Lana's Eatery & Cafe in Plymouth

Una agradable cafetería luminosa y moderadamente concurrida hacia el fondo de la ciudad ahora se comercializa como City Grill y tiene su propio listado en la sección del restaurante Plymouth como City Grill.

COMIDA SERVIDA EN FRÍO Y EXCESIVA desde que cambió de nombre de lanas a la parrilla de la ciudad, ponga un desastre y ahora casi vacío.

Mostly it’s the sign and the menu stuck to the window. Can’t remember the fine detail of the old menu but a lot of it looks the same save that burger type combinations are given prominence and the deals all include a free drink. Can’t be sure but my impression is that they think that anglicising the presentation may lure in the parachial sector of potential passing Plymothian trade may find the new signage less challenging than the previous mildly exotic and challenging format.

This place is fab. We wanted to try somewhere new and prefer to try the independant cafes which are found more at the bottom of town. We paid 3.50 each for a chicken shwarma which was v tasty and highly recommend. It came with complimentary soup which was also delicious. Overall value for money and taste was great and we will be visiting again!

I was pleased this place was open 'til 7 p.m. on Saturday as I was catching a coach at 6.30 p.m. and needed a cup of tea and something to eat to prepare me for the 3-hour trip home.

You'd be forgiven, at first glance, for thinking this was a greasy spoon or your average kebab house. Indeed the 'full English' etc is prominent on the menu and the interior is sort of like a cheap American-style diner. However, if you are a fan of Middle Eastern cuisine (the owners are in fact Kurdistani, I believe) then skip the belly buster and go to the 'specials' menu on the board. You'll notice the usual spinning kebabs behind the counter, but look closely and you will see the visible layers of meat. They assemble their kebabs in house, they are not bought in. Beside these there is a huge bread oven where they bake all the breads in house. Mostly the little Iraqi flatbread that I believe are called Samoon, each one is a work of art, the shape of a flattened lemon with a few sesame seeds. These are used in place of pitta, but unlike pitta they have a lovely golden crust and stretchy interior. They also use the oven to make what I knew as Lahmacun but is here advertised as "Bi Ajeen". These are larger pizza sized bread doughs topped with minced vegetables and/or ground beef. These are my favourite thing on the menu and they are, in a word, delicious! The owners told me the best way to eat them is to fold pieces around the salad, and they were right! The other wonderful thing is that, pretty much whatever you order, you receive a complimentary bowl of soup while you wait. I don't know what flavour soup it is, but it's delicious, spicy and warming! We also had a 'falafel sandwich' which came in a samoon and was filled, alongside plenty of salad, delicious pieces of crispy friend aubergine and potato! the hummous is very acceptable and the 'feta salad' is great! It has red cabbage and gorgeous pickled cauliflower in it. I've been twice now and I can't wait to go back to try more, as I would like to try some of the meat kebabs too. Also worth mentioning the price. I fed my family of four generously for £14 and most menu items are £3-4. Also the owners are extremely friendly, appear to take immense pride in what they do and were happy to talk to me all about the food and how they make it. Really worth a try if you're into Middle Eastern food.

I love a good shawarma, but this fell a little short of the mark. It was greasy, only lukewarm, but, on the upside, it was well presented, with a variety of extras on the plate. A cheap eat, but not sure if I would go again.

I nipped in for a quick falafel sandwich a few weeks ago. Not only was the sandwich generously filled, I understand the pitta was baked in store and tasted decidedly better than a shop bought equivalent! Not only that, the sandwich was served alongside a small bowl of spiced soup, and I still had change from a fiver.

Used it during its early days two or three months ago. Open longish hours. Good range of near eastern and cafe food. Friendly quick polite staff. Reasonably priced and if your in a hurry its close to those free 15 minute parking spaces.