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We've been hearing about this place and finally made it there today for lunch. It's been in business for two years and when we walked in today, it was empty. That can't be good.
There are about nine tables set in a pleasant atmosphere and six chairs lined up against a street-facing window.
We walked in and were greeted with "to go or here?" Not the most welcoming greeting by our server. We seated ourselves and perused the 6-page menu. Appetizers & salads, two pages of entrees, beverages-smoothies-desserts, an ala carte and kids page, and a lunch menu. We had to start with a few appetizers ~ Samosas and Falafel. Our server, "is that all?"
The samosas were served with delicious tzatziki sauce and the falafel arrived draped in tahini and parsley. This was all made to order and we waited for it, but it was worth the wait. We next ordered from the entree menu, Gyro and Kafta. Each entree comes promised with salad, rice, hummus, fresh pita bread, and optionally served as a wrap or plated. We took plated. And we need to talk about the salad first.
We'd like to eat this everyday, seriously. There's a lemony dressing (house recipe) that tops off radishes, parsley, tomatoes, onions, lentils, pita chips made on the premises, and pomegranate seeds. The salad is alive with flavor and texture and is altogether amazing. The Gyro then arrived.
Hummus, rice and gyro were beautifully presented. As we are waiting for the Kafta, the owner and/or chef stepped out to ask whether I'd like tzatziki or garlic sauce (he whispers 'garlic'). How could we not take the garlic :-). He then notices our notes and camera. "Are you food critics?" Well, we do have a blog. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have taken good care of you." No. That's not how we like to review restaurants. And when the Kafta finally came out he accompanied it, chatting up the food, and due to his hovering we neglected to get a food photo, until the leftovers arrived at home :-)
There are 16 spices in the rice, according to our chef, and the garlic sauce and the rest of the food was well prepared and fresh. The garlic sauce was a great recommendation so don't miss it. We asked about the lack of customers and our guy said it's always like this because no one knows about them, which is sad because the food is wonderful. It's made as it is ordered, table for table. Pita bread is brought in from Detroit and was promised with the Kafta entree but never arrived so we can't comment on that other than we didn't get it.
Ideas for improvement? Train your servers to be more welcoming and customer savvy. Add building signage and update the tacky sandwich board sign. Clean the one bathroom customers use. Avoid loud conversations between the server and chef while customers are waiting for food, and don't make customers listen to your phones ring as well as to your subsequent conversations. And maybe change the soundtrack to a consistent mideastern vibe rather than a random jazz/pop thing.
Online reviews complain about the prices but there is a lunch menu available with reduced costs. We hope he stays in business and maybe he does well enough with take-outs and catering to stay alive.
The smoothies were recommended to us by the chef as being all natural with no added sugars, etc., so we took two to go. Delicious! Check out this place, at least for the falafel, hummus, garlic sauce, and the salad! They have local delivery service and you can find them on facebook and at www.raadsgr.com
Sad Update 2/18/16 ~ we drove by earlier this week and the restaurant is closed and the building vacant.
A long-standing, neighborhood favorite, Salvatore’s was opened in 1976 by Sicilian immigrants, Salvatore and Vincenza Tinervia. Today the restaurant is still owned by their descendants and extended family members.
Upon entry, one is greeted by a lovely outdoor patio on your right (not open today), and a buffet directly in front of you. There are two dining rooms divided by a small bar, which seats only at the bar. At lunchtime just the front dining room is open. The large room held five booths each along two walls and about ten tables filled out the rest of the space. The decor is a little dated with too many fake flowers and plants but overall, it's a casual and friendly atmosphere.
It was packed when we arrived and we soon figured out why. Everyone was bellying up to the $7.50 lunch buffet. You may eat to your heart’s content from a salad and pizza bar that also includes a pasta selection, various meat and vegetable entrees, and a soft drink. The full menu was presented to us but only the lunch page was available (lunch menu is not online). The owners are pushing people to the lunch buffet and it makes good economic sense; it just isn’t our preference. We didn’t see any appetizers on the lunch page but upon questioning, our server informed us we could order garlic bread, garlic bread with cheese, bruschetta, or bread sticks. Since garlic bread comes with the entrees, the only logical choice was bruschetta.Unfortunately, a few minutes later our server returned to tell us it was unavailable because they were baking the necessary bread that wouldn’t be ready for sometime. (The restaurant had been closed for the long holiday weekend.) Although we were disappointed, we respected the fact that they make their food fresh.
So we started with the house salads, simple but good. Iceberg lettuce with a small scattering of croutons, tomatoes, and cucumbers, a wedge of onion, two slices of pepperoni, and the house-made, slightly sweet, Italian dressing on the side.
We both chose from the pasta list for our entrees, Lasagne and Chicken Alfredo. The Lasagne came out too hot to eat (oven, not microwave) and drowning in sauce but did we enjoy both dishes. Pasta was not over-cooked and the alfredo was balanced and nicely presented; it was decent, home-made food. Our server was overly attentive but that’s better than neglect.
You won’t find anything particularly innovative or unusual but you will find a down-home, friendly, local restaurant. It reminded us of Tillman’s (but in an Italian way) where neighborhood people gather to enjoy food, beverages, and company. Neither place claims anything else, and as befitting their antiquity, you won’t find them on twitter or facebook (update: Tillman’s is now on fb :).www.salvatoresgr.com
