Wonderful yet again! Our waiter Ernie was amazing. Truly acted like a waiter would act at at gourmet restaurant, even holding one arm behind his back as he poured the water. I took a risk and ordered the roasted beet salad. It wasn't quite as described on the menu -- the beets were pickled, not roasted, and there weren't any pomegranate seeds -- but I didn't even care because it was such a delicious salad. It's definitely large enough to be a meal. So happy to have this restaurant in the neighborhood! read more

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Save your time and money and avoid this place--I highly doubt it will be around for long based on the poor food quality and unprofessional service. The food was dry and completely lacked flavor. To make matters worse, the woman handling our pickup order had the audacity to demand a tip, for PICKUP. She told us that because it was a busy lunch rush, she would have to add a 20% gratuity to our bill unless we chose to tip her at pickup. It was an incredibly unprofessional way to handle a takeout order, especially considering the restaurant is always empty with only three other people inside when we picked up. I will not be ordering from here again. Save yourself the disappointment and go to Jesters or find somewhere else to eat. read more

Let's get this out of the way first, the ambiance and service were excellent. The restaurant was clean, cozy, and comfortable. Our server (I wish I remembered her name) was friendly, attentive, and incredibly hardworking. I noticed she treated all of her tables with the same level of care, which made the dining experience pleasant. Now, the food. My family and I love Mediterranean cuisine, so we came in with high expectations based on our experiences at other Mediterranean restaurants. A friend recommended this place, and we were excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, we all left disappointed. We ordered several different dishes from the menu, and I would say about 90% of them were dry and lacked the flavor we were expecting. The photos only show a few of the dishes, we forgot to take pictures of the rest. Would we come back? Maybe someday, but not anytime soon. In my opinion, the restaurant has already nailed the ambiance and customer service, but the food needs significant improvement. With prices on the higher side, the quality of the food should match the overall dining experience. Right now, the atmosphere and service outshine the meals, and that's disappointing for a restaurant with so much potential. read more

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I got the beef shwarma (pita) & lentil soup. It was amazing, I ordered through ubereats and I love it. Beef and lentil had such great flavor. Maybe one day I'll stop, but it didn't disappoint read more

Cafe Zaytun - Mediterranean Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

I loved Cafe Zaytun. Our family was traveling from Florida and after so many fast food joints, you get homesick for real food. Cafe Zaytun hit the spot! The food tasted like good home cookin'. The service was phenomenal, everyone was friendly and professional. We loved the pita bread and hummus, we had chicken shawarma and baklava and profiteroles. Order anything from that menu, it's sure to be tasty and warm. The place is new and aesthetic, and it's just a great hidden gem in Elgin Illinois. read more

Cafe Zaytun - Ambient - Mediterranean Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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What a cute place! I found out that this is Larsa's - just renamed - and now they have such a beautiful space! The restaurant is immaculate-so clean-and the decor is beautiful. Our server Lizbeth was lovely and very helpful. I got the short ribs and my husband got the chicken kabob wrap. I also had the dolma appetizer. Everything was fresh and tasty. Going to give it 4 stars simply because it seemed like they needed more serving/greeter/order pickup help. Give this place a try and support Helen and her crew! read more

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Love the upgrade. Same Larsas food from Helen! Great service from The team! Vikki, Helen and Luca. Miss the Big Skillet and Larsas.the name but still great food under the newly decorated restaurant. Gotta try out some of the drinks and the new menu. read more

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Rude customer service. Cashier was very unprofessional with a big attitude. Food isn't that good either compared to the prices. My first and last visit tothis restaurant. read more

Stopped in for lunch to try out a new spot. The decor inside was beautiful & very clean. Sat at the bar and Ecko was my server. She was very friendly and attentive. I couldn't decide between the kifta platter or the roasted garlic short rib flatbread, so she recommended to get the flatbread with a side of kifta to try. Glad I made that choice bc the kifta was seasoned perfect & the flatbread was delicious & crispy. Everything was so good! The roasted carrots were my favorite!! They were sweet, creamy, and slightly crunchy with the pistachios and almonds. I can't wait to go back and try more of their food. They did have a bar so I think next time I'll have to try a cocktail. Happy to see this new edition so close to home :) read more

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The food is very fresh and taste really good ., good service and fast! Very good atmosphere clean . Our waitress is really awesome. His name is.raed read more

Stopped by for lunch, and the gyro did not disappoint. The portion was generous, the meat was delicious, and the fries were perfectly crispy. As for the service, when we arrived there was only one server, and she was clearly doing the best she could while managing the restaurant. Because she was so busy, she didn't have an opportunity to check back with our table before bringing the check. When I politely asked if she could separate the bill, she responded, "It's a good practice to ask for it at the beginning, but I'll do it this one time." I actually agree with her, and I understand where she was coming from. That said, I also think it's a good practice for servers--especially during a busy lunch service--to ask customers whether the check will be together or separate before preparing it. It's also a nice opportunity to check if anyone needs anything else or would like dessert or coffee before presenting the bill. Overall, the food was excellent, and with a little more attention to those small service details, the experience would have been even better. read more

Food was fine, it was very dry, but fine otherwise. Nothing to write home about. Also dont know about their cocktails because they didn't have a bartender on staff? Either way, place was mid. The google review is also absurdly high for how mid this food is. At least yall on yelp are more realistic. Service was good and atmosphere was good. But the food was by far and away the worst part. read more

Ordered the dip trio and instead of giving me all 3 dips they left out the tomato based dip and gave me twice as much hummus, all in one container so they blended together. I was honestly this close to just ordering baba ghanouj because I don't love hummus that much before deciding to get the trio to try the tomato based sauce. I wish they would've just told me they ran out and let me change my order instead of assuming. I also ordered garlic sauce assuming it'd be toum but I'm 99% sure it was just 2 containers of tahini, which I also don't love. I'm pretty unsatisfied with my meal but given the issue may be employee mixups and not the food itself I won't go lower than a 3 but I have a whole bunch of food I don't really want to eat. read more

Amazing food do yourself a favor and get your next dinner or lunch here. The flat bread, meats, drinks and dessert are amazing. Best Middle Eastern food around. Also the staff is so sweet and helpful!!! read more

Highly recommend! The apps were great crispy Brussel sprouts 10/10 also loved the Mediterranean wings very flavorful. The service was excellent and the cocktails were delicious read more

Cafe Zaytun - The lemon garlic wings were delicious, service was great and the cocktails were amazing definitely coming back !! - Mediterranean Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

It is nice ambiance. The staff is friendly and the food tastes great. This will be a regular stop for me on trips to the area.

Lady who used to own Larsa's Kitchen started this restaurant. Larsa's was hands down the best gyros in the area and the rest of their food was phenomenal. After I saw she opened Zaytun we went there for lunch and it was super good. The restaurant and menu is now upscaled quite a bit and everything I had was outstanding. I had falafel and some sort of flatbread that was really good. Inside looked really cool too, can't believe that building used to be big skillet. read more

We've been to Cafe Zaytun 3 times and each time is an excellent dining experience. The food is perfection, the service (last time our server was Jessica) is always pleasant and, to be honest, perfect. Gyro is the best and same goes for the Falafal. I don't know what they do to their fries but, they're the tastiest fries I've ever had. Love this place. A must try for good Mediterranean cuisine at a fair price. read more

We went here for dinner Saturday night and we had a lovely time. We received a warm welcome from Anthony and we got amazing service from Jess. They have done a wonderful job on the interior so now it's modern, clean and absolutely beautiful. It's like a hip restaurant in the city! Helen was there making pita bread and we adore her. We first became aware of her when she had a little place down the road in, of all places, a BP gas station. We loved her food then and we love it even more now! We started with the spread trio because I have always love her hummus and baba ganoush but she has also added muhammara which is super yummy. We of course had to get dolmas (my husband is obsessed with her dolmas - when we would get carryout we always got two orders so my husband could have his own!) We also tried the lachmagine which was fantastic! Crispy crust and perfectly spiced meat. We also ordered mains - my husband got the kefta kebob, one friend got the Allepo chicken sandwich and one friend got the beef shawarma. My dad tried the Assyrian meatloaf while I had the beef short ribs. It was all so good! We loved it and we will definitely be back soon. Oh, and BTW our cocktails were creative and delicious. I shall miss Big Skillet as a breakfast place but I am so glad Cafe Zaytun opened and we shall certainly do our part to support this wonderful gem in Elgin! read more

Just going to keep it real it's not the same I understand as a business prospective that you have to make the prices and portion right to make sense but tbh man I feel like someone fd up everything the portions suck for the price...I miss where it was actually loaded I wouldn't mind paying extra for good portions but it's not the same flavors the meats are bland the new owner cool and all but would not be coming back and also found a short piece of hair in my food if you guys brung back Hellen's old recipes and great food I'll be coming back but y'all messed up the spices the portions and the quality that day I ordered a steak and chicken shawarma plate with rice.. the person in the back cooking my food bogus they gave me the most skimpy chicken and steak like wasn't even full pieces and the rice wasn't even half way I felt like I got ripped off pls fix these issues read more

Been looking for a nice Mediterranean restaurant in the area, this is it! Food is authentic and delicious, service is excellent and the environment is well done. highly recommend. read more

My wife and I had dinner tonight at Cafe Zaytun for the first time. We liked everything about it! The service was friendly and attentive, the overall atmosphere was very welcoming, but the real star of the show was the food! Everything we ordered was seasoned perfectly, the sauces on dishes like their Brussels sprouts appetizer were really excellent, and the portion sizes were generous. We'll be coming back to Cafe Zaytun! read more

Beautiful new interior creates a very outdoor vibe. I picked up a to go order and everything was packaged nicely. We had the gyro plate with fires and taziki, a side of falafel, beef kefta, and babaganoush. They even threw in Some extra pita. Everything was delicious. Would be great spot for lunch or dinner. I saw their wood fire oven and now want to try their flatbreads read more

Absolutely amazing spot, the atmosphere and decor are both upscale without being pretentious. Very friendly and confident wait staff, especially Javier the bartender, felt right at home with him. Food is extremely fresh, and you get a more than generous portion especially considering the price point. 10/10 read more

I suffer from gluten intolerance and was assured by our server and the "chef" that there was absolutely no wheat flour used in the preparation of the food that was ordered and served to me last evening , not true ! I did not make the short 10 minute drive home before the painful reaction started and is still not subsided this morning. Please beware if you have any allergies , the food and the staff need to be addressed immediately. read more

The food, service, atmosphere, and cocktails are all excellent. You will not be disappointed.