and buckets to dump your food… marked dishes, trash, even liquids! Gross! For the price they charge pick it up yourself and throw it away yourself the way you want dont make your guests do it. We will NOT be returning… at all!

I really like this place. it’s real home cooking. Their lamb is soooooo good. I really enjoy everything from here.

What a cute spot. Thankfully a friend told me about it !!! I got the falafel over Greek salad (it was ginormous –). The hummus with homemade lavash was so good I took se home. It’s clean, sunny and the staff is really helpful and warm.

Setas is a delight!
Make sure you try the insane sandwich with all the French fries in it!
I’m always impressed with her hummus and grape leaves.
When it’s cold outside …
Whatever soup is on special try it!
When it’s warm outside …
Whatever fancy cold drink is on special try it!

To say that Seta’s is a family favorite, would be an understatement. I’m never in Boston when we don’t stop in for a visit. It’s like being welcomed home to share a meal with family. We’ve been enjoying all of her menu items for years – it’s difficult to point out one that I like more than the others. Perhaps it’s what I am eating at the time, and today was no exception with the Greek Chopped Salad with Lamb. She puts love into every dish she creates. Her catering expertise was enjoyed by family and friends at our daughter’s wedding rehearsal dinner. You can never go wrong with a meal prepared by Seta, no matter if she is serving 5 people or a room full of guests in your office or home. We will always return, whenever we are in town. Anyone who lives in the area, and can visit more often, is quite lucky to have such a great place close by.

Wow! What a cool little shop! I came to Boston to visit some family and went fir a walk around the neighborhood and came across Seta’s Café! It’s such a clean and friendly environment! As I walked in, I was greeted by the friendly cashier! Having never been here before I asked what I should get to drink and asked about the pomegranate lemonade! Immediately someone jumped in to give her opinion! I think it was Seta herself! Anyway, the drink was Sweet yet has a nice tang to it! Very refreshing! Will definitely visit again!
Thanks!

I wanted to say thank you for being so pleasant when I arrived at your beautiful little café soup is yummy I’m having a bowl of chicken noodle right now the owner was very nice thank you I recommend people come by here and have some lunch

More of a market with seating than a restaurant, but very fresh and delicious. I recommend trying the khorovats (I had beef) with rice and salad, and trying the crêpe cake and macaroons.
Seta is also very friendly and approachable. Although they don’t do formal table service, they will bring you your food and it’s a nice place to eat instead of being focused on takeout.
The only thing I would change is the parking situation– spots are available but not plentiful. However, I can understand this considering the location.

I was so excited to randomly be in Belmont as I had bookmarked this place a while back. The menu sounds so enticing, all the items sound so flavorful and healthy
But mostly I’m disappointed. I really really wanted to like this place. The café itself is adorable and very clean. The bathroom could’ve used more paper towels but it wasn’t a mess, so I can surely forgive them for that.
I got the Chicken Khorovat Platter — grilled chicken, bulghur pilaf, grilled tomato & onion, piaz, salad, lavash bread. While this sounds like a good amount of food, it was NOT. I got the small plate which set me back $ 11+ and was not worth that much. I got 5 measly pieces of chicken, and although they were delicious, that’s not enough. The container itself was tiny so they couldn’t have packed that much food in it anyway. And it’s just one open container and not section off, so all the food was easily mixed. The plate seemed to be mostly bulgur which was good, but tasted mostly like butter. The piaz consisted of a few tiny onions, the salad was very lemony, and… they didn’t give me lavash. I didn’t notice until I had left the place, but how do you forget that? It’s essential!
I also assumed they would’ve given some kind of hummus/​labneh/​tahini with the platter… but no, that was $ 1 extra. Yikes.
Overall, the food was pretty good (not as flavorful as I anticipated but cooked very well) but expensive. I’d love this place if they came down on their prices or upped their portions. I can go to Shawarma Place in Davis and get 3x the amount of food for about a buck less.