Old City Cafe & Grill

Food was tasty, a bit pricey for lunch.
A friend and I went to Old City Café for lunch today. We ordered:
Hummus — great balance of flavors
Baba ghanoush — yummy but not the best I’ve had
Kibbeh Balls — OMG DELICIOUS I’ll be craving that for a while
Old City Platter which included a salad, Chicken, Shish Kabob, and Kufta — Salad was delicious, Chicken was Moist, Kufta was so flavorful. Shish Kabobs were OK.
Total: $ 45
My one suggestion would be to include a lunch menu as there are a lot of corporate offices around the area. The wife/​owner was also so very sweet!

I love Old City. I love the intimate setting, the friendly service, and most importantly the consistently delicious food. As a non meat eater, I have had a lot of falafel in my day and I think the falafel at Old City is absolutely one of the best I’ve had. I thoroughly enjoy the falafel sandwich with the hot sauce and could eat one every day for sure. I’ve also had several appetizers and they were all delicious. I’ve brought friends and family here and they all agree it is top notch.

I’d tried the Greek salad and it was good! Nice people, nice music, cool service. I’ll definitely come back.

I’m not a huge fan of Mediterranean flavors, and I was disappointed by Ambeli Greek Taverna across the street. Yet I was pleasantly surprised by Old City Café; it is the perfect spot for lunch. For an appetizer we tried the Old City Arrayes — ground beef with mozzarella cheese, parsley and onions in a toasted pita. Delish! The flavors were fantastic and the meat/​pita were perfectly cooked. It was a better combination than I expected and the parsley was not overwhelming. My wife and I also got pita sandwiches since it was lunch time, and they were both extremely tasty. I was surprised it didn’t come with a side (fries, pita chips and hummus, etc.) but considering we had an appetizer, it was okay.

In the middle of Cranford, best middle eastern restaurant we ever tried.
Food is honestly good with fresh ingredients. My son, who is 13, and rarely eats vegetables like tomatoes and onions, finished his sandwich without picking them apart. My teenage daughter had kebab platter and loved it. We had to get a to go box for her since it was a large portion. My wife has best falafel she had from anywhere else.
It’s small corner restaurant which has outdoor seating too. We sat inside since it was hot day.
Nice people who served us like a family (in the good way. :-)

Get here fast for great food, kind owners and staff, and quick service. The Old City combination plate is well worth what would seem a hefty price to pay, and it is large enough for two people to have their fill of an ‘everything’ kind of experience.

Thanks to Tony J. of Rahway’s recommendation, I hit this place twice last week for takeout. First of all, Old City’s amazingly friendly on the phone and in person. Then, if you like your meat on the moister side, you can request how «done» it’s prepared.
Of the starters, my favorites are the smoky eggplant-​based Baba Ganouj, lemony-​garlicky Hummus, fresh and finely prepared Tabbouleh salad with the perfect amount of bulgur, and the warm kidney bean and chickpea-​based Fooul stew– excellent over their fluffy vegetable-​strewn rice (which can come with entrees). Their Spinach Pie deserves an honorable mention with a mildly lemony spinach filling. Of all the meat entrees, I totally love the Shawarma platter which comes with a grilled spicy jalapeño and tomato and your choice of a garden salad or rice. Trust me… go for the rice! For dessert, I thoroughly enjoyed the crispy Baklava– easy to eat and literally handle with a light drizzle of simple syrup and the classic Rice Pudding– the kind that sticks to your spoon upside down in all its creamy, ricey goodness.

I have eaten here several times over the last couple of years. I would have given it one more star before the prices went haywire. The food is very good, not just ok. The seating is still something they are working out — when seated against the wall, you can be too too close to your neighbor, making any type of sensitive discussion off limits. Also, there appears to be like a «business» table used by the owner/​family which is frequently off limits to customers, which is strange cause you could seat 6 people there.
My only real complaint is that it has become too expensive for what you get. A lunch there recently ran over $ 50 with tip, and it didn’t used to be that way. It used to be a reasonable spot to eat good food. I think almost 20 or even more dollars for a slim shish kabob platter is just too much for what you get. The flatware, silverware and napkin set up is almost like a diner (I’ve had to take place settings from other tables many times); the wait staff is young and nice, but often overwhelmed and a little confused. Getting tap water takes effort. The soft drink selection is poor… these are minor but real issues which should not be there if you’re paying $ 26 with tax and tip for a shish kabob platter which really doesn’t come with a lot of food (that’s new too — the platter used to be plentiful).
I am always happy to walk in there or past there (which I do most days) and see it more than full. I think making it more expensive has driven people (like me, who was a loyal regular) away. I hope this place continues to do stay in business and that it thrives. The Greek place across the street consistently has a line out the door which I might understand if I were into Greek food. Ate there too and like Old City much better.
A word to Unilocalers everywhere: there is just no way this is a 5 star rating. Please try to realize that people rely on accurate, rational reviews — this site can’t work without that. 5 stars really should mean that the place universally blows you away. The number of 5 star ratings for this place, given the number of reviewers, really should have triggered the computer algorithm that something’s amiss.

Excellent hummus, I had the Shwarma sandwich and my daughter had the falafel both were very good

I was in the area to meet with clients and found this gem of a place! The lady at the counter, whom I think was one of the owners, was SO nice and SO friendly! She should give other restaurant owners lessons on how to treat customers! ;)
I wanted something warm, so she suggested the Fooul! Oh. My. God! SO GOOD! It was a BIG bowl of pure deliciousness! I finished the entire thing She brought out pita chips for me as well, also delicious!
I live about an hour away from this place and I plan on coming back. I travel for great service and great food! Well worth the hour drive!
I probably shouldn’t mention this, but we had such a nice conversation and she knew that it was my first time there so after I was done with my lunch and had already paid, she came over with a piece of baklava, on the house! It was delicious and SO very nice of her to do.
I have to mention… I’m Turkish so I am extremely picky about Mediterranean food. It has to be authentic for me! This was definitely authentic!
I HIGHLY recommend this place!

Wonderful Place ! Great food ! Falafel sandwich was awesome Tabboule salad was plentiful, The Labne dip was very tasty !!! Fast and yummy !!! Half a Strike for not warming up Pita Bread

Hard to believe that I have been coming to Old City for 3 years already! Finally I’ve decided to leave a review to tell you about the amazing, authentic food I’ve been eating all along. For starters, my fiancé & I always have baba ghanouj– I’ve tried this at many Mediterranean food spots, but this is the absolute best. Just the right amount of lemon, and if you can’t eat it with pita you can ask for cucumber slices.
For the main dish I would highly recommend the old city platter to get a sample of all the delicious meats. Kafka kebab, shish tawook, & shish kebab. I’ve also had the shish tawook and shawarma sandwich for lunch– chicken was cooked perfectly! Lastly, I would recommend the homemade baklawa– you can tell that it’s made fresh and not drenched in simple syrup.
I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a taste of real Lebanese food!

I had an old city platter and enjoyed it. We liked the pita and were immediately served as we ordered more. Good food, good service, nice and clean place

Food is excellent! We stopped here for a nice dinner on a Friday night. It was pretty quiet when we got there but was full by the time we left. We ordered falafel, hummus, and each of us got a sandwich. I ordered the chicken and my boyfriend got Schwama. Everything was delicious. We ended our meal with cappuccinos. The place is byob Which keeps the price down.

Taste of Middle Eastern home cooking in a quaint, quiet setting. Quality customer service, excellent food, authentic atmosphere and décor really made the whole experience a treat.

Love this place! Took a few friends here for a Saturday brunch. Immediately attended and cared for. We got the chicken sandwiches as well as hummus. Food was exceptional, I’ve been here a few times and it has never disappointed. Also didn’t have to wait too long for it. Wait staff was very friendly. Our waitress Megan was attentive and always making sure we had everything we needed. The owner also came by and asked if we were enjoying ourselves. I definitely recommend this place to anyone. Food, staff, environment were all ⁵⁄₅!

Authentic, fresh Lebanese food. I have been here twice, and brought two coworkers from MI here for a dinner meeting– they absolutely loved it. We had the grape leaves, arayes, kebabs and homemade phyllo dough dessert with cream. Everything was delicious and the service was warm and relaxed. Will be a repeat customer for many years to come. Thank you for allowing us stay past closing to enjoy your dessert.

Came here cause the reviews were good and I don’t know, maybe it was an off night? But we were highly disappointed.
The place is nice and has a good amount of seating.
Ordered the kibbeh balls as an appetizer and those were good. Shared the Old City Mix dinner and it was extremely disappointing. All the meats were very dry, it seemed as tho they’ve been sitting around all day and just got reheated to be served. The «shawarma» was not really shawarma. I think the dish had potential, had it been fresh it probably would’ve even been good but it just wasn’t. They also charge if you as for hot sauce which I found a bit odd, but that’s the least of the issues.
I don’t think I’d go back unless a friend wanted to go. Slow days are understandable but serving food that isn’t fresh isn’t.

Came here for a lunch Sunday afternoon. The establishment is well decorated cozy and clean. This place has an assortment of Middle Eastern foods such as hummus, shawarma, fool, falafel, pita and more.
The hummus and fool were absolutely amazing. I wish I had two stomachs just to eat more.
Prices are very reasonable.
I will certainly be coming again to Old City Grille.

Not a great spot for a single, lunch-​time diner. I suspect if you’re here with a group, or are willing to spend more and take home a lot of leftovers, the review would be much better.
Looking over the menu you’ll find a lot of the Middle Eastern /​Mediterranean classics we’ve all grown to love (hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush, kebabs, etc.) but all served independent of one another with no sampler to speak of. If you’re dining alone and want more than «just hummus» or «just a kebab» you’ll have to commit to a $ 15+ entrée or one of the sandwiches. I’m a huge fan of ordering a variety and sharing, but when flying solo for an afternoon it’s less convenient.
I did try the falafel sandwich and a side of grilled veggies. The sandwich had a generous portion of falafel, but to me was a bit soggy and left my stomach feeling a bit murky. It tasted «ok» — not great, but not bad either. Maybe I just ate too much in one sitting? The sandwich was topped with shredded lettuce, a few slices of tomatoes, slivers of pickle, and a drizzle of tahini sauce which I think was closer to yogurt than tahini. I was told the grilled veggies were «very authentic». Translation — half an onion, a green bell pepper split in half, a tomato in half, and a long hot pepper, all grilled with a bit of char. Totally up my alley, and for $ 3.50 I felt fair enough about it. *Caution* The onion is still a bit raw, and the long hots are HOT (but who doesn’t love some spice?)
The space is a cozy, nicely decorated setting with mostly small tables for 2 and a few for 4 people. Service was friendly, and food was served promptly.
If I had a bigger group to try a medley of items, I’d try again. Next time I’m walking Cranford on my own, I’ll default to one of the tried and true Italian /​pizza shops.