Gahwa Café

The man at the front works there by himself but still offered phenomenal service and was very welcoming. The atmosphere was very beautiful inside and was relaxing. We ordered Turkish sand coffee، strawberry kiwi smoothie، Turkish pizza، and a lamb shawarma platter. The coffee was dark and very flavorful. Smoothie is all natural with no added sugar and tasted great، comes with some honey if you prefer it to be a lil sweeter. The Turkish pizza was some of the best pizza I’ve ever tasted. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the pizza was. The lamb shawarma was the most tender lamb I’ve had. I’ve tried lamb many other places but the man working here said he makes the lamb himself and it takes him a lot of time. He told me “you eat what I eat” a good sign a person takes pride in their food.

The food is great and delicious. We came with a friend from New Jersey and enjoyed the Turkish coffee too. The atmosphere is super chill and comfortable، with soft chairs and traditional Arab decor. We loved the pizza. It’s very unique and will make you full، definitely worth trying. There was an older man working alone he cooked everything and took care of the whole restaurant. We really appreciated his hard work!

This Arabic café is a hidden gem. Friendly service، simple but delicious food options، and of course - great coffee! I had the Kebbe with hummus، hand squeezed refreshing lemonade made with lemons from the owner's back yard، and a perfectly balanced cappuccino. Atmosphere is great with incredibly comfortable booths or chairs. And the desserts look divine! A must try in the San Pablo area!

My fiancé chose this place for a random date and I was really glad he did. From the photos from others on Yelp it looked like a place to unwind and relax so I couldn't wait. The photos didn't lie. This place is nicely tucked away from the Atlantic and San Pablo craziness. Walking in I felt transported to another country. As cliche as that sounds I don't have any other way to describe it. I love the items imported straight from Turkey for sale (the staff are true salespeople as they really wanted me to purchase something. They were beautiful but I didn't see anything that I HAD to have). In the back. the wisteria hanging from the ceiling and the middle eastern sofa for lounging and maybe for some snacks and hookah made it seem so cozy. I loved all the decor. The first thing we got was the Turkish Coffee that was heated in hot sand. The guy serving us، I wasn't sure if he was the owner or not was really great. He warned us not to ingest the coffee grind/powder/sludge on the bottom but that we'd really enjoy the taste. That was perhaps the best tasting coffee I've ever had not to mention it was nuclear hot. We got the Charcuterie for 2 which had lebna or lebneh، cheddar، gyro meat which I thought was shawarma but it wasn't، grape leaves، hummus، fruits and crackers with a side of honey and pita bread slices. I don't remember having lebna before but I loved it. There were some extras we got like the mozzarella balls، the ful medames، olives، and I believe some kind of date cakes. Trust me. We were good after eating all of this. My fiance also had Lentil soup which he said was nice and simple. Definitely had a wonderful experience.

Food was quite delicious. There are gluten free items on the menu، though not marked. The owner was educated though and able to let me know what is gluten free. I had the falafel and grape leaves. The Turkish coffee is fantastic! Portions are more like apps so good for tapas kind of style.