I noticed that this restaurant had opened recently, so I decided to give it a try today. Rachel's Kitchen is a Mediterranean restaurant chain that started in Bufffalo, with 7 locations there and now this location in Rochester.
The decor is sparse and cafeteria-looking, but clean. The staff was friendly. (There was a Manager and three staff working the counter and one guy, manning the grill area, who was just staring into space, looking like he wanted to kill himself if he didn't get something to do soon).
I spoke briefly with the Manager and he was nice enough to let me try the chicken. The griilled chicken was nothing special. The shawarma chickenn was nice, very garlicky. (He told me twice that this was chicken with garlic and potato.)
I asked him if they made everything from scratch, right there. He said yes. Then...
Me: "So everything is homemade, made from scratch here? So, you make the falafel?"
Manager: "Yes."
Me: "Oh, that's good. What's in your falafel?"
Manager: "Well, things are made in Buffalo."
So, not completely honest, not completely dishonest, I guess. I THINK it's all homemade, just made in Buffalo and transported to Rochester. But, I can't be sure. I have reached out to Rachel's through their homepage to clarify this, but haven't heard back yet. I will update this review when and if I get an answer.
I moved down the line to get my gyro. Items are made Chipotle-style, where you let the staff person know what you would like. That is a nice option, because you can put anything you want in your pita, wrap or bowl. Everything looked pretty fresh. And, the tabbouleh, even though I didn't try it, looked good---more parsley than bulgur, as it should be.
I got a standard gyro---pita, gyro slices, tomato, lettuce, red onion, feta and tzatziki sauce. You can get falafel as side order, so I got falafel, too. They come two to an order and came with some tahini sauce.
One thing is that they do not carve the gyro from a spit, like most everyone else does. It comes in prepared strips. I am assuming that Rachel's does not make that meat and purchases it already prepared. If that's not the case, I will update the review.
The gyro was pretty good. The gyro slices were mild, but had some flavor. (Maybe if they were freshly-sliced from a rotisserie, they would be more flavorful.) However, they were pulled out of a bin and not reheated, so they were just barely warm. I'm not sure they are keeping those food bins at the proper temperature, especially for the meat. So, all in all, it was a gyro. Not the best I've had. Not the worst I've had. (The Manager told me that the gyro didn't represent the best they had to offer and the Chicken Shawarma was the thing to order.)
The falafel were very good, though. A little bit larger than the typical falafel (hard to tell by the picture), crIpsy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. The accompanyying tahini sauce was good, nice and lemony. At 2 for $1.00, I think they are a good deal and would get them again.
Update 3/15/20: Since I have reached out to Rachel's several times and they refuse to answer me, I can only assume two things: (1) They do not make all of their food from scratch and some or all of their food is commercially-prepared. (2) There is absolutely no reason that they are charging substantially more for their food than any other Mediterranean restaurant in the area.
The big reason why I am giving Rachel's three stars and not four or five? The prices!!! They are way out of line with their pricing. What with so many Mediterranean restaurants in Rochester, I don't see how they expect to capture much of the market at their current prices. (I have asked Rachel's why they are so expensive compared to other Mediterranean reestaurants in my email. Let's see if they have an answer to that.)
For example, Rachel's Kitchen charges $10.10 for the gyro or chicken shawarma pita. Wow!!! Here's what other restaurants in the area charge:
Sultan's $6.49
Basha $9.00
Aladdin's $7.95
Sinbad's $7.75
Cedar $7.50/8.00 (chicken)
Dalia's $6.95
At Mediterranean Kebab House, you can get a gyro or chicken pita WITH fries AND a drink for
So, what's up with that, Rachel's? Two to three dollars more than most other restaurants in the area? It's not like they're serving anything that the other places aren't.
The bottom line....the same food exists all over Rochester (some of it better, in my opinion) at better prices. I won't be returning to Rachel's.....unless I have a serious falafel craving and I'm in the area. read more