Cafe Sultan - Restaurant Review

Sultan has closed... Talmadge Cheese is there now.

For middle eastern cusine try Marrakech

In Upper Montclair, tucked away in the area called Upper Montclair Plaza, behind the firehouse and Talbot’s, you can find a wonderful small Middle Eastern restaurant called Café Sultan. It is next store to Magnolia’s Wines and Spirits, and a few doors away from Charlie Brown’s. The E-bay store is near by as well as Yoga Mandali Studio and Hybrids Florist.

We have enjoyed Café Sultan’s tasty Lebanese cuisine for many years. Recently I posted on a New Jersey food forum recommendations to try Café Sultan so I thought I better get over there and check it out again. It is still very good.

Sultan is a nicely decorated, cozy little restaurant, about 10 tables, that is not expensive.

The night we dined, there were two tables of regulars as the owner sat and chatted with both. Some friends we had not seen for some time, and two tables of people obviously new to the restaurant.

I love their Hummus Special, which is ground lamb sautéed in olive oil with pine nuts and garlic served over hummus with olive oil, garlic, and some paprika. The Ful was also delicious, cooked fava beans tossed in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and fresh parsley.

As usual I ordered the Sultan Combo, lamb, chicken, chicken kefta, beef soujok, and shrimp with grilled vegetables and rice, because I like some of everything. It was simle and delicious. My wife had a lamb shank with grilled vegetables and what I call dirty rice. She said it was very tasty but a little tough. In additional to the menu of dishes you would expect to find at a Middle Eastern restaurant they also had a cod fish special and a special lentil soup which we did not try.

On the down side. The dining room can be chilly in the winter. There is usually have only one wait person so patience is sometimes required. Parking can be hard.

For wine we drank a Pra Soave with dinner which worked very well and a Hahn Estates, Merlot which was nice as well. Not a wine I usually would select. It was a holiday gift. Both wines are available locally for under $10.00, so they can be added to the list that is collecting over at eG Forums. Under $10 Wine List. Other reds such as a Syrah or Nero' Avola would go well with the food here. A french white would also do well.