Spiegel

I think as a group, Mediterranean food is something that we opt into quite a bit. When I found Spiegel online, I made a brunch reservation and we were excited to give it a try. I was thrilled to see that they had many options that were Jewish, and I was interested to see how the flavor profiles would compare to what I thought they should taste like in my head.

We took a cab because there was a sudden all day downpour which put a definite damper on our day activities. When we arrived, the place was pretty hopping, and they stuck us in the corner which was super crowded. Our table was so small, it couldn't fit our waters, and our menus on it at the same time, which I thought was a bad sign for us thinking about putting meals on it.

We started with tea and coffee, and looked over the menu. One of the reasons I chose this place was because of their breakfast platter, which featured a little bit of everything and was right up my alley. I excitedly placed my order for that, and the waitress very snippedly told me it only is served after 11 and the items weren't ready yet.

After this setback, I had to change gears and I ordered the breakfast hummus with shakshuka and hubby ordered the chicken schnitzel sando, with a side of cauliflower. The hummus was pretty boring, the bread was hot and good, and the super oily cauliflower was absolutely flat, with no flavor, salt, or texture. Hubby's sando was good though, and he devoured it.

Service was really slow, even though they had quite a few staff working. We also had issues waiting for the bathroom, with only one toilet and having multiple bike delivery people cutting line for the bathroom. Awkward. Prices were fine and location was good, but overall experience was less than ideal, and I wouldn't likely return.

I brunched so hard at Spiegel. If I could order their bunch platter on repeat every Saturday, life would be great

We came to Spiegel on a Saturday around 1pm without a reservation. The two of us were seated quickly at the bar, which is comfortable and spacious. The restaurant was almost full.

I had my eye on the brunch platter, which is why I bookmarked Spiegel, but I was a curious if it would be as delicious as it was beautiful.

It was. They rotate the brunch assortment every week, which is cool since you could come back different times and try a new set of things. Everything sounded great that was on the platter, but I did see someone else with fries and they looked perfect so I asked if we could swap them for the sweet potato. They said no problem.

For two hungry people, at just $40, this was a little bit too much (read a perfect) amount of food. The platter can be shared between two to three people. I loved the little touches that showed that they go above and beyond, like the pomegranate seeds in the babaganoush spread and the high quality tahini. There wasn't a single thing on the platter that I didn't find delicious and there were several things I'd never tried before, which was exciting.

Can't wait to go back and try a whole new platter

Love this little neighborhood eatery!

We stopped here for lunch as my friend lives around the corner. I had the falafel sandwich and she had the green shakshuka. The falafel was pretty good, very flavorful and moist. Their pita is baked fresh and super fluffy and delicious!

I enjoyed the outdoor sheeting areas

I came to Spiegel with 2 friends around 11am on a Saturday. I made a reservation via Yelp and highly recommend doing so if you have a party greater than 2. Their space is tiny and poppin'! On that note, they seated us on three high stools around a small table (If you see my picture, the platter we ordered covered our entire table). My friend that was sitting in the aisle kept getting bumped and people were dropping things as they tried to squeeze past us. Other than that, the atmosphere was what you would expect for a casual neighborhood bar.

We ordered a Spiegel platter ($40 ~ $13/person) which serves 2-3 people. This was a great way to get introduced to some of their dishes! Overall, the food was delicious. Everything had great flavor and it was enough for the three of us. The only critique I had was that the skin of the sweet potato was overly charred and tasted burnt. Luckily, that did not affect the consistency of the sweet potato. The tahini, labane, chicken, and waffles were my favorites on the platter. Their chicken skin was tasty and the chicken itself maintained moisture and did not taste dry. The waffles tasted homemade and did not need syrup or anything else to enhance the natural sweetness. The next time I come to Spiegel, I want to give their chicken and waffles a try since I really enjoyed those aspects of the platter.

Aside from the tight space, customer service was average. The staff was friendly, but they did not really check back with us after we got our food or refill the water (they did refill my friend's coffee though!). This could be due to them not wanting to block the way because it was so cramped. The Spiegel platter was a good amount of delicious food for the price so I can definitely see myself returning to Spiegel!

I waited at the door for 10 mins and no host, waitress just walked by and didn't care. Finally got the waitress for togo order, she said I had to order from the bartender who was busy and hard to squeeze in to get her attention. Meh.

I got the four sides-
Sweet potato fries - love it
Grilled chicken - very dry
Chicken schnitzel - also dry
Beets - beet is beet, at least not canned.

It was annoying that they put the sweet potato fries with beets, so by the time I get home the fries got all soggy from the juice from beets. Who does that?

I wanted to love this place because of the atmosphere and the other food looked so good, but I just wasn't so impressed with the service and my dish (the burger).

Arrived around 1PM on a Sunday and was told that it'd be about a 10-15 minute wait. We ended up waiting nearly 45 minutes, which was absurd given the original time estimate. At a certain point, I was afraid they had forgotten about us, given all the other people that they sat before us and the lack of a permanent host (or proper entrance at all). Understandable given the rush and the fact we had three people unlike the other parties of two, but it would've been nice to at least been checked in with every once in a while rather than only right before we were sat.

As mentioned, I ordered the brunch burger whereas my friend ordered the challah french toast. The french toast looked delicious, and he finished the entire dish, so I'm sure it was good, but the brunch burger, not so much.

Brunch burger ($17):
- Patty was SO DRY. It crumbled so easily when I cut through it and was like chewing overcooked ground beef
- Other toppings on burger had little flavor and didn't really add to the overall flavor of the burger together
- Bread was also very dry and a little too thick, which didn't help with the dry burger situation
- Fries tasted good, but were a little too crispy for my liking. That's all personal preference though

I think I'd come back and try something else, because the people working were very nice and the other dishes looked so good, but I would definitely not order the burger again. Maybe I'd come back some time when it isn't so busy.

Perfect brunch spot. My gf and I walked in around 1PM on a Sunday without a reservation and were seated at the bar within 10 minutes. I had the breakfast hummus and really enjoyed all of the flavor in it. I like that the egg was marinated (in what, idk but it was delicious) and that I had the option of dipping into the green sauce or the hummus. The falafel was crispy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside. I would definitely come back and try the platter next time to get a bit of everything (we didn't want to be overstuffed this time around).

Food food food platter. IG eatsumbap

This amazing platter is probably the only way to go. Israeli food got me wanting to go back already! The eggplant just reminds me of a thicker whole babaganoush and this yogurt dip is just to die for. Theres a bit of meat for meat eaters but a LOT of veggies for the vegan! I totally recommend the 2-3
We shared 3 and was pretty full but also completely wiped out the food. Its $40 for the 2-3 and comes in a giant tray. The patio I recommend sitting on the side of the store rather than the front which has more heavy traffic. I do wish the tables were slightly larger to accommodate our giant tray. Nevertheless food is fantastic variety!! Totally recommend it.

The sign of this restaurant looks like classic American food but it's actually amazing authentic Mediterranean! It really does have the feel of an American cafe / diner. The food took a little while to come out but it was delicious. I got the Spicy Green Shakshuka which definitely was unique with a more citrusy and spicy twist. Also perfect amount of pita came with to scoop up the tomatoes and eggs which I feel most restaurants skimp on. My friend got the pancakes, just plain, but super fluffy and tasty. I'm really interested in going back to try more of the Israeli cuisine because the menu looks so damn good and so did everyone's food!

Came to get brunch with a couple friends pretty early on about 10 am on a Saturday. No wait and plenty of seating at that time. This place has pretty budget friendly brunch options, but I wasn't too impressed with the food and the waitress was really slow and rude. Basically had to wave her down to get any service (water, check) and she just looked like she did not want to be there at all.

I got the shakshuka which seemed like their special item, I also added the sausage for $5 extra. It was pretty flavorful and had quite a lot of saisage chunks but it was also very watery and soupy at the bottom. Basically needed a spoon to eat it since a fork and pita weren't gonna help. I think this is one of the places where the menu sounds a lot better than the actual food tastes.