Med cafe

Authentic authentic authentic did I mention this place is authentic? I’ve never been to another place like This. Iranian are the people who own it and frequent it… for the most part, for example there was another set of white people in there when we were there… Period…-and the place was packed. The food is fresh clean healthy and really great flavored. All the meals come with free hot tea serve yourself which is a really nice touch. Being open till 3 AM means that it’s one of my main (got to be in the mood for) but definitely always a healthy fresh option when it comes to late night dining.
I know this sounds crazy but they serve cups correction more than a cup at least 2 ½ cups worth of fresh pomegranate, already peeled ready to go. Amazing and way cheaper than the grocery store sells their little cups for. If you are a mediterranean style yogurt nut then this is a place for you! They even have soda w/​yogurt… Chickenshit didnt try it didn’t see anyone drinking it.
Overall great experience I feel good eating here I feel good leaving year knowing that small business was served in my San Diego community God bless the oil fields of the Middle East!!! Have a date!!!

Always the best hookah :)
Great people and a great atmosphere. The best in SD! Come and enjoy the music or bring some friends and relax.

This place is still awesome! I’ve been eating at the Med Café Downtown for the last five or so years and their food is always consistently outstanding. I always end up ordering the chicken kabob dinner plate and loved everything about it, from the most tender juicy chunks of chicken breast to the fluffy rice to the amazing hummus and garlic sauce, makes my mouth water! This place is primarily a hookah lounge with a very mellow atmosphere, but they serve outstanding food and it’s available till 3 a.m. 365 days a year. Try it and you’ll be addicted. I always order to go but there are plenty of tables and chairs if you want to enjoy your food there.

The owners are great people. They had an excellent Middle Eastern restaurant far too hidden under Symphony Towers and while my coworkers and I loved it, it was too hidden and so they apparently had difficulty with the location and ample customers. We were bummed.
This is their new spot and the food is very good. The surroundings are confusing as it’s a cool old building just north of the main drag of Downtown’s headquarter buildings. A bit tattered inside, but comfy and very large, it draws a diverse crowd.
I’m not too concerned about glamorous surroundings as I have found that some of the best dining experiences I’ve had in Europe and the U.S. have been in hole in the wall spots or quirky locales.
Bottom line, the food is great. I’ve eaten here a half dozen times and have tried their lamb and chicken platters, dolmades, hummus, and wonderful salads.
This isn’t fancy but it’s great, affordable authentic Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean food.
I’ve only been for lunch. Looking forward to see what the dinner vibe is like. Check it out.

I used to go here a lot. Visited a few weeks ago and it’s upgraded. The food is great. It’s nice and welcoming. The owner checks on his customers from time to time. They are the only lounge still providing wood coal.

Went for lunch the other day, the food (a gyro) was okay, not especially spectacular but as soon as I sat down on a chair, a huge roach crawled up with wall. I immediately moved over to a table and would have left if I hadn’t already ordered. The place was not very clean, old couches with burns all over and a grime all over. Lost my appetite when I saw a gnat fly out of the food.

One of my old hangout spots during my Navy years. I came here the other night with a friend to reminisce on the good old days. As I walked in, I realized this place has not changed much, aside from rearranged seating. It has a cool vibe, and you feel that you are truly in the Middle East. They have ethnic music playing, and they serve all kinds of drinks, food, and hookah. They have outdoor seating at the front, and plenty of couches within. They also have couches and other seating at the rear part of the place, as well as two pool tables. You need quarters to play billiards, so bring plenty of change.
The staff was friendly, and made our coffee drinks well. It was great to visit this place after so long, and I will be back here the next time I find myself in San Diego.

Great food. Nice and friendly staff. Very chill place to hang out with friends. I took my food to-​go because I wasn’t sure if I would be comfortable eating dinner near the hookah smokers. I also purchased from the
app and they honored it and didn’t require us to dine-​in like most discounted coupons.

Favorite lunch spot great prices and good food in downtown you have to try their baba ganouch idk if that’s spelled right but it’s their eggplant dip

If your looking for a relaxed place with good food and maxing hookah, this is the place! Open real late and serves food all night long. This is a highly recommend place in my book! Must go! Amazing staff!!!

Poor service. Slow. Difficult to understand Beyond hole in the wall. Dinner portion of gyros had 10 paper thin slices of gyro meat (no wider than a strip of bacon). I have never had gyro meat of this type — seemed to be processed lunch meat). Basmati rice was good and the taziki sauce. Pita was warm but dry. Salad was a soggy mess. Overall disappointing!!!
*****ADDITIONALLY***** Be careful this unscrupulous business automatically adds TIP to bill even for one OR two people. This is uncalled for! If a business does this it is usually for parties of 6 or 8+!!! If you are not aware you will double tip them.

Always stop in for a tea and a sandwich. Nabeel makes some of the best Mediterranean food in SD. The staff is great and really friendly.

Had a coupon so we tried it for lunch. Were completely satisfied with every aspect of our lunch. The service was very friendly and attentive, speed of food delivery was perfect for a work lunch hour and the food was obviously fresh and authentic with nice presentation. Our only problem was deciding what we want to order the next time we visit Med Café. There are so many delicious options. We will most definitely be back!

«Plate with ‚» as Nabil would say! The best chef for Mediterranean cuisine in Dan Diego! The food is truly irresistible and the hookah is smooth. They use real natural wood charcoal which makes the flavor last much longer than your average quick lights. Khalid, the owner, is around often and he is such a personable and humble man. I’m hooked on Med Café. The lighting and couches are comfortable and I’m loving the new layout with more tables, comfy chairs, and variety of seating options.

I found my spot! I’m so impressed with Med Café and their service. Khaled has created the most beautiful hookah lounge and the staff makes every experience I’ve had here absolutely incomparable to the other lounges I have been regulars at for the past 5 years. I’m a coffee head and Mohammed makes the most delicious drinks with superb flavor and foam to die for! The food is flavorful and authentic. I’m a vegetarian and the tabouleh is one of my favorites on the extensive menu. I’m excited for all the new changes I see happening here. New hoses and a clean layout are beautiful.

This place is open until 3am. The quality of the food is excellent! I don’t hookah but the people who are seem to be happy about it but this is not the type of place you sit and observe other people. This is the opposite of a creeper place, you are left alone and feel chill.
If you ask for anything, they will get it for you and when you enjoy it, the problems of this world disappear. Maybe this is a sanctuary or maybe not. What this place does offer, it offers well.
Every time I have been in, it has not been busy, I have been entertained but usually because this environment fosters self expression without stuffing their own loud music or whatever down your throat. Sometimes I am here alone traveling through space, doing my work and listening to music while eating good vegan (yes they will make you good vegan food) and sipping a beer whose name means tree.
Yes that will do nicely.
I’m going there now. I prefer nobody in my face. If I want loud or extra attention, I would go to that but that is far from my desire.
Why haven’t I left?! Because some of the negative reviews make me want to do better to bring balance to the reviews but f it. I do not want to deny someones opinion or observation no matter how wrong I think they maybe. From their angle maybe I’m wrong.
If you are a longtime asshole then this place is no good.

We came here with coupon. The food is decent. Its a hole in the wall vibe. But overall, foodwise, its ok. Nothing spectacular except for the piping hot fries.

Not a bad place for lunch and hookah. The sandwiches were really good and fresh. Hookah on a weekday is really cheap at $ 10 (with a $ 1 service fee). They use wood instead of coals so it burned a lot cleaner and they helped replace the wood since it burns out fast. Overall, good place and service though it was pretty slow in the afternoon.

Disclaimer: We didn’t actually get to eat here.
We were in the mood for some decent middle eastern food and found this place on either groupon or
. Shame on us for not doing more research. We had no idea that it was mainly a hookah bar. I mean, Med CAFE… I thought it was a place to eat.
We pull up to the curb and parked. The hubs and I, along with our 2 daughters, walked up to the doorway and peer inside the dimly– lit restaurant. Mind you, it’s about 1:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon. The place is nearly empty, except for the 10 or so people (including children) sitting out front… smoking a hookah. (This is important. Remember this later!!)
We were there for a minute or two and no one says anything to us, including the man glaring at us from the far rear of the place. The hubs kindly asks him if we can sit anywhere and this is what he got in reply.
«NO CHILDREN!!! THIS IS HOOKAH BAR!!! DON’T BRING YOUR KIDS HERE.»
The hubs: «Um, OK… we were trying to get food, but I guess we’ll go»
Mean owner/​waiter: «You can eat outside if you want.»
Nope, there’s a large group out there, NOT EATING FOOD. But they are smoking a hookah. I guess it’s OK to smoke in front of your kids, as long as it’s outside. We promptly left.

A friend and I wanted to get some hookah and this place was walking distance from her place. We went on a Saturday late afternoon and the place was pretty empty.
We got the green apple real fruit hookah. For the real fruit hookah, they put the sheesha inside an actual fruit and put it over the coals. It was pretty good.
This place servers beers and it is lounge like atmosphere. We also had the kabob plate for 2 which came with hummus, veggies and bread. The meat was actually pretty flavorful.
Overall this is a good place to chill for a bit. The prices are a bit high for the atmosphere but it will work in a pinch.
Stay sexy fellow Unilocalers!