Cafe Jaffa

Caffe Jaffa somehow exists in the Back Bay on Gloucester St between Boylston and Newbury. Despite being surrounded by a wasteland of overpriced Newbury Street eateries and unappealing Boylston pubs, there stands Cafe Jaffa serving up heaping portions of middle eastern delicacies like gyros, shawarma and falafel. My go-to dishes are usually a shawarma and hummus wrap or a chicken kebob salad, both under $10. The salads and wraps have pickles in them, which I think is a nice touch. The servers are all really friendly, and even though there always seems to be people in there, I've never had to wait for a table. If you like hot sauce, theirs is one of my favorites in the city, but you need to ask for it.

Pros: inexpensive, great hot sauce, friendly

Great place. I went once and it was ok. When I went the second time I wasn't disappointed. The shwarma is cut right in front of your eyes. IT WAS GREAT. I hope they start making sabich wrapped in pita made fresh in the resturant. GO THERE NOW!!!!

This is a great place I like how his 2 sons work there

I work nearby, and this is the place I go to for lunch most often. I get takeout more often than I sit down. The shwarma salad is something I never get tired of. The food is always good, and the vibe is low key and pleasant. Nice people work there.

Pros: Good food, cheap. Pleasant atmosphere

Cons: none worth mentioning

My partner and I are definite fans of ethnic cuisine and found this place listed in one of our travel guides on our trip to Boston. The atmosphere is very dark inside but the service was good, if not entirely fast and attentive. However, what might have been lacking in service or bright atmosphere is definitely made up for in the quality and quantity of food. From the thing we had, I would highly recommend any of their Middle Eastern dishes, but specifically the stuffed cabbage was great and their Greek salad is a must have. They also had a good tabouli, if somewhat bland, and the shish-ka-bobs were very well done. For starters, however, you should have the hummus appetizer, it is very finely processed and comes out as a nice dipping sauce instead of big chuncks of chick peas as a lot of places are want to do these days. Very tasty, we went away very full and impressed overall for about $45.

Pros: Great ethnic foods

Cons: Atmosphere is dark, service is somewhat slow

I had a good, inexpensive well-spiced steak here. I also thought the accompanying bread was also very nice. Overall, a pretty good value, although the service could stand to be a bit more polite and attentive. While my food arrived quickly, it took a very long time to get my check and run the credit card.

A great little spot to get a quick eats, a nice interior and great fries! They have some things on the menu that are not typically american which is nice (turkish coffee, different beer selection, etc) they also do take out.