Cafe Centraal

When this was Taco House, we had to take the long way home, lest we pass by and have to deal with the bf getting agitated. According to him, it was simply inexcusable to serve such awful food. When it became Café Centraal, we gave it a try, despite the fact that Taco House «Best of Philly» certificate still hung in the window.
The owners were sweet people who were friendly and took pride in their restaurant. We ordered one Mediterranean dish and one Mexican dish. It was served on styrofoam with plastic utensils, not a good thing. The hummus and tabbouleh were good, but the Mexican food was just awful.
The restaurant is casual, not unlike a pizzeria. But they serve you the food instead of counter service, but on the aforementioned styrofoam. The floors look like they are the original wood from the building, which was neat. But that’s irrelevant.
Because the owners seemed so earnest and nice, they get an extra star. But the food just wasn’t good. Perhaps they thought that Mexican would be more popular. maybe if they concentrated on what they do well, this might be a better option.

First and foremost, what caught my attention about this restaurant was the price of the food on the menu for the quantity that they are supposedly giving out. Once you get your meal, you know it’s for real.
All entrees were around $ 11 or less (excluding several meat dishes which can run up to $ 15 for a specialty platter). There are plenty of appetizers, sandwiches, soups, and salads.
I ordered the Kabob Kobideh which include TWO skewers of specialty seasoned ground prime veal marinated with find mild Persian spices, grilled tomato, grilled pepper, and Basmati rice and a mixed salad (for $ 10.95). It was great, except the ‘mixed salad’ needs to be reworked. It was a combination of salsa pieces and salad and it didn’t go together so well.
It was actually the first time that I felt I was tasting ethnic spiced foods and not some chef that was trained to spice foods to taste «Mediterranean.» I am Greek-​American, so the spicing reminds me of my Yiayia’s (Greek for Grandmother) cooking where you don’t measure spice, but you do it ‘for the right taste.’ (I can’t speak for the Mexican food as I did not have any of it.)
You may be asking yourself how they can keep their prices so low. Well here’s how: Plastic utensils, plastic plates, disposable napkins, small selection of canned and bottle drinks, and BYOB… In addition, the preparation of some of the food is only as good as you could expect from a take-​out style restaurant that also happens to have tables. There could be more sauces on the meat as well as finer attention to grilling.
The uneven dinner tables and cramped quarters can be overlooked for this quaint Pine street restaurant that recently went under new management (formerly the Taco Hut). One of the great things about this place is the two player PacMan arcade table! (You aren’t allowed to have drinks on it though, but food is fine.)
The owner is around all the time and he is very friendly. The staff are are also friendly. Baklava is the main dessert and it is made in house. Haven’t tried it yet to compare to my own recipe. I will definitely go back for more food and bring friends and beer.