Savyon Cafe

This place is NOT CLOSED. I’m not sure where they are cooking out of but they are definitely selling food via

I’ve ordered from them twice recently, the most recently tonight.
The first time I ordered we got the falafel plate (yum!!) and the quinoa patties (YUCK!) I had to wait over an hour for it to arrive but it was pretty good (except the quinoa patty) so I forgave them…
I ordered tonight the falafel plate and a salad. After nearly 90 minutes of waiting I finally received my dinner– only one problem, it was someone else’s dinner. Someone who isn’t vegetarian :(
Yeah so the restaurant offered to get my food back from the house they delivered it to by mistake :0
Gross and Boo. I’ll be getting a refund. :(

Grabbed a $ 5 falafel from here. Nothing spectacular but they have a wide variety of options and offer the full spectrum for Mediterranean options.
Judging from the other dishes I saw served the portions are generous and definitely worth sampling.
I came in when it was dead on a Saturday at 1 and it was hard to get their attention. They are all in the back kitchen and I noticed customers get confused when they walk in and see no staff. In general the location isn’t very inviting but they have a nice dining area. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here but it’s a good option for a very deserted area of Pico.

got delivery the other day. They forgot my drink. which i was forced to get because of the minimum for the delivery fee.
Hummus was ok, but they didn’t give me pita with it.
grape leaves weren’t that good. I’ve had much better.
Let’s not forget the salad. I got the Mediterano.
They forgot to put in 1. almonds 2. avocado 3. cranberries. 4. dates 5. olives
Also, they should probably inform you that you’re going to be chomping down on bones when you eat the chicken.
^^ Wrote that on October 3^rd
Thought I’d give these guys a second chance today.
Just a tip to the delivery driver, if a customer wasn’t a big fan of the service in the first place NEVER make a comment to them about what they wrote on Unilocal.If you want a good review, don’t ask me to change the one i already wrote. and don’t ask me why i wrote it and why I’m getting food from you again. Had the service been a little better this time, I would have changed it. But, once again, the service sucked. And this will be my last time ordering from here.

Driving by, i noticed a garden that flowed over along the patio of the café. I was glad i stopped because i had one of the best salads ever (Mediterano Salad– full of greens, veggies, almonds and chicken– $ 10.99) and a delightful Turkish café.
The staff was kind and generous. I’m rarely in this part of town, but now i’ll look forward to that drive.

I came for the Sunday AYCE buffet. I stayed for two hours of conversation with the owner (although I forgot to catch his name!). I left with a full-​to-​bursting stomach and a fervent hope to have time to come back next week.
Don’t come here expecting a gourmet meal. It’s so much more like dropping in for a family dinner (and I say that as a first-​time visitor): you wander in and are greeted by a counter spread with food, then by the owner, who encourages you to grab a plate and a fork and help yourself. You load up (and go with tiny portions first, there’s a lot of different things to try) and take a seat in the little dining room, which feels like someone’s walled-​in backyard patio. Tuck in and enjoy. Want more food? Go get more. I did — um, maybe three times. It’s a good thing their plates are smallish, otherwise I might not have made it out of there alive.
It’s always a little weird dining alone, but like I said, the owner struck up a conversation, and by the time I left (as they were closing), I felt like I should be helping them clean up, like I would do after dinner with family.
Oh yeah, and the food? Delicious, in a home-​cooked meal sort of way. Falafel (maybe not «the world’s best,» but great!), meatloaf, barbecue chicken wings, veggie and cheese panini, fried cauliflower patties, dolmas, mashed potatoes, beet salad, spicy Moroccan carrots, green beans and carrots, potatoes and yams, and more. Fresh fruit skewers for dessert. You see now why I ate four platefuls?
I’m planning on returning next weekend. It may take me that long to digest all this, but it will totally be worth it.

This experience was sort of weird… don’t know if we’ll be back or not…
The place was totally empty, which is always odd.
The décor looks really shoestring-​budget, but cute.
The staff (owners?) were very friendly.
The food was pretty good, but had TONS of garlic in it which I just can’t deal with… I love it, but it doesn’t love me :-/​
With soooo many other Israeli-​pita-​falafel type restaurants in this area alone, I think I’ll try a few others.
I do appreciate that apparently they make a great effort to provide vegan and vegetarian options… maybe the brunch that everyone talks about is the best time to go here!

Bottom line: The food here is delicious and they treat you like family. And i don’t care that I put the bottom line at the top lol.
I’ve been there 5 times now. The food is always great. They have a good dry sense of humor, and very accommodating. Their prices are very reasonable for the high quality of food. The owner takes a lot of pride in getting the best and freshest ingredients.
I’ve gone 4 times and ordered from the menu, and once for the buffet. The food was good every time, but I would say the buffet wasn’t QUITE as delicious as ordering from the menu, but made up for it in variety and quantity. And their buffet’s fruit salad was the best I’ve ever had.
The only things wrong were 2 minor things: 1) their ice machine was broken, if you just wanted a glass of water. 2) because the owner is so passionate about ONLY getting the best ingredients… sometimes they don’t have all the ingredients to make certain things.
Overall, I have had only great experiences with Savyon Café, and I recommend this place to anyone in the area or anyone who likes Mediterranean Cuisine. Even if I wasn’t in the area I would probably make the trek over here once in a while.

THE SAVYON CAFE ALL-​YOU-​CAN-​EAT BUFFET ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS IS NO LONGER ALL VEGAN (as of July 2011). THEY NOW HAVE MEAT DISHES AS WELL AS VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN DISHES.
I’ve been to their Sunday buffet many times when it was all vegan. But now they have added meat and dairy to the buffet and raised the prices. When I went there on Sunday July 3^rd, they had 2 obvious meat dishes in the buffet. One was chicken and the other was a meat and pasta dish. They also had some kind of bean dish, but I was told that had a meat broth base. The panini’s were vegetarian, but they made some vegan panini’s for me. There was still plenty of vegan food there for me to eat. They didn’t have any dessert though.
Their buffet on Saturdays and Sundays now costs $ 12.99 ($ 14.25 with tax) on. On Saturdays they have a lunch buffet from 11:30AM to 4:00PM, and a dinner buffet from 5:00PM to 9:00PM. On Sundays they have only have a lunch buffet and its from 11:30AM to 4:00PM.
Some things they should do:
Update the info on their website and on Unilocal to reflect the change in the price and to indicate that the buffet now has vegan, vegetarian and meat dishes.
Put labels on the buffet dishes so people will know what is vegan, vegetarian and non-​vegetarian.
Keep the doors closed or put up some screen doors to keep the flies out of the restaurant and out of the buffet.
They did finally stop using paper plates and plastic utensils and now are using regular plates and silverware.

Super cute café with amazing service.
The buffet was a good price for 10.99 on Sunday. Everything was good but I loved the green beans with tomatoes and the seasoned potatoes.
Highly recommend trying this place and I am meat eater. Will definitely come back here.

This place is about a 5 minute walk from my business and has become a favorite for my partner and I. We treat ourselves to the Sunday Vegan buffet probably more often than we probably should.
I am a carnivore that is crazy about BBQ and a good burger, but I actually love the Vegan buffet. Great flavors and completely satisfying.
They just started a «vegetarian» buffet on Saturdays (I guess they toss in some egg and dairy), that we are going to try this weekend.
So this review is not 100% glowing, I would suggest that if you see something on the buffet line that looks really good to you, you should grab it, because it may not be there when you get back. Since its such a small operation I think its hard for them to keep all the items on the buffet at the same time, but even if they do not have what you wanted at any given time, there is no shortage of other really good things to choose from.

3.5!
AYCE? Isn’t that almost always an automatic yes to at least try once? Hmm vegan ayce buffet on Sundays? Well… I’m not vegan but I do strive to eat healthier so yes of course I’ll try it out!
Definitely drive by slowly as this little mom and pop is a bit hidden, plus all the different signage they have doesn’t help either. I think the sign for best falafel was actually bigger than their restaurant sign. Haha. Little tables for up to 3 outside, which was too bad for us since we had 4, so we sat inside on such a lovely day. They’ve decorated the place quite nicely to make it cute and bright. The people themselves, I think the owners, were really nice and explained everything to us. We paid our dues, and then grabbed some plates and went down the line. Wish they had real plates though, they were just using throwaway ones.
I of course… grabbed a little bit of almost everything so I could try as much as possible. Then on my 2^nd round was a bit more selective. So here goes!
My faves:
Veggie Sandwich
Mmm… this was filled with all sorts of veggies and some mango for sweetness! The bread was perfectly crusty on the outside and soft on the inside making for a perfect sammie experience. A bit of crunch and then yummy inside, but none of that squishing out all over the place.
Green beans
I really liked these actually. Very nice spice and flavor but I do wish the green beans weren’t so smushy.
Make your own Falafel pita
Fun fun! I just put everything I saw into my pita and squished some falafel into them. Haha the falafels were nice and crispy and kind of flat so they fit into the pita nicely. Not sure if they are the best falafel ever, but pretty tasty.
Everything else:
Salad-​yea know… salad
Grape Leaves-I’ve never liked grape leaves… but I try it again and again hoping my taste buds changed
Lentils-​super smushy
Carrots-​spicy like Mexican carrots but soft and squishy
Vegetable Curry
Baked Zuchinni with rice and tomato sauce
Banana pepper and carrot salad
Corn soup-​you could taste that this was made fresh but it needed more to it
Hummus
Stuff I saw but didn’t try:
Strawberry and berry fruit salad-​strawberries were a light pink and didn’t look very ripe
Beets
Baba Ganoush
Purple rice
After reading all the reviews I expected everything to have more flavor. I really liked the veggie sandwich and definitely would order that. The green beans were also very flavorful and had a bit of spice to it which made me go back for more. Being able to make your own falafel pita was pretty fun, though in the end I think maybe I’d rather have someone else make it for me! Yeah a bit lazy on my part! Hahaha. Everything else though wasn’t really flavorful at all. The potatoes and the sweet potatoes were indeed quite plain and while it was all fresh, could’ve used more to it.
Definitely a cute place to go to for brunch, but I think I would rather order something off the menu.

Everything here is delicious… especially the quinoa panini and falafel. Small run restaurant with a great owner… good indoor and outdoor patio seating.
They are very accommodating to vegan and vegetarians. I highly recommend this place!

Yum, Yum, Yum!!!
All-​You-​Can-​Eat Vegan Buffet (on Sundays) for only $ 10.99! Wow…
What a wonderful experience.
The food was fresh and delicious. Hummus, rice, potatoes, lentils, pita, fruit, soup, falafel… just to name a few of the items.
The service was wonderful. Lots of indoor and outdoor seating. They even allow dogs on the patio!
Highly recommend!

THE SAVYON CAFE ALL-​YOU-​CAN-​EAT BUFFET IS NO LONGER ALL VEGAN (as of July 3, 2011). THEY NOW HAVE MEAT DISHES AS WELL AS VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN DISHES. PRICE HAS INCREASED TO $ 12.99.
Savyon Café serves mediterranean food and on Sundays they have an all you can eat vegan buffet for $ 8.99.
They make all their food fresh and do not use any soy or faux meats. All the items are packed with spices and vegetables. Each week the menu changes, but favorites usually are repeated.
When I was there the menu was:
hummus & pita with other condiments to make a pocket sandwich
falafels
pineapple
green salad
sweet potatoes
potatoes
garbanzo beans
lentil soup
«egg» rolls
two types of paninis filled with marinated and grilled vegetables
couscous
rice
dolmas
carrot salad
squash
marinated vegetables
AND MORE!
Wish they were more eco-​friendly and used actual plates instead of single-​use paper and plastic.
The location isn’t the most glamorous, but the food is great. The chef and owner takes great pride in his work.

Three Magic Words = ALL VEGAN BUFFET!
Although this is a «normal» restaurant during the week, on Sundays from 11:30 — 4 they hold a 100% vegan buffet. $ 8.99 for All You Can Eat (and if the very friendly owner doesn’t think you ate enough, he’ll encourage you to eat more, more, more!).
The buffet contains the usual suspects… hummus, pita, a falafel bar, dolmas, etc. but there was a greater variety of dishes than I was expecting. There were at least 6 very flavorful hot vegetable dishes (sort of curry style), an exceptionally delicious chick pea dish, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, Israeli couscous, carrot salad, some egg roll kind of things, some stuffed pizza kind of things, and more. I tried some of every single option, and I enjoyed it all! Everything was delicious, and ridiculously affordable.
All vegans need to check this out! But the food was so yummy and satisfying, I can’t imagine not being happy and leaving there stuffed, even if you’re accustomed to eating meat at every meat. Try it, you won’t be sorry. :-)

I spent my recent Sunday afternoon stuffed and waddling around, all due to Savyon. They made me overeat, completely their fault, certainly no responsibility on my part. The food was just too good. Now I’m not usually one to partake in buffets, I find them conducive to gluttony as happened here, but if an establishment is going to go out of their way to setup a 100% vegan buffet you can bet your sweet ass I’ll be there. And Savyon did just that, providing a vegan buffet for the second Sunday in a row, something they hope to continue doing provided the interest is there.
It was freakishly tasty, and coming in at $ 9 per person I don’t really know what to say. Curries, rice, couscous, pasta, casseroles, falafel, salad, dolmas, stuffed «pizza», cooked vegetables, and more. All of it, so so good. I spoke with the owner for a few and he came off as a genuine, very cool guy. He was excited to talk about their vegan options available daily and how they were delighted to string them together into a buffet.
I have to give them props, the variety was impressive, and according to him they have about 40 dishes or so they hope to alternate to keep the the options fresh. And really, I can’t say enough about how delicious everything was, and it was great to know that on any given day they’re happy to whip up anything for their vegan customers.
$ 9 people, for an all you can eat healthy vegan buffet. That’s just crazy, I can barely get a salad for nine bucks at some spots, and as the owner said most people wouldn’t even realize it was completely vegan unless it was pointed out for them.
I will most deeeefinitely be back, for the buffet or any old day of the week to get something fresh from the menu. Really good food, really nice people, just an all around great find. Thank you Savyon!

I first read about this place on
, which is an awesome vegan blog. The blog advertised that they were having an all you can eat vegan brunch buffet on Sunday’s for $ 8.99. There was a low turnout the first time they tried it but this past weekend it had a high volume of people.
We arrived just after 1pm. The food was excellent! There were no labels on the food (which I suggest they do) but I didn’t care too much because I was going to try everything there! There was Israeli Couscous, Curries, Panini’s, salad, veggies, soup, grape leaves, fried veggie wrap, strawberries, and I am sure I am forgetting other things. Everything I had was great… no complaint about the actual food.
Here is my complaint (which I think can be easily fixed): I first want to say that I don’t think they expected such a high volume of people coming in. QuarryGirl let the vegans know and they all came out to support. When we arrived there were two lines going. There needs to be one line and a better set up for it. I know the first time they tried the vegan buffet only a few people showed up… so I am sure they were being cautious about how much food they needed to produce or were wasting. Since there were so many people there a lot of the foods weren’t being replenished fast enough. As soon as something would come out from the kitchen everyone jumped all over it and it was gone in seconds. If there was better organization it would have been an excellent brunch.
I hope that they keep this buffet going. I would like to come back. I hope the vegans keep supporting this place and their buffet!

Never had I been to a non-​vegan restaurant, tell them I’m vegan, then have them applaud with excitement to tell me about their vegan options!
Danette sold me on the quinoa patty which they use as the vegan substitue for meat dishes on the menu. I went with the Quinoa Panini which just bursted with so much fun flavors and textures! I really liked the tarty crunchy-​ness of the pickles, the savory-​ness of the sauces, and the toasty-​ness of the bread. This sandwich is HUGE for just under $ 9. I couldn’t even finish half of the sandwich.
It also comes with two sides. I went with the beet salad (seasoned with cumin and coriander) and the stuffed grape leaves (warm with a few squeezes from a lemon wedge.) Tasty tasty!
The owner, Savi, told me that everything is made from scratch and dishes are made to order. It’s well worth the wait! They also gave me a couple falafels to sample, hot and freshly made. Perfectly crispy on the outside and not as dense as other falafels I’ve had. These are probably the best falafels I’ve ever had! You can really tell that their food is prepared with love.
Super friendly staff! Danette and Savi really went the extra mile to make me feel welcomed. This place is a true gem :)

This place is awesome! I ordered a chicken shwarma panini, and it was loaded with excellent hummus, really fresh and flavorful chicken, and some delicious veggies. The portions are huge, so you get a pretty good bang for your buck. I could only manage to finish half of my sandwich!
If you’re looking for a new twist on some delicious Mediterranean food, this is the place to go!

seriously, the best falafel in the city.
I got the sampler plate, my buddy got the quinoa panini; both dishes were amazingly fresh, healthy and filling. Really really solid mediterranean food; great hummus, fried potatoes, moroccan carrot salad, braised red cabbage salad…
obviously really high quality ingredients, low-​priced, cooked and served with a lot of love.
I’m going back immediately for the $ 5 falafel lunch special!