We finally tried Ash'Kara and loved it! It was a Saturday night and fairly busy, but we were able to be seated before our reservation. The décor is great - colorful and inviting. My wife is gluten intolerant and was able to order almost everything off the menu. We ordered the hummus counter and added the marinated Bulgarian feta. Delicious and the gluten free pita was warm and tasty, seemed to be fresh out of the oven. I enjoyed it so much I didn't think for a second about wanting regular pita. We ordered small bites to share as well: olives, lamb kofte kebab and chicken shawarma kebab, plus dolmas grape leaves. Food came out really fast and we enjoyed it all. We thought about getting extra lamb as it was one piece to split and pretty small, but soooo good. Turns out we had enough food (once we ordered extra GF pita - also fresh and warm the second time served). I gave service 4 stars only because it took a pretty long time to get our server's attention for more food and drink. She apologized before we commented and noted they were busy. All in all, a GREAT meal - fresh ingredients, delicious food, reasonable prices, great atmosphere. We'll be back!
Travis Amato
Excellent food !! We really enjoyed everything about this place. The service was outstanding but the food, the food was some of the best I have ever had!!! If you like Mediterranean style cuisine you have to give this place a try. Will absolutely be returning
Kate H.
Very disappointed. Went to happy hour, 4 of us total. Most of the drinks we ordered from hh menu were unavailable (didn't have ingredients, no draft beer, couldn't open wine we ordered - no corkscrew!!??). I felt bad for staff who were clearly not trained and without supervision or management. Wine pours were uneven, different on every glass. Food was good. Bill came with many mistakes, no hh prices given and prices did not match the menu. We were told the menu was wrong and prices had gone up. I believe this is illegal. Fair wage fee threw us off, no mention of it anywhere or what it means, confused about how to tip and really didn't think service reflected 18% addition. Filthy toilets Overall sad that this beautiful restaurant in a great spot is a mess.
Alexandra Ortasse
Delicious eggplant. Cozy environment. Busy waitress took time to answer questions by guests and was super friendly despite how busy she was. Customer service goes a long way. Will definitely be going back to try more food
Greg Gordon
This was my second time here. We sat st the bar. They didn’t tell us about the auto gratuity so I feel scammed. The food portions are tiny. The rice was cold. The chicken was super tasty and the trio for dipping only comes with one piece of pita bread. I have no reason to return. The other restaurants nearby were busy and I now know why they are not busy at all. I would bet that they won’t last much longer.
William Copeland
18% upcharge on bill….does this go to bartender? Kitchen? This is ridiculous, will not be back.Hummus was delicious.
Claire Bailey
The food here are excellent, and I love the decor and feel of the space. Sadly, the restaurant has taken a major downturn since switching to QR codes and smartphone ordering. Not only does this pose an inaccessibility problem, but it also removes the element of human relationship from the dining experience. Ash'Kara should listen to their customers and bring back real service again. Otherwise, probably won't be going back here to this previous favorite. Very disappointing.
Leonard A.
went on a friday for an evening with my roommates. as we sat, we're informed they were short staffed: generally not a problem, i get that happens. the first very friendly server was replaced by a somewhat kirt server we later learned was a manager.it took a while for the food to come out which wasn't the biggest deal because we were chatting. the meals came out one at a time and my friend's steak was forgotten. he went and found somebody to let them know. the person taking care of us apologized, said they would take it off and buy us dessert. great, we appreciated that.from there i would have called it good, however, we sat for 20 minutes after finishing the meal not certain if anyone was coming back to help us. it was revealed when we found a server to help us that the 2nd person who had been helping us was a manager and had gone home for the evening, without telling us or making sure we were taken care of. the restaurant was mostly empty at this point. i'm laughing as i write this because it's like something out of a movie.another manager came over from the server's prompt and we chatted dessert. i had a question about the marshmallows. i was curious if they contained gelatin (which often contains pork) free. i don't know if he understood the question immediately, but after a few times of back and forth with the kitchen we learned they did contain gelatin. this was concerning because we all avoid pork for spiritual reasons and thought we'd be safe from such an ingredient at an Israeli restaurant. this was a miscalculation and we had already been served the marshmallow containing dessert. my roommate, graciously had pushed them to the side of his plate and made no fuss about it.at some point, our check was dropped and the new manager taking care of us informed us they had a guaranteed 20% gratuity already applied to the bill(this was clearly reflected in the lack of service we received). he then asked us to write the payment splits up for him. there were 5 items and i was curious why we were doing his job for him which would have taken him another minute.after he split and redelivered the checks we realized no one was coming back to take our payment. as i picked up the checks to take them to the bar i jokingly told my friends, "don't worry guys, i'll be right back with your checks." so, i approached the bar and asked the tender if he could cash us out. he seemed over worked and i felt for the guy.we headed out laughing about the experience we had. this restaurant gets 2 stars instead of 1 because the food was great, the service lost the other stars and was reflective of a problem that can arise when gratuity is not earned and decided by the customer.i did appreciate the friendliness of the servers who let us know what was going. i feel for understaffed folks. i won't be returning and hope the the restaurant can course correct.
Brennan K.
The food was excellent every step of the way. Great Bar, atmosphere, and service. The dip trio is a must for the appetizer, as it was life-changing. Chicken shawarma for act two followed by the herb-crusted filet for the finale was amazing. No complaints. Will be returning as often as possible.
Doug Fahoury
We used to love this restaurant until last week when they implemented a new ordering system on an app. Basically, you can't order with the waiter. Then, to top it off, they add a 20% fair-wage tip, for what??? This restaurant went from a classy establishment to a joke - you might as well be McDonalds with that type of ordering system. People want to go to go out and be served by a staff. We understand that staffing is difficult/expensive but this new app ordering system is not smart. We will never return to your restaurant.
I love this restaurant and have been many times. The food is always amazing, but recently they started making customers order on their phone which was really annoying.
Tim F.
Recently visited Ash'Kara for the second time. Sat inside again (outside was full on a beautful Boulder Saturday). The decorating and such is excellent, really cool place. A bit dead inside both times we've gone on weekends for lunch when taking visitors downtown. Both times I've been, everyone's food has been excellent (hence the four stars instead of 3). The service was a bit rough this last time, with food never coming until we finally asked about it and then we were accused on not submitting the order on our phone. Regardless of whether we in fact screwed that up, blaming the customer may not be the right approach. Maybe it's just old fashioned, but if they had proper servers here instead of a food-hall ordering approach, I think our experience could have been quite a bit better.
Armin A.
I'm usually the one writing super positive reviews for restaurants but tonight, it's a different story. This was by far the most disappointing and certainly the most despicable situation we ran into at this location. We already visited their other location in Denver and it was great so we thought why not try their location in Boulder as well. What a mistake!!!! I called this place at 7:30pm to see if we can have a table for 2. They said no problem, there's no wait time so just come on in. We drive 20min from Longmont to go to this place and we get in at around 7:50 or so. One waiter noticed us and had us checked in at the front and then walked us back to our table. Then as we get closer to the table, he starts talking to one of the staff and completely ignores us so we are just standing confused at the middle of the restaurant waiting to be seated. He then completely ignored us and continued to walk to the front and checks on the computer, then walks back and tells us, sorry our kitchen is not taking any orders at this time. I'm sorry what??!!! I was quite shocked. I told him that I called earlier and they told me that we are ok to walk in. It's now 8pm and you guys close at 9pm. How do you close the kitchen an hour before closing? Unheard of. Very unprofessional, quite disrespectful and most definitely horrible service. If I was the owner, I would essentially think twice about the staff and perhaps make some major changes. I do not recommend this establishment and will not give them a second chance. There's a reason this particular location has average/low rating compared to the one in Denver. Do yourself a huge favor and stay away from this place.
Thighmaster M.
Big fat 0 for requiring impersonal ordering from smartphone in a restaurant that attempts an upscale dining experience.Big fat 0 for insult to injury with mandatory $15 for "fair wage."Extra big fat 0 for having the chutzpah to follow the above surcharge with an option to actually "tip"! Tip whom? The software that took my order or the nice, smiling but otherwise unskilled, charmless servers? The hollow souled hostess? You see, when we go out for dinner, it's to a "restaurant," not an automat A big part of the experience is being served, with a relationship that forms between us and the server, who has a name, a personality, apparent care for the food, the presentation, the ambience. A hostess who appears to be happy because we chose your establishment so A. She gets paid because we picked you instead of say, the classic Italian place down the block where the hostess and servers are professional enough to at least fake really well that they are glad we are there. In exchange we are grateful for their attention and professionalism. There is social currency in those moments that makes their job and our dining with you have meaning.Oh yes, the actual food was decent. Bumped this review up one star. I would say above average. Not quite worth the price but I know what rents are like on Pearl Street so what are you gonna do? Fact is, in Chicago one can get Mediterranean dishes like yours just as fresh and tasty in less fancy digs for half the price, while they actually take your order, talk about the food, etc. They earn a tip, but in those restaurants I'd be fine with a fair wage charge as well.
Gloria H.
I was extremely hungry when I came to lunch at Ash'Kara and in the mood for a big helping of something extremely tasty. I ordered the lamb bowl. It was pretty good but not overwhelmingly so. As a table we also ordered the tots and an appetizer of hummus. Beware of the menu - they add $$ for things that you don't realize. The price isn't exactly what it seems. Also beware when you get the check, a 20% fee has already been added. They put it above a little note on the menu clipboard that explains this, but it's easy to overlook. It's not really clear if it's the tip, or not, and seems a little sneaky. Beautiful inside and a really pleasant atmosphere to dine in. Also the plating was great - very pretty.
We finally tried Ash'Kara and loved it! It was a Saturday night and fairly busy, but we were able to be seated before our reservation. The décor is great - colorful and inviting. My wife is gluten intolerant and was able to order almost everything off the menu. We ordered the hummus counter and added the marinated Bulgarian feta. Delicious and the gluten free pita was warm and tasty, seemed to be fresh out of the oven. I enjoyed it so much I didn't think for a second about wanting regular pita. We ordered small bites to share as well: olives, lamb kofte kebab and chicken shawarma kebab, plus dolmas grape leaves. Food came out really fast and we enjoyed it all. We thought about getting extra lamb as it was one piece to split and pretty small, but soooo good. Turns out we had enough food (once we ordered extra GF pita - also fresh and warm the second time served). I gave service 4 stars only because it took a pretty long time to get our server's attention for more food and drink. She apologized before we commented and noted they were busy. All in all, a GREAT meal - fresh ingredients, delicious food, reasonable prices, great atmosphere. We'll be back!
Excellent food !! We really enjoyed everything about this place. The service was outstanding but the food, the food was some of the best I have ever had!!! If you like Mediterranean style cuisine you have to give this place a try. Will absolutely be returning
Very disappointed. Went to happy hour, 4 of us total. Most of the drinks we ordered from hh menu were unavailable (didn't have ingredients, no draft beer, couldn't open wine we ordered - no corkscrew!!??). I felt bad for staff who were clearly not trained and without supervision or management. Wine pours were uneven, different on every glass. Food was good. Bill came with many mistakes, no hh prices given and prices did not match the menu. We were told the menu was wrong and prices had gone up. I believe this is illegal. Fair wage fee threw us off, no mention of it anywhere or what it means, confused about how to tip and really didn't think service reflected 18% addition. Filthy toilets Overall sad that this beautiful restaurant in a great spot is a mess.
Delicious eggplant. Cozy environment. Busy waitress took time to answer questions by guests and was super friendly despite how busy she was. Customer service goes a long way. Will definitely be going back to try more food
This was my second time here. We sat st the bar. They didn’t tell us about the auto gratuity so I feel scammed. The food portions are tiny. The rice was cold. The chicken was super tasty and the trio for dipping only comes with one piece of pita bread. I have no reason to return. The other restaurants nearby were busy and I now know why they are not busy at all. I would bet that they won’t last much longer.
18% upcharge on bill….does this go to bartender? Kitchen? This is ridiculous, will not be back.Hummus was delicious.
The food here are excellent, and I love the decor and feel of the space. Sadly, the restaurant has taken a major downturn since switching to QR codes and smartphone ordering. Not only does this pose an inaccessibility problem, but it also removes the element of human relationship from the dining experience. Ash'Kara should listen to their customers and bring back real service again. Otherwise, probably won't be going back here to this previous favorite. Very disappointing.
went on a friday for an evening with my roommates. as we sat, we're informed they were short staffed: generally not a problem, i get that happens. the first very friendly server was replaced by a somewhat kirt server we later learned was a manager.it took a while for the food to come out which wasn't the biggest deal because we were chatting. the meals came out one at a time and my friend's steak was forgotten. he went and found somebody to let them know. the person taking care of us apologized, said they would take it off and buy us dessert. great, we appreciated that.from there i would have called it good, however, we sat for 20 minutes after finishing the meal not certain if anyone was coming back to help us. it was revealed when we found a server to help us that the 2nd person who had been helping us was a manager and had gone home for the evening, without telling us or making sure we were taken care of. the restaurant was mostly empty at this point. i'm laughing as i write this because it's like something out of a movie.another manager came over from the server's prompt and we chatted dessert. i had a question about the marshmallows. i was curious if they contained gelatin (which often contains pork) free. i don't know if he understood the question immediately, but after a few times of back and forth with the kitchen we learned they did contain gelatin. this was concerning because we all avoid pork for spiritual reasons and thought we'd be safe from such an ingredient at an Israeli restaurant. this was a miscalculation and we had already been served the marshmallow containing dessert. my roommate, graciously had pushed them to the side of his plate and made no fuss about it.at some point, our check was dropped and the new manager taking care of us informed us they had a guaranteed 20% gratuity already applied to the bill(this was clearly reflected in the lack of service we received). he then asked us to write the payment splits up for him. there were 5 items and i was curious why we were doing his job for him which would have taken him another minute.after he split and redelivered the checks we realized no one was coming back to take our payment. as i picked up the checks to take them to the bar i jokingly told my friends, "don't worry guys, i'll be right back with your checks." so, i approached the bar and asked the tender if he could cash us out. he seemed over worked and i felt for the guy.we headed out laughing about the experience we had. this restaurant gets 2 stars instead of 1 because the food was great, the service lost the other stars and was reflective of a problem that can arise when gratuity is not earned and decided by the customer.i did appreciate the friendliness of the servers who let us know what was going. i feel for understaffed folks. i won't be returning and hope the the restaurant can course correct.
The food was excellent every step of the way. Great Bar, atmosphere, and service. The dip trio is a must for the appetizer, as it was life-changing. Chicken shawarma for act two followed by the herb-crusted filet for the finale was amazing. No complaints. Will be returning as often as possible.
We used to love this restaurant until last week when they implemented a new ordering system on an app. Basically, you can't order with the waiter. Then, to top it off, they add a 20% fair-wage tip, for what??? This restaurant went from a classy establishment to a joke - you might as well be McDonalds with that type of ordering system. People want to go to go out and be served by a staff. We understand that staffing is difficult/expensive but this new app ordering system is not smart. We will never return to your restaurant.
Restaurantji Recommends
I love this restaurant and have been many times. The food is always amazing, but recently they started making customers order on their phone which was really annoying.
Recently visited Ash'Kara for the second time. Sat inside again (outside was full on a beautful Boulder Saturday). The decorating and such is excellent, really cool place. A bit dead inside both times we've gone on weekends for lunch when taking visitors downtown. Both times I've been, everyone's food has been excellent (hence the four stars instead of 3). The service was a bit rough this last time, with food never coming until we finally asked about it and then we were accused on not submitting the order on our phone. Regardless of whether we in fact screwed that up, blaming the customer may not be the right approach. Maybe it's just old fashioned, but if they had proper servers here instead of a food-hall ordering approach, I think our experience could have been quite a bit better.
I'm usually the one writing super positive reviews for restaurants but tonight, it's a different story. This was by far the most disappointing and certainly the most despicable situation we ran into at this location. We already visited their other location in Denver and it was great so we thought why not try their location in Boulder as well. What a mistake!!!! I called this place at 7:30pm to see if we can have a table for 2. They said no problem, there's no wait time so just come on in. We drive 20min from Longmont to go to this place and we get in at around 7:50 or so. One waiter noticed us and had us checked in at the front and then walked us back to our table. Then as we get closer to the table, he starts talking to one of the staff and completely ignores us so we are just standing confused at the middle of the restaurant waiting to be seated. He then completely ignored us and continued to walk to the front and checks on the computer, then walks back and tells us, sorry our kitchen is not taking any orders at this time. I'm sorry what??!!! I was quite shocked. I told him that I called earlier and they told me that we are ok to walk in. It's now 8pm and you guys close at 9pm. How do you close the kitchen an hour before closing? Unheard of. Very unprofessional, quite disrespectful and most definitely horrible service. If I was the owner, I would essentially think twice about the staff and perhaps make some major changes. I do not recommend this establishment and will not give them a second chance. There's a reason this particular location has average/low rating compared to the one in Denver. Do yourself a huge favor and stay away from this place.
Big fat 0 for requiring impersonal ordering from smartphone in a restaurant that attempts an upscale dining experience.Big fat 0 for insult to injury with mandatory $15 for "fair wage."Extra big fat 0 for having the chutzpah to follow the above surcharge with an option to actually "tip"! Tip whom? The software that took my order or the nice, smiling but otherwise unskilled, charmless servers? The hollow souled hostess? You see, when we go out for dinner, it's to a "restaurant," not an automat A big part of the experience is being served, with a relationship that forms between us and the server, who has a name, a personality, apparent care for the food, the presentation, the ambience. A hostess who appears to be happy because we chose your establishment so A. She gets paid because we picked you instead of say, the classic Italian place down the block where the hostess and servers are professional enough to at least fake really well that they are glad we are there. In exchange we are grateful for their attention and professionalism. There is social currency in those moments that makes their job and our dining with you have meaning.Oh yes, the actual food was decent. Bumped this review up one star. I would say above average. Not quite worth the price but I know what rents are like on Pearl Street so what are you gonna do? Fact is, in Chicago one can get Mediterranean dishes like yours just as fresh and tasty in less fancy digs for half the price, while they actually take your order, talk about the food, etc. They earn a tip, but in those restaurants I'd be fine with a fair wage charge as well.
I was extremely hungry when I came to lunch at Ash'Kara and in the mood for a big helping of something extremely tasty. I ordered the lamb bowl. It was pretty good but not overwhelmingly so. As a table we also ordered the tots and an appetizer of hummus. Beware of the menu - they add $$ for things that you don't realize. The price isn't exactly what it seems. Also beware when you get the check, a 20% fee has already been added. They put it above a little note on the menu clipboard that explains this, but it's easy to overlook. It's not really clear if it's the tip, or not, and seems a little sneaky. Beautiful inside and a really pleasant atmosphere to dine in. Also the plating was great - very pretty.