Taziki’s Mediterranen Cafe

My wife and i were there for the first time tonight. We arrived and grabbed a couple of menus and looked them over, it was slow. We then went to the counter where nobody acknowledged our presence. We literally stood at the order register for 8 minutes, no acknowledgement from anyone. The cooks turned around a number of times and just stared. A girl was filling us totally ignored us, I another worker was walking back and forth with a jacket on and still no acknowledgement. The girl finished with the ice and started walking towards us, finally service, NOPE. She went to the sink and again didn’t acknowledgement. we put our menus down and walked out, still no acknowledgement. So we walked down to Jersey Mikes, as soon as we walked through the door we were greeted, the staff was excellent. After we were done and walked out, they thanked us for coming and wished us a good night. We walked back to the car and looked in Taziki’s it was completely empty. If it wasn’t for all these customers this job would be fun. Keep up the great customer service and you will continue to be empty. Taziki’s would not recommend it, at least this location.

Taziki’s Mediterranean Café is a fast-​casual Greek-​inspired café. The menu (
) can be generalized as being salads, sandwiches, gyros, and grilled meats.
Let’s start with the positives and the key reasons why you SHOULD come here.
1. Location: For many, the Parkside Commons location is easy to access and has tons of parking.
2. Nice facilities: the facilities are still new, classy, clean, and well lit. This is a perfect place to come for lunch and have a feel that’s closer to fine dining than fast-​casual. And perhaps for that reason, the place was filled with white-​collared workers on their lunch break. Thus, meals tend to be right around $ 10/​each, so with tax and perhaps a drink you’re looking at low teens for a meal. This isn’t unreasonable, but this is not fast food.
3. Fresh ingredients: Taziki’s uses nice fresh ingredients — their salads are decent sized, crisp, and well prepared. Breads are fluffy and fresh.
4. Sensible meals. The meals choices skew toward healthy options and sensible portion sizes. We all know how hard it is to find good healthy choices in the South.
5. Fast service. Ordering is done at the counter and they deliver to your table. The kitchen is quite prompt, even during busy hours.
Now here’s some things that you might consider to set your expectations:
1. Authenticity. This isn’t authentic Greek like the kind you got on that amazing trip to Corfu a few summers back. Rather, this is food that is Greek inspired. For example, the gryos aren’t those slabs of marinated meats that are grilled upright on a slow spinning roaster with delectable roasted nummy bits shaved off into a warm fluffy thin pita. Rather, this is fairly thick, bland slabs of lamb that are cooked chewy and put onto a fat floury pita and a thick tzatziki poured on. Sandwiches incongruously come with what appear to be Ruffles potato chips.
2. Quality control — Mediterranean food is actually simple in ingredients (usually garlic, cilantro, red onion, lemon, olive oil) and the devil is preparing the dish in the right proportions. All too often, American-​Mediterranean food is too lemony, too oily, or too something. And this place is another place that does mediocre kitchen execution. For example, my tomato/​cucumber salad had too much vinegar in it. Cucumbers are like sponges, so if you add too much vinegar, the ones on the bottom will soak up all that vinegar. I sent my salad back. They gave me a replacement new potatoes, which were beautifully browned, but had an odd few of them that were crazy lemony. Another example is my sandwich, which poured about a large percentage of the volume of the sandwich out of the back in liquid form. This is caused by grilling meats and then not letting them rest, so the pores remain open. This comes down to cooks’ abilities and/​or kitchen procedures to consistently produce high-​quality meals. I did not get that, even with a replacement dish.
Bottom line: This is a perfectly serviceable place to come have a healthy chicken salad in a nice place before you go back to work. Salads with grilled chicken are hard to screw up. But this isn’t destination dining until they can fix their QC. Want a better Mediterranean sandwich? Drive just 5 minutes further south on NC 55 to Urban Turban — who does bring consistency, authentic flavor, and affordable prices. Want jaw-​dropping amazing Mediterranean food? Go to Bosphoros (well, it’s Turkish, but so so so so delicious).

Saw the Unilocal reviews and decided to check it out for lunch. The lemon chicken soup was so flavorful and delicious! Also had the beef tenderloin gyro, which was really great too. Fresh pita bread, really tender and delicious beef, with the perfect amount of sauce. I’m glad I stopped by, there’s a number of other things I want to try, too.
Despite being counter service, it’s really nice looking inside, and there’s a decent patio too.

Went into Taziki’s. My first time at any Taziki’s and I have to say, I was impressed. My hubby got the beef tenderloin gyro. The meat was tender and seasoned perfectly. I had the Greek salad with chicken and the same. Very good. I wasn’t expecting much since this appears to be a chain. This location and what we ordered… Perfect! I will be back! I would have given it a 5 but I need to go back and confirm consistency. You know what I mean? I will update once I do.

Delicious! Authentic and fresh Mediterranean flavors. My first experience but definitely not my last!

I am so happy to finally find a place where I can find Tilapia, just the way I like. It was delicious. The restaurant is tidy. You have to go to the counter to place your order and the food is then served on your table. The ordering becomes a little painful because there are guests who would just stand at the register and then start deciding and discussing what they want to order. So even if you are ready with your order, you have no choice but to wait! But that doesn’t take anything away from Taziki’s. It’s the guests who need to be more courteous.

I really enjoyed my food. I got take out in a Thursday night and the food survived the 20 min drive home just fine.
It is counter device, but unlike other Mediterranean joints, they don’t have a display of their sides and stuff, which I would have liked. Otherwise I hate asking «what’s in the chicken salad» and «what’s in the pasta salad» all the time. Their website has lots of photos though, and their menu isn’t super descriptive on ingredients.
I order the lemon chicken soup, which was very good. I also got the pesto chicken gyro, which was also very good. You get a choice of side (I went with roasted potatoes) and I was surprised when I opened the container and there were chips as well. Not great ones, and honestly they should leave them out.
Overall, I would go back!

I stopped in here on a Friday night with a friend pre-​Target shopping trip (don’t judge me, sometimes I’m low key on a Friday night!). We ordered the Taziki Dip as an app and then she got a Lamb Gyro and I got a Greek salad and Lemon Chicken Soup.
THE FOOD CAME OUT IMMEDIATELY. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. As usual when my appetizer comes out with my food, I got a little annoyed, but it’s counter and number ordering so how mad can you really be?
Annyyywayyss– The taziki dip was awesome. It was smooth and creamy and had plenty of dill. It came with both pita chips and pita points! CARBS NOMNOMNOM! My greek salad was pretty standard fare but the Lemon Chicken Soup was delicious! My friend really enjoyed her gyro. She commented that the lamb was really good, which is saying something because lamb can be hit or miss depending on how its done. I’d definitely come back. This location is probably going to blow up as lunch spot alternative to those hungry RTP employees but on the weekends I’m sure I can pop in and out.

First time in, very pleasantly surprised. The wait was minimal for our food and the quality was excellent.
We had lamb gyros that were not typical fast food/​food truck variety-​the fixings were fresh and ample– with roasted potatoes that were extremely flavorful, and tomato cucumber salad that was fresh and delicious.
The Caesar salad was pretty typical, but the cup of lemon soup was fresh and amazing– reminded me of homemade chicken soup but with amazing lemon flavor and basmati rice.
The kids «feast» was a decent size with grilled chicken chunks, basmati rice and a side of fruit.
Bottom Line: A little pricey, not overly so– but excellent food and very friendly service.

This is a great place to drop in if I want a quick and healthier meal. I haven’t figured out what, but they put something in their rice to make it incredibly good. I’d highly recommend ordering that as a side if you go. I’ve also had their turkey club on ciabatta which I thoroughly enjoyed, as well as their grilled shrimp salad.

Great Experience! Tasty Food and friendly service, the sommelier Charles was so informative and found the Whole Food Cheeses a nice touch during the Wednesday Wine Tasting!

Horrible, especially for vegetarians!
Yes, there are veg choices, but they fail to mention that they use the same grill to roast the veggies, that the meat is grilled on. When we specifically enquired about the grill, the cashier grudgingly informed us that there is only one grill in the restaurant and that’s where the veggies are grilled too.
Okay, we were probably expecting too much when we asked this.
However, the flavors too were totally forgettable. There was lemon and excess salt in everything — on the roast potatoes, in the grilled veggies, in the hummus/​yogurt sauce. No other spices or flavorings at all!
Quantity was little and the prices were expensive.

This place has the potential to be something good however they never seem to get your order correct. This is at least the third time that I’ve ordered a meal only to arrive home to find that half of the meal was missing. I mean the actual meat that goes with the meal has not been packed.
Anthony who is the manager is always very apologetic and sees to it that the order is correct it but it’s just not worth making two trips for one meal.

Wow um what is this place? Weirdest gyro I have ever had. The lamb wasn’t the normal lamb you get. I think it was grilled? Either way no spit of to see, the gyro and hummus were ok. But maybe this is to be expected in the heart of suburban heaven in RTP. I for one was a bit taken aback. Wasn’t horrendous but def not worthy of four stars. Might have to come back and try again.

Ok so I am definitely a fan of Taziki’s. I go there several times a week to get the greek salad with chicken. I typically get extra greek dressing because it is so good. No tomatoes. I have also tried the beef tenderloin Gyro and I really like it. It comes with chips and a side. I prefer the fruit or the pasta salad (with a tad more greek dressing) but I have tried the potatoes (great) as well as the basmati rice. I really love this place. The décor is great and seats comfortable. There are a few house keeping things they need to work on.
1. Knowing what is what. Went with my sister last week. I order beef tenderloin Gyro and she ordered lamb (not a fan). Well we start eating and I am like hummm is this right. My said was like no I do not think so. This meat is tougher than lamb is supposed to be. She tried what I had and sure enough it was the lamb. Well they graciously replaced our order but the Server mixed them up AGAIN!!! Luckily this time we caught it ahead of time before we started touching the food etc. So knowing the product and ensuring if you order lamb you get lamb is imperative.
2. Knowing when to change gloves etc. I went tonight 02/​22/​2015 and ordered the greek salad. I love that I am able to see what is being done. Well the guy that was making my salad had on some gloves that look worse for wear. He was also wiping down the counter with a dishrag. Went into the back with the same gloves on and got more salad. There was no telling what he was touching back there. The he started putting MY salad in a container. Lettuce, cucumbers, roasted pepers. Oh no! Not acceptable. I called over the cashier and advised that he needed to redo my salad and put on new gloves. Maybe he was just not paying attention or thinking but that is disgusting.
I will continue to patronize this place because I love it. However I will continue to be vigilant when I order and watch them like a hawk to ensure that they are not handling a washrag and my food at the same time. What is the point of wearing gloves if you are going to do that. I will also try some of the other interesting options they have. They give nice portions and I feel that the price if fair.

We came here tonight at about 8:45. Apparently they close at 9:00 because they were super rushed to get us out and demanded that we get our order to go. When we got home we realized they gave us food that we did not order (I asked for a pesto chicken gyro and they gave me a disgusting chicken gyro covered in mayo/​white sauce… my husband ordered lamb and they gave him steak) and they gave my husband old, stale pita that was so hard it crumbled in his hand.
Do not go here! The food is old and disgusting, assuming they actually give you what you order.

Tuesdays around the office are generally «Taco Tuesday» but I’ve refrained from Taco Tuesday for some time now. Today, I said «why not!?»
Well, Taco Tuesday ended up being Greek (ish) Tuesday, because right next to Tijuana Flats is Taziki’s.
I still don’t care for the cafeteria line style of ordering, that’s just a turn off for me (probably one of the reasons why I avoid Taco Tuesday). The line moved along pretty quickly and there was plenty of time to look over the menu in the meantime.
The Lamb Gyro was excellent, not too much sauce on it and not too little either. The roasted young potatoes seemed like they were more fried/​grilled in oil than they were roasted, but they weren’t bad by any stretch. Like others, I don’t understand adding chips to the meal except maybe to take up room in the basket.
The Greek salad is okay but I have to say, Sal’s, just a few short miles down the road on 55, does a MUCH BETTER Greek Salad (if that’s what one is in the mood for). I felt that Taziki’s was skimpy on the pepperoncini’s and feta, and used shredded or grated cheese instead of crumbled feta. I find it strange that an Italian place does better with a Greek Salad than a Greek place. Maybe it’s just my taste.
Refills do not appear to be offered on the floor, it’s up to the customer to go up to the refill station and ask for one.
Anyway, while I didn’t find it overly impressive and I did nit pick the Greek Salad, I do have to say the food was pretty good and I’d look forward to another visit.

I have the lamb Greek salad. The lemon chicken soup was yummy. The hummus was yummy. Probably using yummy too much here but all the food was pretty tasty. The portions were not huge but definitely enough to fill you up. In addition, the staff behind the counter was super helpful and nice. Oh, and they had a pretty nice selection of beer and wine I am drinking the triangle IPA. Parent Lee, they also do take-​out dinners with like full chickens and lots of other stuff. It is definitely worth a try, I very much enjoyed the food.

I went here for the first time today for lunch, but wasn’t too impressed…
The bad: I ordered a lamb gyro with a side of cucumber salad to be healthy, but surprise, it also comes with potato chips. The pita was a little tough and chewy, same goes for the lamb. The tzatziki sauce was hardly a sauce, just watered down cucumber juice that leaked out of the end of the gyro and didn’t have much flavor.
The good: I really liked the cucumber salad, and the huge piece of baklava I ordered was delicious. Our food was brought out quickly, and we were checked on throughout our meal to see if we needed drink refills or anything else. The service was great.
I’ll give it another shot :)

Wasn’t as good as we hoped it would be.
We ordered 2 Gyros, one Lamb, one Beef. One with a side of roasted potatoes and one with a side of the tomato cucumber salad. For some reason, the Gyros also came out with a handful of greasy potato chips.
The Gyros were «Meh» ok. There wasn’t enough cucumber sauce on them for sure. Very little lettuce and one sad piece of tomato. No grilled onions or raw ones for that matter.
The roasted potatoes while a nice flavor, were flat out cold inside. It’s obvious it was made before hand and they just didn’t re-​heat it enough before serving.
The cucumber and tomato salad was OK.
We also ordered the Humus appetizer. It was OK. I’ve had worse and better.
Why 2 stars?
1. The drink system. When I ordered my drinks they put them up on the counter without a tray and I had to wrangle 4 glasses back to our table. They saw me struggling to balance all the glasses at once, but offered no help.
2. Not enough sauce/​flavor for the Gyros. They had enough meat, but that was it. A very tiny amount of sauce and very few veggies.
3. My silverware was dirty. Not just water spots but actual old stuck on food.
4. We arrived at 5pm on a Friday evening. There were two other tables occupied. It still took them over 20mins to deliver the food to us and as I mentioned the food was subpar (cold potatoes) etc.
5. Not once did they check on us, to see if the food was OK or if we needed refills.
6. The price. OH my GOD. Over priced. Especially if your customer service seriously lacks. You want to charge 4 star prices, might wanna offer 4 star services.
Was was OK?
The kids meals were OK. But how can you mess up a grilled cheese sandwich
Won’t be going back. Not worth the price when the quality is not so great..