Jerusalem Cafe

DON’T get this mixed up with Jerusalem Café and Bakery at 1404 Westport RD! Not the same experience! This place doesn’t measure up at all! Chicken is all dried out, no pita on take out as promised, rice is terrible, food overall is just so so. Jerusalem Café AND BAKERY is where you want to be! Just a little west and you’re right at home for the goods!

I loved this place. I enjoyed the food and the staff was friendly enough. The hot tea was great. The Baklava made me happy too.

Great menu, great prices, great food. Very simple interior environment — nothing fancy. Excellent vegetarian options!

My son was in town recently and he and I stopped here for lunch. I’ve been here dozens of times. This place has the best middle-​eastern food in town. I had an amazing salad with dressing that had lots of big chunks of feta cheese, and baba ganouj. They’ve added a hookah room upstairs since I was last here. Next time I’ll go upstairs and enjoy a hookah of Turkish tobacco before eating!

First timers here! We love foods from all over and truly appreciate excellent international fare. We will definitely be back. AAA+++

I love the combo appetizer. Falafel, hummus, baba ghanouj, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli salad, feta cheese and kalamata olives, all served with their warm pita bread flavored by being thrown on the grill for a hint of that smokiness. This place made me love this type of food and will always have a place in my heart. The interior is befitting as well.

Great food and great service. Had the Greek salad with Gyro meat and Lentil soup. All of it was amazing! Great service too– friendly staff.

Strictly for the food truck, as I have not dined in.
Whenever I find myself out at Westport bars, there is roughly a 96.2% chance that I will end up getting Falafel from the Jerusalem Café food truck. Their food is tasty as hell, it is easy on the wallet, and the guy usually running it is super nice. Plus, it is probably far better for me to spend $ 4 on some substance than another Moscow Mule.

Got falafel with hummus from the food truck and the falafel was a dry, hard ball. The hummus and pita were both flavorless.

The Vegetarian Lasagna blew me away! It’s a «combination of fresh garden veggies baked in layers of pasta and cheese». It was not cheesy; not something that I care for. It was very good!!! Service was fast, and our server was so nice. She was very helpful.

Great sandwiches! The gyros and the chicken schwarma were wonderful! The sandwiches also come with salad and rice, so for $ 9, you get a pretty good deal.
The location is hard to beat — right in the middle of Westport. Very close to shops, coffee, restaurants, and bars.

When I was just a younger man, coming down out of the hinterlands of rural Missouri to experience the wonders of that little slice of urban bohemia known as Westport (this was the mid-​90s, after all), Jerusalem Café was *the place* to grab lunch between Music Exchange, Zowie, Spiney Norman’s, etc.
At the time, there weren’t a lot of places in KC doing mediterranean food, so Jerusalem Café was my introduction to falafel, gyros, schwarma, pita and hummus, dolmas, and a wide range of other delicious — and comparatively, very healthy mediterranean/​middle-​eastern dishes.
Another thing it introduced me to was the concept that the product put on the plate in front of you can and will sell itself regardless of how good or bad the service is. For quite a while, Jerusalem Café was known as the place in KC you went if you wanted to be stared down for not waiting to be seated, have an eyebrow raised at you for asking a question about an ingredient, or just plain forgotten about while you waited on your meal. God forbid you mispronounced «gyro.» There’s a reason they had several years running of «Worst Service» in the Pitch’s annual readers poll. There’s also a reason the place was packed all the time.
Over the years, Jerusalem Café has changed a few things — our visit this past week was the first time we’d been in where the new restrooms had been built on the first floor, and you no longer had to make your way into the basement dungeon past the Nine Inch Nails video shoot, as was the standing practice for the last couple of decades. The service model had changed over time as well — some of the long-​standing waiters have moved up to management, or over to the Jerusalem Bakery buffet further up Westport/​43^rd, and as Westport has re-​invented itself, so has Jerusalem Café. The rough edges of service have softened as the area has welcomed a more diverse population than just skate punks and out-​of-​town transplants looking for an oasis of culture in a midwest of corn.
So, on to our most recent visit this past week … things seem be going a different direction. Firstly, the new construction of the uptstairs restrooms is, as mentioned, a much-​needed improvement. The booths had been updated and re-​arranged to focus the foot traffic paths a little more than the previous arrangement, and the service this time around was surly, disinterested, and inattentive — which I took full opportunity to transport Miss K back to the tales of yesteryear when that was the expected course of action.
But, as I said, the food sold itself back then, and it still does today. The standard offering of either crisp fresh salad (now with de-​pitted olive!) or amazing creamy lentil soup still stands. Our vegetarian appetizer tray was loaded with babaganouj, hummus, pita, dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), falalfel, tabouli, and little squares of feta.
The presentation of our beloved falafel sandwiches has changed since our last visit as well. Previously, the filling was loaded into a full round pita and then folded in half. Now, the pita is cut in half and pocketed, and then stuffed full of falafel, tomato, lettuce, hummus, and feta. Honestly, there is probably a greater filling ratio in the new configuration, and we each ended up with a second half of sandwich and most of the saffron rice served on the side for lunch the next day.
Another aspect of Jerusalem Café that many people might not be aware of is the hookah bar upstairs. I have only ever been up there once, and probably nearly 10 years ago at this point, as the other handful of times we’ve tried there’s been a fairly long wait to get in. As we’ve gotten more into hookah over the last couple of years, we’ll have to give a more concentrated effort to get back up there and check things out.
As I mentioned, some things have changed at Jerusalem Café, but much of it has stayed the same. I am not sure if the service was just having an off day, or if the new staff is part of an overall facelift that includes the physical changes in layout, and if those changes extend up through management/​ownership, and they are just working out the kinks. For the uninitiated, this could be off-​putting, and the Westport of today is not the Westport of 1997, but, I beg you, just wait until that plate is put down in front of you before losing patience.
I will also fully admit to prefering to gorge myself at the sister location, the Jerusalem Bakery buffet, and the mediterranean offerings in Kansas City have exploded over the years with welcome, worthwhile competition throughout the metro area. That being said, Jerusalem Café will always be a go-​to choice for out-​of-​town guests to experience some Westport history, for a quiet date night where we expect a little time to sit and chat, or an ideal opportunity to sit in the large table looking out the front windows, surrounded by friends and food, and enjoy the ambiance of Kansas City’s heart as it passes by outside.

Absolutely unexpected. We used to come here years ago, and it used to be good. So recently we were doing a daily lamb crawl to find the best out there. It was Valentine’s night and I ordered the Lamb kebabs to-​go for the hubby. He told me it tasted like dog food, way too chewy, extremely dry, & tasted like unseasoned beef. Also the salad that came with it had hardly any dressing on it. Maybe it was a bad night, but seriously they should have been on their A game on V day. Very disappointed!

Two friends and myself came between school one afternoon. I thought my experience could be summed as follows: delicious, reasonably priced, convenient (location), and the décor resonated good immersion in its culture. Cozy dine-​in, not terrifyingly quiet, but neither was it noisy. a private feel I thought. If you are one for Mediterranean, their menu gave a generous option of dishes and combinations. Of a friend, who had some menu salad with shrimp and gyro combination, loved the dish except for the texture of the shrimp (she picks relentlessly at restaurant «prawns» though so unless these «prawns» must absolutely mark your experience. her dish was delicious!)
So, if for a casual Mediterranean experience, Jerusalem Café will not likely dissappoint. However I cannot bring myself to say this place stood out to me. perhaps I didn’t pick the correct items (lentil soup & falafel hummus sandwich. plus a bite of my friends’ lamb kabob platter and the gyro meat and shrimp salad). Not afraid to try again soon (: still the better of Mediterranean places around.

Hands down… this place has the best falafel hummus sandwich in Kansas City. I get the same thing every time I come, so the waitress knows my order without even asking now. The falafel is moist and has the perfect texture every time and the hummus is always on point.
The meals come with soup or salad (I always choose the Greek salad) and also comes with rice. The rice is okay, but nothing to brag about. They have a hot sauce that is similar to siracha that is a must-​have on your food. It’s good on the rice and also on the sandwich.
This place also has a hookah lounge upstairs. I’ve only tried their hookah once it wasn’t a pleasant experience. The hookah is overpriced (compared to other hookah lounges in the area). I didn’t like the flavor and asked if I could exchange it for another flavor. The guy agreed to switch out the hookah for another flavor, but then charged me for 2! He said that once they make a hookah, they can’t put it back so he had to charge me. He ended up charging full price for 1 hookah ($ 20) and half price for the other.
If it wasn’t for my bad hookah experience, this place would have 4 stars from me.

High quality Mediterranean cuisine and tasty deserts.
This place is definitely underrated, it has a good vibe, nice staff and excellent cooking.

The perfect rainy day restaurant!
The food and service are spot on, cozy and comforting.
Everything here is really good but highlights include the city’s best hummus, homemade pita bread, the lentil soup and the Greek chicken salad.
The appetizer platter is a meal on it’s own featuring tabbouleh, dolmas, pita, hummus, feta and falafel.

Jerusalem Café is my usual stop for food whenever I’m in Westport. It’s definitely a change from what I am used to eating at restaurants, but I think that’s what I love about it! Lunchtime on Saturdays is my favorite. It’s not too busy and you are always seated and taken care of immediately. When you first walk in, it doesn’t look like much, but you quickly realize that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The staff is incredibly nice here and makes the atmosphere very relaxed. My usual meal is a gyro with a Greek salad, and a pita and hummus plate as an appetizer, but last time I tried a chicken kabob lunch special and WOW have I been missing out and now it’s going to be that much harder choosing what I want! Prices are never outrageous and the portions are very generous.
I’ve also been to the hookah bar (located upstairs) is different from anything else in Westport. Although I’m done with the whole hookah thing, Jerusalem was by far my favorite. It’s dark upstairs, but it’s not like a club with little girls in half shirts running around. It’s a great place to go with friends to relax and hangout. The staff upstairs is always awesome and on top of things.
Different food can be scary, but everything here is so yummy (including the baklava) so if you are in the area and you need a bite to eat, stop by Jerusalem café!

90% of the time I have been here the order has been correct in the food has been delicious this includes both euro sandwiches chicken and or beef and lamb combinations. The falafel sandwich is absolutely amazing if you’re in the mood for it! The Suzuki sauce is quite tasty & I highly recommend the hot sauce and the hummus!

I’ll bet Jerusalem is one of the oldest Mediterranean restaurants in town, and maybe that’s why it’s been so long since I’ve been there-​always trying out the newer ones. But there’s a reason why they’ve been around so long-​graciously served, consistently tasty food at a reasonable price.
The lentil soup surprised me-it’s pureed completely smooth, and with a touch of salt was completely delicious. It came with the vegetarian combo plate, which is HUGE. Hummus, 2 stuffed grape leaves, 2 felafel patties, a spinach/​feta spanakopita, and baba ghanouj, which I could eat about a gallon of. YD got her usual lamb gyro; lamb sometimes tastes a little gamey to me, but this was more on the mild side, very good, juicy and messy, just like you want your gyro. We were offered dessert, but that was out of the question. Maybe next trip!