Cafe Paloma

Hang a right off busy 1st Ave in Pioneer Square to find your way to Cafe Paloma, an oasis of friendly service and simple but satisfying Middle Eastern dining. The walls are hung with a mix of funky sculptures and paintings from local elementary school students. Paninis are among the popular items here, but the soup of the day is often your best bet, with offerings like homemade lamb stew. The meze plates of dips are perfect for sharing over a bittersweet Turkish coffee pick-me-up in the late afternoon. Lunch dishes may set you back $10, which keeps Paloma from being an everyday thing, but it's still one of the most reliable sit-down lunch options in the neighborhood. Pros: Friendly service, light and fresh tasting food Cons: On the expensive side for lunch more

This Mediterranean eatery, located in the heart of old town Seattle (Pioneer Square), offers a host of sandwich and pita selections accompanied by a short list of classic Greek appetizers. In addition to their freshly prepared food, you’ll also find an extensive wine list and coffee options. It’s perfect for a quick gourmet bite or a family evening. With an ambiance closer your hip grandmother’s dining room, the café is complete with a stage for musical guests and walls adorned with local and owner created art. In addition, for those rare sunny days in Seattle, Café Paloma offers outdoor seating. A short walking distance from the Seattle waterfront and underground tour, this is a perfect spot to feed your need after a day of exploration. Pros: Fresh Food, Festive Decor, Polite Staff, Cons: Small Venue, Limited Menu more

I worked here for a while.\r Don't eat the seafood, especially shell fish, it will be kept and just drowned in sauces to cover up fishy smells of spoilage.\r Nothing gets thrown out, so if an item you want hasn't sold well, you could be eating it a week old (this is so with many restaurants, but is especially gross in the sometimes mushy dolmas, which are amazing fresh, and the various salads served with the mezze plate).\r \r Paninnis go fast, and their preschutto one is delicious.\r \r Coffee is awful.\r \r Almost none of the soups are vegetarian, and though they may not contain meat, do contain chicken fat/grease and stock, so vegetarians beware.\r \r Nice place to grab a spot of lunch, but if you're in the area, a pastry or sandwich from the Grand Central Bakery and a cup of coffee from Cafe Umbria promises to be fresher and more satisfying, in my opinion. Pros: interesting area, great paninnis and sweets, good service, great atmosphere in the summers Cons: overpriced items that are less than fresh on slow weeks more

Thought I would try a different place for lunch, so I tired Cafe Paloma. Wow, what a disappointment! I am pretty easy going and it takes something pretty extreme to get me to post something about a place and guess what...Paloma has stepped up to the plate. I ordered Tabouli salad....it was listed as $6.00 so one would think that you would get a decent amount of salad for that price but that was not the case. I recieved less than a cup of Tabouli salad and a pita for lunch. To top it all off this was not even good Tabouli, it was heavy and I am not sure how that happens with Tabouli. Anyway, a good lesson learned.....check that restaurant off my list, not worth the money and there are so many other great restaurants around in downtown Seattle to try. Pros: Nothing more

THANK GOD CAFE PALOMA IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET THERE?\r Whats with the separate checks, are you still in high school?May I suggest dividing the total check by the number of persons and all pay equally. Small cafes can't afford the staff to sit at the cash register. Are you afraid to pay for your friends iced tea? Pros: Supporters of local art more

I would not hesitate to recommend Cafe Paloma. I have never felt neglected or that the service was horrible, what I have noticed is the excellent food. Their paninis are great and the salads and pita with hummus are simply delicious. I am a regular customer and a experienced in the restaurant industry. Cafe Paloma is wonderful in my opinion. more

My co-workers and I frequently eat at Cafe Paloma and have always agreed the food is worth the poor service. Today our opinions have drastically changed. The service has always been slow so we asked our server if we could be in/out in 50 minutes which they kindly obliged. We were seated and never received water until our meal came (25 minutes later). When it was time to pay they very distressed that 2 of the 4 wanted to pay using a credit card and he started yelling at us in front of the entire restaurant. What's worse is that we put $3 in cash on a $10 credit card in the 'TIP JAR' and the man screamed that we didn't leave him a tip. I have worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years and the process of swiping a credit card has never been difficult. Pros: Food Cons: Service more

The food at Cafe Paloma is excellent; a great break from the food in the Pioneer Square area. My only criticism is the service. I fear for Cafe Paloma's future if it isn't improved. On multiple occasions I've gone for lunch and had embarassingly poor service. This was a serious issue when I brought business guests and the waitress informed us ""I am not a very good waitress"" which turned out to be true. She confused orders, forgot some, and we had to remind her how to wait the tables. This happened with more than one waitress! On almost all occasions lunch took more than an hour--which is startling considering that much of the food is pre-made. On two occasions, they had no chicken, which is a key ingredient in over 40% of their menu. Go for lunch but budget your time. The food is worth it. Pros: Hummus , Panini , Price more

Today I ate at Cafe Paloma for the second time this month. The panini was delicious, but the service was absurdly slow, again. There was only one waitress (and busser) for the whole restaurant, both inside and on the patio. Meanwhile there seemed to be at least two people behind the take-out counter. No one even re-filled my water. The waitress seemed nice, but needs extra help. This would be a great place for lunch with better service. Pros: good panini, delicious humus, Near Pioneer Square more

After coming to this tucked away cafe for several years, the place is now double the size and the food is still excellent. I love the panini sandwiches and the baklava. Very eclectic, worldly environment, although semi-slow service at times. Pros: Great food, the environment Cons: Busy at lunch more