Restaurant Review: Efes Bistro – Fish & Grill House

My husband and I decided to try a new restaurant for our Friday night dinner out. We spotted Efes Bistro using an App on his Droid and decided to check it out. We were greeted warmly by the hostess who asked if we had reservations. Clearly, they are busy on a Friday night. We were able to get a cozy booth in the back and noticed we were quite a bit younger than all of the other clientele. They seem to have loyal customers so that is always a good sign.

The hostess came over and took our drink orders and let us know our server would be over shortly. They seemed to be quite busy and perhaps short staffed for the evening. The pace of service slowed as the evening went on. When our server came over she was quite accommodating, but somewhat absent as time went on.

We started with appetizers, grapes leaves (pictured below) and falafel. I enjoyed the grape leaves, the serving is 6, ample to share. They tasted very good, I’m used to grape leaves with a firmer rice filling, but the flavor was excellent with a hint of lemon.

grape leaves

Entrees come with soup or salad, I chose the red lentil soup. It was smooth and rich with the subtle flavor of cumin. I’ve made red lentil soup at home before and the taste was very similar so I assume they used basically the same ingredients. This is made without cream, the soup is pureed so the lentils lend the creamy texture. Very good!

red lentil soup

My entrée was the char-grilled salmon which was basted in olive oil and garlic. The flavor was simple perfection and the salmon moist throughout. I enjoyed the grilled zucchini, but skipped the rice. More grilled veggies substituted for the rice would have been a better idea. My husband ordered the chicken shish kabob, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He gave me a bite to try and it was very juicy and had a wonderful seasoning. They know how to season and cook their chicken and fish!

char-grilled salmon dinner

Aside from the slow and somewhat inattentive service, I would recommend Efes for a delicious meal, perhaps take out.

Efes Bistro 

Corner of Lyons & Glades at Sommerset Shopping Plaza Next to TJ MAXX

8903 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33434

Phone: (561) 488 8883 FAX: (561) 488 8967