Taverna Bistro

Went there last night around 7 pm. The restaurant was almost deserted. The two waitresses there were very friendly and attentive. Free Pita bread was served right away. We ordered Hummus and Baba Ghannouj as starters. Both were tasty, although the latter was a bit too garlicky for my taste (husband liked it that way though). We then shared a plate of Combination Meats which include chicken & Lamb Kebab, and chicken, beef & lamb Gyros over a bed of rice plus vegetables. It was delicious! Lamb Kebab was especially delightful and not gamy at all. The plate was quite big and we had leftovers to take home. The total was less than $ 40 which I think is very reasonable. We will be back for sure.

We came here for hookah and kababs and we did not leave disappointed. The chicken kababs were delicious, as was the salad and veggies. In the back of the restaurant there is an outdoor area where the hookah is served, it’s a nice atmosphere, although it’s a bit of a tight squeeze. I definitely plan to return!

Came here with my cousin to smoke Hookah. I ordered the sweet melon. No good! I’ve been smoking hookah for 14 years and can easily tell if the people working here know what they are doing.
Hookah was harsh, smoke amount was very low, and the worst transgression of all… they are still using the self lighting hockey puck coals. That is super unhealthy and doesn’t make for a good hookah.

We were the only customers here and the waitress kept rolling her eyes at us as if we were an inconvenience to her. Service was slow. Food was not that fresh. My white bass dish was almost perfect except they cleaned the fish poorly. They pieced the gut, the fish still showed black and cooked icky stuff on the stomach lining and the fish tasted bitter. That’s what happens when the I need get pierced.
My friend’s dish was cold.
The owner was irritated that we used a groupon for 4 but has 5 people show up. That’s dumb, he didn’t appreciate the extra business. I guess he wanted us to spend less or he is that horrible at math.

We got here with high expectations. A local Turkish place that serves some good hookah. I hadn’t had good hookah in 6 months and was looking forward to a decent puff and some amazing famous Turkish food ! We ordered the meat Moussaka and some chicken Kabab dish, and we got double apple shishas. The food came out fast, however, the flavor just was anything but Turkish ! the Moussaka had a very bad, unfluffy, and bland Béchamel sauce, and tasted more like a bad Shepherd’s pie with basically just slices of potato and some minced meat. I did not taste the eggplant in this dish at all. The chicken was overcooked and borderline dry. I did like their yogurt sauce but that was about it.
This is the only place that I know of in California that serves the shisha with those fake non-​charcoal synthetic burning things. They use starbuzz brand and not Al-​Nakhla or Al-​Fakher, which adds a chemical medicine like taste to the shisha. Not horrible, just not what I had expected. The cost of the shisha, already overpriced at $ 20 for one person, depends on how many people are smoking it ! So if two people are going to smoke, it costs $ 25. Also, on weekends, they will add $ 5 for each non-​smoker on the table. So basically you are paying $ 25 per shisha whether or not the second person is smoking it.
I had no problems till now, but everything changed when we ordered tea (every shisha smoker knows that tea+shisha combination can just be divine). To our surprise, the waitress told us that they do not serve tea at the shisha lounge as a policy, and that we could get tea at the restaurant if we liked but not to bring it to the shisha bar. Kinda strange but ok no big deal. We ordered two sparkling waters and our friend asked for hot water since she had a cold. She asked for two hot water refills throughout the evening.
a while later, another waitress comes and asks if everything was okay. We said it is fine but inquired politely as to why we could not have tea at the shisha bar. She went off on a 3 minute rant saying that «this is what is unique about this place. We don’t allow tea at the shisha bar but we allow people to enjoy alcoholic drinks with their shisha», she went on to say that there are so many other shisha places that serve tea and that we are welcome to go to those places if we like. She was extremely defensive and even dismissive of us. It made us uncomfortable as she kept talking and talking and we tried several times to interrupt her and say ok we get it, but she went on ! We let her finish her «if you don’t like it here then get out» speech and go, and we just started to have our little chuckles at how absurd that was. It is like me opening a restaurant and then saying that my restaurant is unique and special in that I don’t accept credit cards or cash for payment, only Google Wallet !
As our friend ordered a refill of her hot water, this second waitress shows up again and REPEATS the exact same rant about how it is their policy not to serve tea and how she hopes we understand ! She went on to say that she made an exception with the hot water and that she basically did us a favor. They never mentioned that hot water was also a problem so we never assumed it was a problem ! Anyways, we waited as another another 3 minute wave of lecturing and condescending tone ate at our evening.
When she returned later, my friend jokingly asked her if something is upsetting her (he should have just kept quite, really). She immediately started a third wave of explanation and I had just about had it by now. As she was speaking with a high voice, she mentioned that we had asked ten times for tea and that we «cleverly» tried to sneak our tea in by asking two different waitresses, when in fact, it was two different waitresses that came to our table and we only asked for tea ONCE. I got really upset and told her to stop lying about what we said. This obviously started a little tension between us, with me telling her that I was definitely disappointed and not coming here again, and with her telling me, amongst other things, «I don’t care».
It didn’t end there, she stood up in my face and started explaining her rationale for the friggen tea that I no longer cared about. I interrupted her and told her «since you don’t care if I come again, can you please get me my bill ?» She told me «Please be a gentleman and let me finish», to which I said «No, I do not wish to be a gentleman to you, all I want is my bill and that you get out of my face». She never brought the bill until we requested it 20 minutes later from another waitress, after our, and several other people next to us, had their evening ruined. She discounted half the bill (stating that she doesn’t want us to be angry), to which I fiercely protested. I would rather pay the full bill than be humiliated and made to look like a horrible customer. That «nice» gesture, however, would not stop me from writing this review, which I believe is fully warranted. Never again.

Was pretty excited to come here since I haven’t been in about 2 years. Get there and the music was pretty decent, went on a Friday night around 9. The place was packed. Everything was so small. People bumping into things, servers just hurrying everywhere. The first gal who greeted us seemed like she’d be able to help us get a table for 2. It literally took them 15 minutes to find us a table. Not because there was no room but because they were saving tables for the «if» someone comes. Even a group of 3 was seated before us that came after.
Watching how management and the employees were, I’m glad we left. The hookah looked like it was good but would rather not go back there because of the extremely poor service.

Great place to eat! Everything is fresh, friendly staff. The portions are big. We ordered the mozzarella pizza and the Alexander dish. Both very yummy!

Pleasantly surprised with this Hookah lounge when I went there last Friday 9/​4, with my best friend and boyfriend. It’s a small intimate back patio area with heat lamps spread out, and they’re open til 2am (on weekends). Cool, chill music playing with tvs playing a bunch of movies, and a full bar. Their drinks (cocktails) are strong and fairly priced, and creative.
The best thing is they serve food! I went to the hookah lounge in downtown Palo Alto and they only had like water and soda. Lame. We only ordered the garlic fries though, as we had dinner beforehand. But the nearby table’s dishes looked delicious. Definitely going to try the food next time.
The only downside is that I couldn’t seem to really get much smoke out, but I think it’s just because I’m a noob with hookah/​smoking. Overall it was a fun experience that I’d recommend and do again.

I always wondered why this place is always empty ! I got my answer, we came here for dinner on Sunday.
First, waiter was in great hurry ! He was quick say that they are closing in next hour ! We got our half backed food very quickly !
Overall we felt service is below expectation followed by half cooked food !

Its good, busy and probably the only place that serves hookah around.
The two stars are not for the waitress who tried her best, its for the owners who are maybe saving money by not hiring more staff.
I ordered water 6 times and did not get one. And its overpriced. Go only if its 11 PM and there is nowhere else to go.

My husband and I LOVE this place (have only been here two times). The combo tapas is awesome for trying out their appetizers. You get: Hummus, Baba Ghannouj, Cabbage Leaves, Icli Kofte, Yaprak Sarma, and Muska Boregi (copied this part from their menu since I’m not too familiar with Turkish food). My husband loves this appetizer.
We usually order a rice plate with lamb and beef, but I still want to try their Turkish pizza. It looks so good!

Ordered the hummus, lamb burger and Turkish sausage pizza. I liked the pita bread they served with the hummus, which was very fresh and hot. The lamb burger looked good and was of great portion size. The fries that came with it were OK. The pizza I had was lacking salt but VERY cheesy, so still good, and I could not finish it all in one sitting. We used a Groupon, so I spent about $ 7 (taxes, tip) + $ 19 Groupon. Pretty worth it. But I don’t want to come back without one.

Sunnyvale was having an event with a live band at the end of the block, and the restaurants were packed, but this one was not. That should have been a sign.
The food was pretty much tasteless, The greek salad didn’t have any dressing and there were just a few LARGE chunks of Feta cheese (the cucumber was in smaller pieces). I had a kabob that was made from ground meat and kept finding chunks in the meat, I know what ground meat is, but it was a bit much. Also for the quality of the food the prices were a bit much, the prices were not unreasonable for a good restaurant, but this was not good.
The service was decent.

Came here because we got a groupn! We weren’t sure if they were going to be good since we have never been, but the service and food is spectacular. The waiter was very tentative to our questions and made amazing recommendation! Their falafel is hands down really good! Everything was cooked fresh and served immediately! Their chicken kabob is very tasty and seasoned very well! We will defiantely come back here!

This review is for the outside patio area/​hookah lounge.
Food:
I believe the food has changed based on reading the reviews. Huge plus. They also serve smaller portioned meals as well.
Hookah:
The hookah is great. We always get the double apple. It’s the service for the hookah that could use some work. The ladies rarely swing by to change the coal.
Décor:
Taverna needs to upgrade their outdoor furniture; wobbly tables & uncomfortable stained chairs. They could also trim their plants surrounding the area; bugs falling off of the leaves and falling onto the chairs… I always sit away from the walls.
With all that said, I will still come back. This is the only local hookah lounge that serves alcohol as well. (RIP Theas)

Came here at around 11:30 on a weekend and there was no one there until around 12 – 12:30. Staff here was very polite, funny, and helpful.
++CRAB CAKESSSSS!!! $ 9 Yum. Sauce was good, crab was good, fried even better.
+Blue crab sandwich $ 14 was good too. I like the sauce that it comes with. The cole slaw was nice and fresh. Fries were fried perfectly. This would be a good plate to have for lunch.
+Beyti Kebab $ 16 was good. I’m not a big fan of lamb but they masked the gamey taste well. Apparently, one side was lamb, the other beef. Not mixed together. But I honestly couldn’t taste the difference lol.
–I didn’t really like the falafels there. It was dry and grainy.
If I’m ever back for lunch, I’ll prob just get an order of crab cakes and a sandwich!

New hookah sets, New mouth pieces which are flat-​end tips for easier inhalation, new menu with new prices. The downside is that they raised the prices of hookah by $ 5; used to be $ 15 for a single and now it’s $ 20. That’s doing too much I think.
Better service though! Much more efficient and their calamari tastes much better than before. Someone must’ve hired a new manager/​cook or something because I did sense a different vibe. It’s much better!

Decided to give this place a try…
Disappointed by both service & food quality.
I ordered the Organic Ribeye, medium.
Took a while before food came.
When it arrived, I cut it in half and noticed that it was well-​done. I mentioned this to the male waiter & he had the nerve to tell me that it was medium & that it looks well done due to dim lighting in the restaurant. I proceeded to bust out my phone & used the flashlight app on the steak to show him that there is no pink. He just shrugged his shoulders and said that he told kitchen medium. He’s not able to do anything and walked away.
I suspect that steak was frozen & not fresh since it was quite «gamey» tasting.
I do not see myself coming here again if I have a choice…

So sad to say… I will not return.
I ordered the falafel main dish for a group lunch order that was delivered through DoorDash. I was incredibly displeased with my order. The plate came with hummus, 4 falafel balls, a ball of rice, salad and large piece of bread.
The salad consisted of wilted romaine lettuce drenched in dressing. It was more of a mush than an actual salad. The falafel balls were done to a crisp in desperate need of some hummus moisture. The hummus portion was very small and only enough for a couple of bites. The rice ball took up most of the styrofoam container and was tasteless. The piece of bread was very large, way too much for the meal. It wasn’t even sliced in half to facilitate an enjoyable consumption.
I had to apologize to my colleagues for such a poor choice in restaurant.

Our meal came with complimentary bread that looked like naan and yogurt. It was strange since it was crispy in some parts but soft and fluffy in other areas.
The meat moussaka dish was outstanding. The ground lamb was delicious and this was the first dish to vanish immediately. The seasoned vegetables were buttery and flavorful. I hoarded this dish to myself.
The falafel plate was as vegetarian as you could get. It comes with hummus and salad that didn’t have much flavor. The accompanying yogurt sauce was ordinary.
The calamari was tasty. Do not order the Alexander. It tastes like tomato beef I’ve had in a Taiwanese restaurant but in thinner slices. It had even more yogurt sauce on the side, which blends well but I had just about enough yogurt at this point.
The service was alright but I felt that our waitress was overworked and forgot things along the way (i.e. needing utensils, napkins, etc.). I want to think I was impatient but we had to make many requests that we feel bad for since we made her run around even more.
The interior is nice, relaxing, and open. It’s much quieter than other restaurants on Murphy St. so an intimate dinner can happen without having your yelling conversations be drowned out by the people around you.