Popular mediterranean and greek cafe with 2 locations
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 992
Reviewed: 10/18/2004
Rating: 8.5
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I dont think Ive ever been to The Castle when it wasnt extrememly busy. Thats got to be a good sign right? With 2 locations - San Jose and Santa Clara, we went to the latter. I was going to order a lamb gyros but changed my mind at the last second after seeing the Falafels. Ordered the Falafel sandwich without pickels and extra spicey. My eyes are usually bigger than my appetite, I also wanted to order a side dish but I only had $7 to my name. Thats a good thing, because the sandwich is plenty of food.
The falafel sandwich consists of pita bread, 3 giant falafel balls, lettuce, spicey sauce, cucumber, tomato, onions, tahini or Tzatziki sauce. The entire sandwich was wonderfull. The pita didnt get too soggy and held its form..it bothers me when the falafel balls fall through the bottom. Oh..and the tomatoes, I love them here, they cut them extra thick just like the ones you get at Tommys in Los Angeles (hamburger joint). I cant wait to come back to The Castle.
Prices are fairly cheap and portions sizes will fill you up. Try to beat the lunch crowds at noon, either show up at 11:15AM or 1PM.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 724
Reviewed: 10/18/2004
Rating: 9
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We've been to the Castle before. In fact I used to work across the street from this place a few years back. Gyro and Falafel sandwich quality has always been top notch here. This time I went with the Falafel sandwich. You can order it spicy or non. I always get spicy. The thing was made for me and of course its HUGE. Much larger than the sandwich at Falafel drivein. The spicy sauce here at the Castle is better than the one at the drivein. The falafel balls are larger here but don't taste as good as they do at the Drive In. While the falafel flavor is not quite there, the rest of the monstrous sandwich is VERY tasty.
Believe me the sandwich will fill you up. As tempted as you may be to get some hummus or tabouleh, skip the temptation, you won't have the room.
Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 71
Reviewed: 5/7/2008
Rating: 7.5
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The Castle is an OK place to get falafel, gyros, etc. if you are in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here. There are much better options elsewhere.
PARKING: Parking can be a pain here, even on a slow Monday. The strip mall location is completely filled with restaurants, and the parking lot is totally inadequate at lunchtime. Enough said. You may be in for a wait or a walk.
SETTING: I like the layout here. You walk in, bear left, grab a tray and the first thing you see is a choice of baklava and the like (a weakness, I'll admit). Then you get to march down the cafeteria-like display and see all the choices. There is plentiful seating inside and out, though tables tend to be packed close together.
SERVICE: Robotic. Very few smiles or chit-chat from the serfs at this castle.
PRICES: Prices are average to high for Med food in the bay area.
PLATES/CUTLERY: Yet another place that serves eat-in meals on styrofoam and plastic. You would think the place would be cheaper as a result. Get a dishwasher, castle-heads !!
FOOD: Here are some lunches I've had here:
-- Falafel sandwich: After nuking the cold falafel balls and putting them in a pita, they let me pick from a variety of sauces and condiments. The sauces were outstanding. This would have been a knockout sandwich if the falafel balls had been fresher. As it was, the dry, re-warmed falafel balls brought the sandwich down for me. The falafel just doesn't come close to those piping hot, fresh, green falafel balls from Falafel Drive-in. Total cost was $6 for this sandwich, plus the baklava and tax, bringing my total to over $8, an average price. Rating 7.5.
-- Gyro sandwich: Like the falafel sandwich, they nuke everything before adding veggies and sauces of your choice. I was a bit skeptical when I saw this, but was pleasantly surprised by my sandwich. The meat was tender and delicious and the sauces and veggies were outstanding as before. A knockout sandwich overall, though it got messy at the end and I had to abort the whole mess into a bowl before it reached DEFCON 1. Despite the mess, the sandwich was an easy 8.5 by itself. Base cost was $7, pretty average
-- Falafel Plate: What a ripoff! $10 for 4 sad falafel balls, 4 pita slices, hummus, a smallish tabouli, and 2 whole olives (whoa guys, are you sure can spare the extra olive?). Plus they drizzled everything with sauce, even the pita, making it more difficult to make mini sandwiches with my hands. Definitely not a repeat order, even though the hummus had a nice texture and decent flavor. Rating 7.0. I'll take the bigger, better, cheaper ($6) falafel plate from Falafel & Kebab over this plate any day.
-- Lamb Kabob Plates: A better deal at $12 for rice, lamb, pita and salad. But I really wanted some hummus. I ended up dipping my slightly dry lamb in the yogurt salad dressing just to perk it up. Maybe a 7.5 for this meal.
Pros: Food is prepared quickly; Excellent gyro sandwich; Plentiful seating Cons: Terrible Parking at lunch hour; Too much plastic use; Falafel plate is a ripoff.
“One of the best out there. Prices can be higher than your average gyro but the portion size more than makes up for it.”
11/14/2007 8:29:58 AM
ftmsrul ate...
What dish did you eat? Gyro Plate
“What did you think?
Taziki sauce isn't authentic. I should know, I lived in Europe 5 years. Their's is watery, ranch dressing tasting, and no garlic flavor at all. Not impressed”
7/26/2007 8:45:45 PM
theDude ate...
Gyro Sandwich
“I LOVE the gyro's here. I usually try to hit it once a week. The Falafal is tasty too but the gyro is where it's at. I judge all others against the Castle. Great Place!!”
