Aristo Cafe

Don’t even read the reviews !! Just GO lol this little place is delicious :) and the Baklava is to die for !!

Love this place!
I always get the same thing-​chicken kebob and the eggplant parmesan. Both are really good and won’t disappoint. Chicken is soft and rice is really good. The eggplant is a really good appetizer to share since its light and not too heavy!
Waitress is nice and service is fast!

Great place to eat at. The Chicken and Beef shish kabobs are great. It is a family business and everyone makes you feel at home. I recommend Aristo Café to everyone

While I do think there are better all-​around Mediterranean restaurants in the South Bay, Aristo Café’s baklava and juicy beef kabob are truly special.
Free parking behind the restaurant & each customers receives free hummus (slightly sour) and warm pita bread (tasted more like a dry flatbread — I personally like super chewy type of pita bread). Great service and I got free slices of orange at the end of my lunch meal.
***
Lunch Special (Beef Shish Kabob + Rice + Salad, $ 10.50): Rice lacked a bit of seasoning, but good salad and very juicy beef kabob. (4.25÷5)
Baklava (Phyllo dough pastry roled with walnuts and glazed with honey + special syrup, $ 3): My waitress was nice enough to give 50% discount on the dessert. Baklava was freshly prepared and I could see some oil slowly oozing out, but surprisingly it didn’t taste very greasy. Not only that, it had just the right amount of sweetness. Layers and layers of phyllo dough stacked up and in between each layer contained pieces of walnut. Incredible baklava and one of the best baklava I’ve tried. (⁵⁄₅)
***
Usually I don’t really bump my rating from 4-​star to 5-​star just because of a dessert, but not in this case! Aristo Café’s baklava has completely re-​defined my perception of baklava and now i will never look at any other baklava the same way again.

We had a fabulous meal! The hummus was great and the pita warm and fresh. All entrees were fabulous and there was not a bite left uneaten. As others have stated the lamb chops were spectacular!
The service was terrific and the wait staff were very attentive, even on a busy Friday night.

This is a quaint little restaurant that has a homey feel. There are comfortable chairs arranged in a café style place. The service is quick, and everyone is friendly. One thing to note is that the music playing overhead is a little loud, and conversation was strained.
I got the fattoush, which was a vegetarian salad with cucumbers, beets, red onions, lettuce, and a vinaigrette dressing. I don’t usually branch out with salads, as I’m a hardcore Caesar salad lover, but I was in love with this salad. Honestly, one of the best vinaigrette salads I’ve had!
My dining companions had meat dishes: beef kabab, lamb chops, and ground lamb. They all enjoyed their dishes thoroughly, however my dad says he would have preferred if the lamb chops were more moist.
Overall, really enjoyed this restaurant and will definitely be back for the salad (and to try other vegetarian options of course!)

Came in as they were closing on a Saturday but Christine was kind enough to accommodate us. We ordered a couple of Veg entrees (Eggplant Parmesan and falafeel plate) and they were really good. We also ordered the chicken kebab which was cooked perfectly. The food was tasty and not at all oily and had the right amount of salt. Awesome service by Christine and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good Mediterranean mean

We met family here after a 2 hour drive for a birthday celebration. It was worth the drive and would do it again. Everything was delicious. Loved the lamb bob. 7 people at table not a bad review of a single meal

This is a small, casual restaurant that behaves like a high-​end restaurant.
I will quickly go over the food, which I will say is delicious and made in-​house from scratch. It tastes better than other Mediterranean restaurants. There’s a pervasive feeling of quality, earnestness, and authenticity. If you try the homemade baklava, you will taste how it is not syrupy like store bought versions, but rather light and honey-​like. It’s these type of subtle, yet substantial distinctions that set the food apart from others.
But what I really want to praise is the service. My goodness, I’ve dined at expensive restaurants and they were never as attentive or impressive as this! The servers are enthusiastic and friendly and never leave you wanting for anything. Their smiles just seem more… genuine. It’s a sign that they take pride in the quality of their work and make every effort to put their best foot forward. It’s hard to put into details, but if you dine here, you feel like you’re really being cared for.

Second time visiting this great place. The food is always fresh, delicious and presented nicely. The owner and the wait staff are all super friendly.

Great place. The Chicken Kabob is excellent and the chicken is juicy.
The service is top notch.
Dinner for 2 is $ 20.

Delicious!
A quaint little place in Torrance with delicious food and homey service.
The owner comes out and acknowledges the customers which is a nice touch.
The complimentary hummus and pita bread was great.
The food was better than expected.
I ordered the lunch special and was allowed to mix and match the 2 skewers of meat.
I got chicken and beef kabob. Perfectly seasoned, juicy, melt in your mouth meat.
A small basic salad, rice, and more hummus. A good lunch that was filling but light.
It was all delicious and I can’t wait to eat here again.

Rating: ⁹⁶⁄₁₀₀ pts
Revisiting my previous review just to say that Aristo Café has remained impeccably consistent over the last two years since I first ate here.
This is the first restaurant I ever reviewed, as well as the restaurant that made me want to start writing reviews in the first place. All comments in my original review below are still valid.

If you want authentic Mediterranean, come here!
Might be the best chicken and steak skewers I’ve had. Tender, full of flavor and seasoned perfectly with a bed of rice, hummus and fresh onions and tomatoes.
The gyro looked great, too.
Hummus and pita are complimentary after ordering.
Park in the back lot.
Low price points.

Wow what a great owner! So friendly and open. We came here for a weekday bday dinner and they gave us free shots and baklava. Yasu!
The food was great!
Random local spot.

Opa! That is a Greek word which is an exclamation usually in celebrations.
Aristo is a cottage-​like Greek/​Mediterranean eatery nestled in South Torrance. Parking is a little tricky with their small lot and street parking. We managed to find a spot in the lot during Saturday lunch hours.
Lovely and delightful ambience as I mentioned the eatery is cottage-​like. The servers are pleasant and efficient enough. 3/3.5 on service. Good price points.
Fresh and lovely Greek salad! Nice to see a colorful and healthy plate of cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. Salad is seasoned nicely in a light dressing.
Lamb gyro lunch special is amazing! Soft, tender, and flavorful lamb. Accompanied by warm, soft, and fresh pita bread. Very tasty hummus! Would like to come back and try the baba ganoush. It also came with corn on the cob. Everything on the plate was on point. Beautiful presentation.
The server came out with sliced oranges after our meal. Nice touch. I forgot to check in on Unilocal for the complimentary baklava. (I did a late check-​in later.) Oh well, next time.
Speaking of next time, will come back soon to see if I can upgrade this review to 5 stars. Aristo means «best» or «excellent» in Greek. They certainly are a contender for top Mediterranean/​Greek cuisine in the South Bay.

This place was ok, nothing terrible stood out, but I was expecting so much more based on the reviews. It’s an unassuming little place. The guy in charge was a little grumpy, but they took the order and got the food out really fast which was great. The lentil soup was near room temperature, barely warm. The chicken plate was pretty solid, and was tender. Nice job on that. I got two baklava, which were good, but not as good as other Mediterranean places I’ve been to in the last few years.
Solid but underwhelming would be how I’d describe this place.

I know I have already reviewed this place, but I just needed to add the fact that I tried their falafels this week, and they were amazing! My only gripe was that the falafel starter only came with 3 pieces… but they were 3 glorious falafels.
Regardless of the protein I order, it’s always on point. Chicken is never dry, lamb kafta is so flavorful, and the beef is tender. I also love that they give you free hummus and pita bread to start. I also love their lentil soup– it’s hearty enough without being heavy and too salty.
And my favorite part of the place, is the owner. He’s always so kind and gracious, and sometimes offers us baklava and treats.
It is one of my favorite spots in Torrance to this day!

Greek Armenian food
made from scratch
Walteria adjacent
What is Greek food. Greece has been a melting pot of cultures over the centuries and in the last 100 years or so Turks and Armenians bringing their food culture, which the cuisine at Aristo is a reflection of that culture.
Aristo is a one man show in front with a couple of people in the back of house, and that one man seems to get it all done, with take out orders, tables, and running food, etc.
The menu is pretty basic with lamb gyros, falafel, and kebabs. They do not have any wine or beer but you can BYOB and they will provide you with glasses. When we sat down we were immediately given some hummus and pita, which was great since it took awhile for the owner to take our order.
We ordered a gyros dinner and a chicken kebab along with a falafel appetizer. The dinners come with a choice of soup or salad, and that night we went with the lentil soup which was really yummy.
The gyros weren’t cooked on a spit, but they were ground lamb formed into strips, which are also a type of kebab. The flavor was really good and they weren’t dried out like some gyros I have had. The gyros were served on a bed of white rice. The chicken kebabs are served skewered and were grilled with a lemon/​lime marinade and served with an aioli also on a bed of rice.
The falafel are made with fava beans and weren’t dry like they were made with a falafel mix like many places do falafel. One thing that really is prevalent at Aristo is the freshness of the ingredients, which you can really taste. These falafel were some of the best I have tasted and I when I make them at home I will use fava beans instead of chick peas.
Was pretty inexpensive. Just a little over $ 30 for two entrees and an appetizer. The portions were pretty good as we took half of our food home.

Lots of pros and cons about this place. It’s pretty difficult to find a good Middle Eastern cuisine in the South Bay area. I came here with a few of my co-​workers for lunch on a Friday afternoon due to great reviews from my Unilocal friends. Upon walking in I noticed the charm and welcoming ambiance of the place. The pros: fresh hot pita and hummus are served as the «free bread» of the meal. The pita was warm and tasty and the hummus had a nice acidity to it; both were pretty large portions. The owners were at the front and were super welcoming and hospitable. The food portions were large and the prices were favorable. Complementary watermelon is served at the end of the meal as a pallet cleaner. The cons: the lady serving us did not refill my water once. My water was out halfway through the meal and she did not seem to notice. We were not given any appetizer plates for the pita and were left awkwardly nibbling on our paper place-​mats. Also, our waitress seemed to be in some sort of a rush to clear our dishes because as we were at the end of our lunch she took all of our plates out of the way including the plate from my co-​worker– who was not finished with her food.
The food was delivered in a timely manner. I ordered the falafel appetizer and the lentil soup. Good middle eastern lentil soup should have lots of cumin, turmeric, lemon, and fresh herbs. This super was underwhelming for me. It was bland and under-​seasoned; I have definitely had better — skip this. The falafel on the other hand was very tasty and filling. The fava beans seemed to be mixed with lots of herbs and it was fried to a crisp. My co-​workers seemed to enjoy their lunch plates as well which included an mixture of the kabob plates with rice and salad. Based on the food and service, Aristo Café was nothing more than mediocre. There is parking behind the restaurant, but it is shared with the establishment next door, making parking a bit of a pain. Overall, I may be back to try other dishes, but it was not one of my favorites.