Cafe Taxim

Closed. Permanently. A shame; I went there again two weeks prior and it was good as always

2.5 if I could, but the food is the deciding factor over the really nice service.
I went here a couple years ago, but I couldn’t remember the experience at all. I went again and might have ordered the same thing, but I know now why the blank experience — the food just wasn’t memorable, good or bad.
First time I went I got a beef and lamb gyro wrap and falafel. Second time I got a beef and lamb gyro wrap and calamari. The falafel is decently sized, spices were okay. Calamari is great texture wise, but could use a little more salt, even with lemon.
The beef and lamb gyro is what gets me. It’s a nice thick piece that’s juicy. But it’s just so bland that it’s a chore to eat it. I’ve had that taste problem at other places too, but the meat looks so deceptively good I gave it a chance only to get let down again.
I think it’s just an issue with that one dish, I think their other dishes may be better and the rice looked good. Just saying the beef and lamb gyro is much better at other places.

Mediterranean food: I always have a love hate relationship. Some day I have some very tasteful food, the other, it’s alright.
This day, it’s the alright day. It was a Monday evening, there was not many people there. We had lamb skew, prawn skew and beef skew.
Let me start by saying, the food is extremely expensive for the portion we got. There were 8 pieces of each being served along with a huge portion of salad and rice. However, the rice they served along was very good! Taste like a healthier version of fried rice. So at the end, I wasn’t bothered too much with the little amount of meat we got and just focus on eating my rice.
Service: quick, attentive. I don’t quite get this restaurant. Because we have to order and pay at the cashier before getting our food (so its like a fast food restaurant), but food and drink was served by a server. She was super sweet and that’s the only reason I feel bad for giving such low rating.

Went for the first time and ordered a chicken gyro to go. Arrived at my office, took a bite and had to spit it out, having bitten into a part of a chicken that shouldn’t be served. I expected the chicken to be gyro-​like and thinly sliced, instead it was cut into unappetizing chunks. Not only was the chicken inedible but the wrap was completely tasteless, there was no seasoning at all, it was completely bland. I’ll never eat there again

The beyti isn’t bad, but the gyro meat on the iskendar was decidedly tough. Like someone had let the meat log sit for too long in too much heat. Also my friend may have found a hair in his food. This isn’t something that bothers me a ton but I’d say he reasonably lost his appetite. But the real sin was the rubbery gyro meat.

I came here for dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and had the lamb and beef gyro wrap ($ 9). We also split spanakopita and babaganoush as appetizers. Service was pretty quick and food was decent. I definitely miss the cheap delicious gyros in Europe, but this definitely brought back memories.

I just randomly stopped in here for lunch and wasn’t expecting much but, man, was I pleasantly surprised. I ordered the falafel burger, which came with a side of fries and a nice salad. The fries were hot and crispy and the burger was great. I was worried the falafel patty would be too dry, but it was perfect. Serving size was more than enough for me.
Service was great too. Everyone was friendly and my food showed up fast. I’d definitely stop here for lunch again if I’m in the area.

I have been to this restaurant twice, my first experience was really good but the second time I went there and it was this week, I was really disappointed. The portions were too small and the food was also cold.

I always go to this place for dinner. I was just reading the reviews, I don’t know about breakfast or lunch but if you crave for dinner specially turkish. This is the place to go. I tried lots of turkish restaurants but café taxim has one of the closest taste to real turkish food. Recommended !!!

The food was nice but too expensive for what it was. Rice was very flavorful, chicken ok and the setting was only ok

Decent Greek/​Mediterranean place in Palo Alto. Enjoyed the fact that they had a TV so I could watch the game while eating. Prices were reasonable, food was decent. My girlfriend complained about the lack of hummus in her Falafel sandwich, despite it being listed as the first ingredient, but she still liked it. Nice small salad to go with the sandwich.

I ordered the lamb burger and it was good. It was good as 3 out of 5 good however I liked the staff they were kind and friendly and provided good service. Also their meat is Halal according to Zabiha so that’s another plus. For those reasons I am giving them a generous ⁴⁄₅ rating.

I was looking for a new place to try, and came across Taxim, while walking down University ave and decided to give it a try.
I ordered a Beet and Goat cheese salad with a side of gyro, since their chicken has garlic (allergic) and couldn’t resist getting the baklava.
So the beet salad is pretty much a large beet, peeled and cut in circles with barely any lettuce. I’m a little disappointed, since that’s not what I was expecting.
The gyro was very dry and way too greasy, I ended up not eating any of it.
The only thing I would come back for is the baklava. Just the right combination of chewy and fluffy.
The service was polite, but not very fast (surprising, considering that they were far from full)

I had the lentil soup and gyro wrap. The soup was OK. It had a nice texture but needed some seasoning and salt. The fresh bread that it came with was excellent.
The gyro was regrettable. It was cooked wrong, dry, and had no seasoning at all. Maybe the worst gyro I’ve ever had.
Seriously, the bread that came with the soup was the best thing they served me.
Also why do they have canned/​bottled drinks? That’s not something that you serve in a restaurant.

I always wanted to come here and try the food. I think it’s their sign that attracts me, «Istanbul Street Food»! This had me at once. For a couple years now, I would just walk by and peek inside but thats about it. Finally on my lunch break today from work, I paid a visit to finally see what they’re all about. The menu was pretty extensive; food & drinks were categorized into wraps, plates, sides, apps, etc. I noticed that the prices here were pretty expensive compared to Gyro Gyro across the street. They both sell almost the same type of items except Gyro Gyro was about a dollar cheaper (that’s a plus). Anyway, I thought I’d give it a shot anyway.
I ordered the chicken gyro and a plate of baklava. The chicken gyro was decent. There wasn’t enough meat but that was ok because it balanced out with the other stuffing inside. The chicken was grilled or slowly cooked just right though! The taste was surely there for the ingredients inside. The hot sauce here at Taxim is AMAZING! it’s creamy and spicy; kind of like a dressing rather than the chili paste texture. BTW, the hot sauce here is much better than Gyro Gyro (Their hot sauce is like ketchup and pasty).
Gyro size-​wise, Gyro Gyro is larger and much thicker with lots of stuffing. The Gyro’s here at Taxim are just right for most people but since I eat a lot and I judge my gyro’s differently, I still liked Taxim’s. Overall the chicken gyro was a B-​. Taste is great, size and price is eh.
The baklava was so expensive though! I’ve been craving baklava for soo long and I needed some asap so I said F it! I’m just going to spend $ 4.5 for a piece! UGHHH so expensive! I paid about $ 15 in total for my gyro and baklava. That is pretty darn exp.
Service by the woman was fabulous though! she was very nice and helpful with answering some of my questions. She def has a welcoming vibe which is key.
Not too sure if I’ll be coming back but it doesn’t matter. Café Taxim is doing pretty well and I always see a good crowd eating during lunch and even more for dinner.
Thanks!

By now I’ve been here 4 – 5 times and I can say that every experience has been great! We’ve tried of sorts of Kabob dishes, salmon, gyro, and appetizers (soup, Borek, Mezze platter)… everything tastes very authentic. I highly recommend you try the turkish red wine and Efes beer. Also we’ve had the baklava and Kunife for dessert.
And finally, today we tried the breakfast (turkish eggs) and it was YUMMY! Took me back to our vacation days in Istanbul!
I am sad to see some people have given this restaurant lower reviews, they have good service and delicious food. The prices are very reasonable for the large portions.
Highly recommended!

Came here with a friend for a late lunch. You order at the counter and they bring out your food. The service was very friendly
I had a pretty good lamb skewer wrap. Turned out that you don’t really have to get a combo, since the wrap already comes with a pretty decent side of salad
Would definitely come back again for lunch

I ordered the Turkish breakfast which I found a bit too pricey for what they gave. The Turkish tea (essentially a black tea family variant) was bitter like I wanted it though. The sugar that they gave wasn’t the traditional beet sugar cubes that I wanted.
The seating is actually fairly nice and they keep their bathroom clean. So they’re sharp with their sanitation. The customer service was adequate; they are very nice people. But, when I asked how the breakfast is traditionally eaten, I got a very vague response.
Overall, it’s an OK place if you want to just try out Turkish food, but I would suggest trying it only if there’s a GroupOn or LivingSocial deal.

The hummus is good; it has a nice zing to it. It comes with great bread:
But: worst falafel ever:
It’s the «flattened» shape. The crust seems more «baked on» than «deep fried». Inside, it’s very dense, and dominated by a generic black pepper flavor. It’s even worse that the refrigerated falafel at Whole Foods.
The Turkish coffee was very weak, despite the fact that coffee grounds filled half the cup. It’s also super tiny: you get maybe 2 tablespoons. The baklava was meh; the whole thing was soggy and gummy, even the pastry at the top:

Not bad — there’s a lot of competition among middle eastern spots in downtown Palo Alto and this one’s up there. I still like Mediterranean Wraps the best (so sad they closed) — huge portions and fairly cheap — and Oren’s probably has the best quality. This one has pretty good food but seems pricey for what you’re getting. I got the Amazon Local deal which helped =).
* Iskender (Alexander) — 4 stars
(Marinated lamb & beef gyro with bread cubes in fresh tomato sauce & yogurt. $ 12.95)
This is a HUGE portion! The tomato sauce is strong and fresh — I like the combo of soggy bread cubes and gyros. The meat is a little tough but still pleasant to eat. The yogurt is a nice balance — flavor and temperature-​wise — to the meal.
* Chicken skewers — 3 stars
(Marinated chicken cubes charcoal grilled Skewered with onion & red bellpepper. $ 10.95)
You don’t get very much for over $ 10 — one skewer of chicken, veggies, and a pile of rice. Come to think of it, neither of us got the pitas that supposedly come with all plates… Anyway, I tried a bite of the chicken and thought it was fine, a tiny bit on the dry side but still good and with a nice crisp. My boyfriend, however, really hated this dish and I’ve gotta respect him as a foodie.

Relatively new to the downtown scene, Taxim Café serves up some really tasty Turkish fare at a reasonable price. Although there are several other Mediterranean style eateries on University Ave, the food at Taxim seems a lot more authentically Turkish and less «fast food Greek» like many other Mediterranean spots you might encounter in the area.
When I stopped by for lunch yesterday the gentleman who took my order was Turkish; we talked about Istanbul. «Great city, crowded city, oh whats that pastry called, I totally had it when I was there…»
Fun fun. Not to be cheesy, but I was momentarily taken back to my Istanbul vay-​cay last summer… *sigh*
So now on to the food…
As always, I order the exact thing I say I’m *not* going order in hopes of trying something new and exciting. This did not happen, as I fell victim to temptation and settled on the Meze Combo (which is just a variety of Mediterranean appetizers like hummus, babaganoush, tabbouleh, greek salad, falafel, dolmas, etc)
Why I am such a sucker for this yummy combination, I will never know, but fortunately they’re always delicious, so I have yet to be disappointed with one of these appetizer combos *crossing fingers*
One thing in particular that DID stand out was the mega humungo falafel they served me with the meze. This sucker was huge and was unlike any falafel I’ve had before. I believe I recall reading on the menu that the falafels had goat cheese in them, so perhaps this this is what made it different. Bad vegan, but never the less, it was damn good.
The rest of the meze was pretty standard and was served with sliced bread instead of pita. As far as the menu goes, it consisted of your standard wraps, kebabs, and salads, but also consisted of a few unique items like vegetarian sautee and some Turkish bread/​pastries that I sampled in Istanbul.
Overall, I think Café Taxim is a great new addition to the downtown food scene and I can’t wait to come back and check out some more of their menu offerings (hopefully I’ll move past the delicious meze!)