Efes Restaurant

Excellent food. Excellent service. Upstairs is the restaurant whereas downstairs is the place where you can place your order and sit down and eat it. Be forewarned, very limited seating.
We decided we wanted to par take upstairs restaurant. There were cozy corner tables, a fantastic chandelier and even an authentic Turkish coffee maker. Truly nice décor. Their bathrooms were very clean too. This matters to me because it reflects how their kitchen would be. I have a couple of friends who own restaurants tell me that.
Onto the food review. Upon looking at the lunch menu, I chose the lamb kebab sandwich. My hubby had the chicken souvlaki and the kid had a gyro. All were well marinaded and abundant with meat. I took the one of my favorite Unilocalers suggestion (thanks @Jeff M) and asked for white sauce on the side. The white sauce is the yogurt sauce where as the red is the spicier one. It was so kind of our waitress to bring both out.
I will definitely go back. Can’t wait to try other things.

Food is OK service decent. Only eaten below on the first floor, I hear the upper level is more of a dine in restaurant, first level is basically a quick to go or fast grab a bite dining. Based on my experience, this is a 3.5 star review rounded up to 4 stars. Good shawarma gyro.

I am super duper happy with their catering! I ordered a package for 10 people for pickup at 4:30. I arrived a little early and the super friendly and helpful staff were all ready for me. They packaged the food nicely for me to carry. There was *plenty* of food. Turns out EFES is still very yummy the next day.

Like the other reviews state– this place is amazing. The sea bass was great. Get it with the salad. Baklava and coconut pudding went well with the Turkish coffee. Inside décor is nice. The atmosphere is great for a date or a casual meal.

Legit some of the best Turkish/​Mediterranean food I’ve had. This place managed to get my boyfriend to eat lettuce and that hardly ever happens — win! We started with the stuffed grape leaves which were great, but the real magic here was the spicy sauce (muhammara, I think). I could dip pita in that and have it as a meal, that’s how good it is. Then I had the gyro doner plate and my boyfriend had the lamb adana. He finished his plate and then proceeded to help me polish mine off. The doner meat was tender and flavorful, of course I couldn’t help but add some more of the wonderful spicy sauce. Seriously though, that sauce… I need their recipe!

I have been here more than 30 times while at Rutgers, and I’ve been to the Princeton location as well.
As a vegetarian, I am in love with their falafel sandwich and wrap. Their falafel is flavorful and fried to perfection, not like the sometimes overly dry, bland and hard falafel at other places.
The other item I always get is their cold appetizer platter. They used to give a little bit of everything, including eggplant salad, hummus, baba ghanoush, eggplant and tomato, tabouli, grape leaves. Now they make you pick just a few of these (2 or 3) for the small appetizer platter. I definitely preferred the former portion and larger variety of appetizers they used to allow with this menu item,
One other qualm I have is that they used to serve a delicious red sauce with their sandwiches, but a few years ago they changed the recipe — I miss the old red sauce — it had a much more complex flavor that was more flavorful spicy than «hot» spicy.
My other favorites here is the sigara boregi and the mucver. Both are divine — the sigara boregi is flaky and crunchy with a tart feta filling — so incredibly good.
The mucver may be even better — super moist zucchini patty, fried so that there’s a crisp outside and served with a yogurt sauce. If you think you might prefer a more moist falafel, try the mucver — it is so so good.
All this being said — I have been going to this restaurant for 8 years and even with some minor (unwanted) changes to some of my favorite items — this place still deserves 5 stars in my book for their falafel and appetizers. Just go for the appetizers and you won’t be disappointed.

Efe’s has great Mediterranean food at reasonable prices with an elegant yet homey setting. Our waitress was very friendly and took our orders quickly. My water cup never went empty, which for some reason many restaurants don’t manage well.
On to the food. We had the grape leaves for an appetizer and they also served bread with yogurt and spicey dipping sauce. These were some of the best grapes leaves I’ve ever tried. And the yogurt sauce was spot on, not original but what I’d expect. The spicey sauce tho, I wanted to take that stuff home and put that sh$& on everything!
I got the eggplant with Lamb (forgot the name) served with rice for dinner. Never tried something like this before and it really tasted amazing. I’d recommend it for anyone that’s a fan of eggplant and doesn’t mind meat that has a bit of game taste to it. You won’t be sorry.
Thanks Efe– we’ll be back.

I have been going to Efes since they opened. I remember that Mediterranean style food was not commonly found in Central Jersey (did not know much about Paterson area back then), so it was a huge relief when they opened.
I always get the adana kebab as my entrée and I love how moist and tender it is. It is filled with flavor and perfectly spiced. It comes with rice pilaf and vegetables and I love it so much.
Personally, I also love their ezme over hummus.
I have been to many parties where their food is catered and they do not disappoint. I have tried their falafel, mucver, gyro doner, chicken kebab and it is all delicious. It is comfort food done absolutely right.
I have had no major issues with service so far. They have made major upgrades in terms of construction. It now looks like a nice cozy restaurant.
However, the real star at Efes is their baklava. I have tried baklava in so many restaurants yet Efes is the one that gets it perfect. It is perfectly crisp yet softly chewy. It’s sweet without being overtly sweet. I remember having baklava many times before and not thinking much of it, but it was when I had it at Efes when I truly started craving it. I don’t eat it too much (as I generally avoid desserts), but when I do, I am in heaven.

I’ve been to a ton of Turkish/​Mediterranean restaurants and Efes is still my favorite! I always try to stop by when I’m in town. Everything on the menu is so good and affordable. I particularly enjoy the chicken Adana and chicken gyro over rice. The lamb gyro wraps are great too! What sets this place apart is the side of seasoned onions that come with the rice platters and the white and red sauces they provide. The updated décor is great and provides cleaner better space. Service is good.

Great food — our favorites are lentil soup, falafel, hummus, and zucchini pancakes.
Too bad their service is so terrible.

Excellent food. The service wa great and the food as awesome… Also, the baklava was very, very good… Can I give 6 stars?

Lovely place! Cozy upstairs dining, kind staff, terrific food. I ordered the Gyro Doner. Probably the best gyro meat that I have ever had– Juicy, tender, with a hint of cilantro and lemon served on a bed of french fries with lettuce, tomato, and onion in the side. Delish!
The baklava was a delightful treat, too!

I really like this place because I believe the quality is pretty good but I came for dinner the other night and ordered the larger portion and i felt the amount of food was actually minimized except for adding ¾ more pieces of meat. Which I don’t think is worth double of the price. The food still tasted good but I don’t know i just wasn’t all that happy with this visit.
The service is poor but that wasn’t unexpected.

Efes was always one of my favorite places when I went did my undergrad. I went back recently and I was a bit disappointed at the portion size. I always get two appetizers instead of an actual meal because those are the best vegetarian options and I would be stuffed beyond belief. They would give you 5 – 6 falafel balls for $ 5 and it was really filling. This time I got 4 that were the size of ping pong balls. I also ordered The eggplant salad which was on point but I noticed that their spicy sauce, and falafel tasted a bit different than usual. Still good but just different.
My friend got the chicken kebab plate and she always was pretty solid! They also did a nice renovation/​extension of their restraint upstairs.
Overall, it’s a nice place and I recommend going! And for any of you college kids going on a date or looking to take your parents to a nice restaurant when they visit, this place is perfect for that! I’ve introduced Efes to a lot of friends and their parents and every time they come back to RU, they need to eat Efes!

I love this place, I have been going there for years love the food. They have new menu now but I loved the old menu. The old one had lots of pictures. Why four stars two things 1) my done order new chicken dish they had the chicken was pink from inside and I thought it was under done, also my chicken gyro was too dry, it was cold on the second floor and again it’s not a issue unless you have kids and they keep saying it’s cold. But other then that they are as aways
. They have new plates and paper napkin has logo on it which was a nice touch.

We came here after two years and were pleasantly surprised to see that they added an upper level.
Food was very good. We had the lentil soup, hummus, babaganoush and ezme. We also ordered the veg casserole and falafel sandwich.
The soup was excellent but was not piping hot. The pita breads could hv been warmer.
Gave 3 stars because of this and the fact tht the place felt cold. In the dead of winter they should hv had the heat cranked up.

I love Efes! I first tried Efes when I started my undergrad at Rutgers. I’ve been eating there for about 7 years now and I haven’t found better chicken kebabs anywhere. I find myself craving those kebabs so often that I wish they would open up a few more locations! I always order the small platter which consists of about five juicy, flame grilled, incredibly flavorful pieces of white meat chicken, perfectly cooked rice pilaf, and a sumac seasoned salad of onions and tomatoes. It also comes with yogurt and spicy chili sauces, which are great accompaniments to the kebabs. The portions are perfect for lunch or dinner — I never find myself too stuffed.
The appetizers at Efes are definitely worth trying. The baba ghanoush and hummus are my personal favorites. Both are creamy, well seasoned, and served with piping hot pita.
If you’re a fan of coconut, don’t miss out on their coconut pudding. It’s a great way to end a meal at Efes!
In my earlier days at Efes, the service and the ambiance left a lot to be desired. I recently went back and ate in their newly expanded seating upstairs. I was pleasantly surprised — not only was the ambiance much more appealing, but the service was warm and attentive.
Bottom line: If you’re craving great middle eastern food, eat in or get take out from Efes. You won’t be disappointed.

Went with a Turkish friend and I got something safe and cheap for the first visit (lamb Adana kebab pita sandwich). It was pretty ok. It’s not really that spicy. I don’t really like the re onions that are in the sandwich though. My Turkish friend got the iskender kebap that’s pretty good. The doner kebab with pita bread pieces and yogurt come together to make a pretty good and interesting combo. I also tried the Turkish soda (the regular one tastes like bubble gum soda and the Orange one tastes like fanta). And the yogurt drink is very interesting! It’s salty! I think it’s pretty addicting after you get used to the flavor.
And the renovation is pretty nice. Will come back at night next time to see a change in atmosphere.

This is one of my favorite go to places in New Brunswick. I always come here when I’m craving lamb. I ordered the Adana Kabab Sandwich (as always). The meat along with vegetables is packaged in pita bread. The Adana is grilled and marinated very flavorfully. The sandwich comes with a side of white sauce and red spicy sauce.
There are now two floors to the restaurant (it just underwent construction). The top floor is for dine in while the bottom is for take out. It takes a bit of time for your order to be made (around 15 mins). However you can avoid this problem by calling ahead of time.

This is one of my favorite go-​to-​eat spots in New Brunswick/​Rutgers area! It’s always get the Adana or chicken kebab sandwich or entrée! And I love them! I always want to get something new or different but I can’t because I crave them so much! Every time I eat there I feel very satisfied afterwards. The chicken and Adana are always nicely marinated and grilled with great flavors! The white and hot sauce are so tasty! I also like how hot the sauces are more liquid-​y because they don’t feel as heavy and thick.
The baklava is a must have! So delicious! It has the perfect balance between the taste and texture! A little crispy yet soft! Sweet with honey but not too heavy! I love it! It’s not like the usual Greek baklava that I have but it has its own unique twist making the taste amazing!
The waiters are very friendly and attentive, but at times, during dinner time, the restaurant gets very packed and the servers can be a little slower.
Now they have two levels. Upstairs for dine-​in, which I haven’t seen since they had it. Downstairs for take-​out, which takes about 10−15min, and you can always call in ahead of time’