Review Ari's Souvlaki - Cape Town Central

Clare-Marie Andrews

We had an amazing dinner, I highly recommend the platter as it is enough for two. The meat was so tender and well seasoned. Thoroughly enjoyed dining in one of Sea Point's classics!

Astin Bacon

Fantastic service and super friendly. Would recommend for friends, couples and singles. No place for children to play as it is just seating. The food portions are large and delicious! Shwarmas are definetly enough for two!

Andreas von Holy

Came here for a quick bite after a hike, great food at a reasonable price. Not very experienced in Greek cuisine, but tasted amazing! Staff was very untrained it seemed and we needed to ask for a lot of things (plate, fork). Other than the service it was excellent.

Imran Siddique

In the heart of sea Point its a nice place to have a meal. Decor is bit outdated but spot is nice and busy. The food is also OK when I had my meal on the table the salad looked like it was cut in the morning and was left open as it had a bit of dryness. Selection of drinks is also limited.

Wallie Carstens

Been one my favourite resturant since I first went there in 1995, and still the best.

Parusha G

Nice vibe and good service. We ordered the small chips and chicken shawarma, the shawarma was okay. I think next time we’ll try the souvlaki.

Laurinda Aspeling

My husband and I had a weekend away in Sea Point. We decided to try this restaurant and enjoyed the mixed grill platter so much that we came back the next day again. Delicious food and great service! Highly recommend it.

Terry Saunders

Nice little place serving Greek style food, although somewhat disappointed that the souvlaki options didn't include pork. Quick service and reasonable value.

Genevieve Mc Pherson

What a wonderful experience! Young, willing and friendly staff. Food was delicious. From platters, to falafels and constant pita refill. The cheese cake was massive with a dollop of greek yogurt breaks the sweetness before ending the night with a coffee. Thank you for the atmosphere and family-feel restaurant. Would definitely recommend.

Clifford Yudelman

Great food and service, but the appearance from the street can put a person off. Must try it before you judge.

Farida Latief

Excellent service, food all round

martin weiss

Still the best!! And perfect cheese cake....got takeaways, and was given a complimentary slice while waiting.....how good is that!!

Fakhry Gierdien

The platter is always my fave!

Chris Laidler

An authentic Greek restaurant. They have a sit-down restaurant upstairs and a takeout downstairs. The shawarmas are recommended.

Afri Garde

Been coming here for years and it's always worth coming back - great atmosphere and amazing food! Good quality and flavors, and big portions. Vegetarian options are plentiful, but if you like meat, you definitely have to try the beef shawarma! The owners are well known in the community as this restaurant has been here for decades. Lovely for intimate meals as well as for crowds, upstairs and downstairs seating available, as well as a balcony for warm summer evenings

Andre Stander

This restaurant has been a favourite of ours for many years. The place is unpretentious, and has very relaxed atmosphere. We like it for what it is - a no thrills restaurant. Having said that, we found the food to be always well prepared, reasonably priced. The staff friendly, although service could be slow at times. There is a sense that the waiters are treated as "part of the family". We like that. Parking is unfortunately a problem, but the big shopping centre not too far down the road has ample parking if you don;t mind the short walk.

Harry Casual

Good food friendly service. Menu is out of date, and the prices are at least 20% higher than shown. Lamb is a better choice than the beef. Limited menu with no seafood.

Kaela Hendricks

This restaurant is literally my family's number one place to eat at. This is definitely the place to go to if you want to experience authentic Greek cuisine, whether it's Shwarmas or Spanakopita, you won't be disappointed. My parents have been going to Aris for about 30 years now and we are always amazed by the quality of food we receive. Definitely worth checking this out..

Nexy Brown

Worst souvlaki meal i had in my life i orderd lamb and beef but they both tasted super gamey as if it was like livers or something and everything else was super bland tasteless 🤮🤮 super disappointed

Jessica Armstrong

Don’t expect bells and whistles, just really tasty authentic Greek food. The place looks basic and isn’t concerned with fancy decor but man oh man....Amazing Souvlaki. Best I have had. Great service and good prices.

Yajna Gold

I remember the days when my father used to take me to this little restaurant on the corner and I was served by very friendly waiters and waitresses. I have very fond memories of eating here and all the wonderful Greek food we used to share made for many wonderful and bonded memories I would definitely recommend coming here to create some memories of your own with some delicious Greek cuisine!

Sumendra Chetty

On a mission to try more of Cape Towns oldest gems we decided to pop into Aris Souvlaki. I really want to like this local favorite so I can get on board with the fact that you do not visit this restaurant for the decor and definitely would advise not using the bathroom facilities. Once you get passed that the food is alright. We shared a mezze platter and ordered the skewered lamb. The amount of food is very generous and I have to note that the hummus was amazing! Our waiter was super helpful, he advised us on portion size of the menu etc . I’m not too sure I’d visit again, but glad that we tried it out anyway.

Zaahidah Adams

You literally cannot go here expecting Food to be like South African food, it’s Greek so tell that go your tastebuds. The owner is of this place is funny and makes you feel at home as well as the staff. I tasted the Lamb Souvlaki and the And nibbled on the mix grill, I must say they are stingy on their meat and the carbs are slightly overbearing. Their tzaziki is great!

Luca Kennedy

If you're looking for arguably the best hummus in the CBD, look no further than this place. Great ambiance and friendly, approachable service although tables felt pretty sticky so that can be a bit annoying. The meat could have more flavour to it but the variety of Mediterranean herbs do come through well and the open dishes make for an amazing opportunity to explore flavourful combinations. Great recommendations include the Meze and Beef shawarma

Naseema

Great experience, the beef was well flavored and the meze starter added to the Greek food experience. I would definitely recommend Aris Souvlaki, they Halaal friendly too! ;)

Wayne T.

I’ve known Aris Souvlaki since the 80’s when it was further down Main Road, closer to town. Even when I lived overseas, every trip home would have to include a visit to Aris at both the old & current locations. My brother and I have always loved their beef schwarma, and were firm regulars with the staff there, but things have changed, & not for the better, either. I was in there on Sunday & to quote one reviewer, ‘the food is bland’! It never was before!? I have eaten schwarma all over the world except in the Middle East and Greece, where one could argue, the humble schwarma comes from. That’s obviously what we, and a lot of other people, for over 30 years, liked about Aris. Having not been to Greece yet, I loved the way these guys did it for all those years in Sea Point; but yesterday the beef was dry, the always very 'herb-y' tomato salad wasn’t herby, and the previously gorgeous tzatziki sauce was plain bland! Going on for nearly 100 bucks for a schwarma, it is also no longer cheap! I think they’ve lost me… Αντιο σας.

Tiyaarah Cloete

It pains me to say that I like this place. The manager is pleasant but the food,it's bland, the place itself has such a charm though, it's unfortunate.

Giulia M. Di Marino

The tables were dirty and sticky and the toilets were also very dirty. The food is cheap but not good at all. I would not come here again and can't recommend it.

Abdusamad Sidar

I've been a patron of Aris Souvlaki for years. It's still exactly the same. Nonetheless the food still tastes the same. A variety of Mediterranean items and the flavour is fresh and good. I've never been disappointed. Look pass the old and dated Nature and you'll be fine. If you want quick and easy service go to McD

Adam W

I've been to Aris' before but going there yesterday the service was very poor. The food here never lets you down, but when you are told you can sit anywhere and wait for nearly 10 minutes and a waiter doesn't pitch, you get up and leave. My hunger was dealt with via a Spar pie

Claire Victoria Henderson

Guys, this joint is not about the decor, the service or the ambiance, but more about amazing home-styled Greek food that's made like you would find in a Greek kitchen. Flip, it was our first time there and I can tell you now that it will be somewhere we will frequent often. Unfortunately, we got stuck in as soon as the plates hit the table and didn't stop, so I never got any photos, but I'll take some next time! We had three courses: the mezze platter to start (that comes with falafels, dolmathakia, hummus, tzaziki and skordalia with warm pita bread. We then had chicken and lamb souvlaki and ended off with galaktobouriko (milk tart), all of which I could have eaten all over again. Immediately. My advice, look beyond the dated decor and plastic covered tables, seriously, and let your tastebuds give you their opinion.

Maja Debeljkovic

Love Aris Souvlaki. If you want a home-style meal that tastes like it came from a Greek grandmother's kitchen you have found the right place. Service can be a bit slow but food is fresh, flavourful and comes to the table quickly. This pita breads is to die for. You can't go wrong with a traditional beef shwarma.

Bianca Jooste

This restaurant looks exactly the same as it did 10 years ago but their open shwarma is always delicious and a huge portion. The food is tasty and every time we have been their we receive our food within 10 minutes! Aris is nothing fancy but their shwarma never disappoints.

Nikolaos Spyratos

I'm a Greek and was born and raised in Greece, so I can safely say that this place is not up to standard. Lackluster food and portions. Personally the worst of all to me is the "Shawarma". Shawarma is not a Greek menu item, this is just a cheap substitute for pita gyros, but they can't even do that right! A traditional gyro has gyro meat, tzatziki, tomato, onion and chips inside a pita, yet Aris somehow forgets half these ingredients and still wants to charge R70 for it! And I've only talked about one menu item. When I call the staff out on this they become hostile. Faded out decorations and dirty surroundings. The gyro meat on display looks like it has been there for weeks. The only Mediterranean dining tradition they maintain is the free water. It's insulting that this place is still open.

Lindie White

Picture this: Enter. See staircase. Walk upstairs. Pick a table covered with a plastic table cloth. Spot waiter (at least there's life!) who hands you a floppy menu. He seems like a typical CT entrepeneur - someone who could also direct you to park your car for R5. You order Tzatziki and Shwarma with chips. It is what it is. No other guests arrive while you are there. You notice the slightly discoloured photos of a Greece before the recession. When you want to pay, you're told (with a friendly smile from the lady behind the counter) that it's cash only. As you leave, you wonder how they pay the rent and wages. And whether you'll ever return. Shame. Over time, everything goes to pot . . .

Karin

I absolutely love Aris Sovlaki! Great food, friendly owner and staff and what makes it so unique is that it is totaly unpretentious...a rare find in the mother city. Will definitely be returning.

Catherine

The decor is very plain and quite dated, and when we arrived it was mostly empty, but with a bustling take-away line. We had falafel and souvlaki. The falafel was disappointing - very bready, but the remainder of the meal was delicious. Very casual dining.

JC

Yes I know it says closes at 11 but the people are tired so they're closing at 9:50 tonight. Can someone please explain to me how these places survive with the non-existent service?? Determined to have a souvlaki we tried again. Waiter wasn't able to properly explain menu but we settled on souvlaki and chips. The food was outstanding and I will definitely be back. There are many other places serving shwarmas & souvlakis but Aris stands out. Nothing fancy but delivers what it promises.

Jennifer Diels

Five of us dined there; we ordered a meze platter, beef schwarmas, lamb souvlaki, and falafel. None of us enjoyed our food. And the service was terrible.

Marc Bernitz

Great place for a quick meal in Sea Point. Looks a bit run down but don't let that fool you, the food is excellent and really good value. Definitely one of the best souvlakis in Cape Town. Try the double lamb souvlaki (single doesn't quite cut it) and the baklava. Have realistic expectations too, this isn't fine dining. Under R200 for 2 people.

Foodhunter

Bit rundown & shabby but most delicious, authentic Greek food! The tzatziki & humus are full of flavour & garlic. If in Seapoint must stop by!

Michelle McLachlan Hay

Love this place, we try and go every month. Best Baklava in town. Sit upstairs and you get the soccer star waiter who is great. We let him order for us now!

Clive Goodheart

Aris is a landmark in Sea Point and once you have eaten there you will understand why. The decor and tables are plain and simple but you get good honest, greek food at it;s best. I will still maintain that you can't get a better schwarma or souvlaki anywhere else. We have been there many times so the owner always recognises me and my wife and he always has a smile! I tried their mousaka the other day as I felt like a change and it was also excellent! If you have never been to Aris....you just have to pay them a visit, trust me you won't be dissapointed.

Vaughan Coulson

Wonderful food and service ! I had the souvlaki - genuine Greek food. Excellent value for money in a simple setting. Close to major hotels in Seapoint

Lauren Lesley Bubb

Casual dining at it's best. Food is delish, such a chilled environment. It's been around for years and has always been good. So well priced - two people can eat for about R150. And you will be satisfied from that meal. The baklava is without a doubt the best I have had. If you want a quick meal, give Aris Souvlaki a try. Waiters are quick, food is quick and then you pay at the front counter so no waiting for bills.

Jain

Very nice restaurant. I tried their Spanakopitakia, Falafel in Pita wrap, and a few sides. The food was phenomenal and the service was acceptable. The owner is a Greek himself, so he knows how the stuff is done. :)

Hillary Thompson

If you are looking for authentic Greek food, look no further. They have great gyros. It is a little expensive, but it's Sea Point. Restaurant is strangely set up, but you aren't there to admire the walls. Eat and be happy. =)