shish cafe

busy, but good and inexpensive. i'm a big fan of middle eastern food, so i was looking forward to trying shish. you place your order at the counter, then seat yourself at a table. we had trouble finding an open table, but a waiter noticed this and cleared out a pair of hipsters surfing on their laptops and nursing a soda between the two of them. i must say that after reading some of the reviews, i was pleasantly surprised by the service- the waiter was very attentive and helpful. the food was prepared fairly quickly, and brought to us as each dish was prepared, not all at once.
we tried the gyros sandwich, hummus with chicken shawarma, babaganoush, cheese and spinach pies, and the veggie shishwich. the hummus and chicken shawarma were excellent (my 5-year old couldn't stop eating it), with a large portion of chicken and a very nice fresh green salad. thegyrowas also very good and very large considering how inexpensive it is. we barely touched the babaganoush, which we normally love; this version was too coarse, oily, and smoky for our tastes. the pies were made with beautifully flaky, light phyllo: the cheese pie was very good, though a bit sweet. the spinach pie was disappointing- way too bitter, and i think they used frozen spinach in the preparation. the veggie "shishwich" would have been a home run, except for the fact that it was so watery- they need to let the roasted vegetables rest and give up a bit of their liquid before putting it into the sandwich.
overall, not the best or most authentic middle eastern food i've had, but still a good experience. i'm sure we'll be back.

i'm officially obsessed. i've tried the turkish coffe, falafel andgyrowrap, as well as thegyroon pita. all soooo good! i can't wait to go back and try some more options.

i keep going back for more!. shish's menu is so extensive and their service is so polite and **fast** that you may find yourself going back just to try new dishes. everything i've had so far has been awesome but let's start with the sweet potato duo i had the other night: the soup of the day was coconut sweet potato soup and although it was a freaky unholy color, it smelled like a baked sweet potato and tasted exactly like half coconut, half sweet potato: thick and creamy, it was perfect with the sweet potato fries that didn't need salt, ketchup, butter - or anything else. another time i had the turkish coffee - a sweet cup of finely ground heaven - with a gyro. word to the wise, order extra cucumber sauce - it wasn't dry (the opposite, it was the best lambgyroi've ever had) but they don't give you a whole lot of sauce. on my birthday, i had the portabella mushroom burger - okay, the image that just popped into your head, it wasn't like that. imagine the gigantic mushroom cut into strips, then grilled, then draped across a welcoming bun. and pesto and red peppers on top - awesome. not what i was expecting, but totally delicious. my sister had the veggie burger - no boca burger here. it is literally squash and mushrooms and other veggies sautéed and heaped - nay, mountained! - onto a bun, with hummus. again, not what she was expecting, but really yummy. also, their fries are really thin cut which i love and have great seasoning. i had them again when i ordered the kefta burger. it was delicious but someone forgot my carmelized onions and i didn't notice till i got home ;( also, i recommend you order it with the hummus on the side so you can dip your fries into it. now for desserts: they have a gigantic display of temptations including three varieties of baklava. they ought to just call it the glass temptation case. the size of one piece of cake is the size of a kindergartener's head. but the piece i had on my birthday - the peanut butter cup cake - made me want to call my parents and thank them for conceiving me. so delicious. the red velvet cake is also soft and moist - and the frosting!!!! i don't even like frosting and i liked it - butter cream and fresh (you know how butter cream frosting can "turn"? this frosting had to have been made that morning so the gtc must be refrigerated). *also, they serve breakfast till 10 a.m. on weekdays and till 2 in the afternoon on weekends - can't wait to try the crepes and the french toast and the belgian waffles!! and the omelets!

the bestgyroon the planet. i've had about half the menu so far and this may be the tastest resteraunt in the twin cities.
-giantgyrothat will make you belive in god
-hella good bang for the buck
-great and friendly service
-a cool design and plesent outdoor seating

sheesh!. juicygyromeat with fresh veggies. very satisfying. however, after i finished my sandwich, i ordered some desserts and a coffee to go. the gal at the register made me wait ten minutes until she took the orders of all of the people behind me in line before bringing me my order. how hard would it have been to put the desserts in the styrofoam box, pour me a cup and be done with it? btw, the desserts were fine.

updates: on return visits i've tried the moussaka, and would avoid it in the future. i've also become enamored of the turtle cake. not sure who is baking for them, but it is the best in town.