Karellas Cafe

We've been here several times at the advice of a friend who is greek.Nick, the owners son often serves you, everyone there is friendly, even the patrons. Many of the patrons know each other...its really more or a greek hang out than a restaurant in my opinion. The food is fantastic. I haven't had anything there that is not top notch. One of the most underrated restaurants in Baltimore. Parking is a bit of a challenge at times. Be patient and enjoy.

We were greated with love. The hosted was so wonderful and very informative. We ordered the octopus, mix meats and fries. The octopus was fixed to perfection and the mixed meats were very savory. I see why they have a 4.8. Enjoy!

As someone that has visited Greece, this gave me a smooth taste of the amazing food I had in Mykonos.When walking in they had on Greek television channels showing soccer games. There seemed to be regulars in there that added to the authentic Greektown ambiance. There is an open kitchen also so you can watch them prepare the food.Our server had great service, he checked in often and was very consistent. We ordered the fried cheese balls and friend shrimp to begin. 10/10.... 10/10... 10/10 for both.The hummus was top two. NOW two!The shrimp gyro was amazing only possible feedback or complaint other than perfect was more shrimp or meat for sure.Will definitely be back!

Great Greek foods with relaxing ambience! The staff was very attentive and the timing of serving was great. The octopus was crisp on the outside and tender inside. The staff told me that they steamed it before frying it. The chick pea salad was fresh and delicious. The strong Greek coffee went well with the sweet Baklava.

Really wanted to like this place but the food was mixed quality. Salad was fresh. Shrimp gyros had great flavor and fries came out hot and fresh. But the meat and fries in the pork gyro platter lacked salt and flavor and was lukewarm. The decor was nice but they had a rated R movie playing while there were kids in the restaurant.

Excellent spot! It is located in Greektown and sits in a quiet neighborhood. We were a party of 4 and arrived around 5 on a Saturday night. We also had a dog with us and initially we intended on sitting outside, but the owners were nice enough to let us sit inside since our dog was on the smaller side. They were prompt in greeting us and came over right away to make sure we didn't have any questions and took our order. We ordered the spicy feta, cheese balls, two souvlaki platters, octopus, baklava and coffee. Everything we ordered was delicious!! The octopus was probably my favorite. It is always a toss up when I order it because some places tend to overcook it. This was tender and very flavorful! The cheeseballs reminded me of the Brazillian cheese bread but cheesier! Their gyro souvlaki is pork based. The place is not that small and I did see several people coming in and out with one other table occupying the space. It has maybe a total of 7-8 small tables. There is street parking available but keeping in mind it is Baltimore and in a residential area, there are signs so just watch out and read them carefully before doing so!

All I can say is everything here is so fresh! This is my local spot that I can walk to and pick up food. I love it!

Delicious food, everything tasted so fresh and authentic. Smaller place with good service

TLDR: Unbelievable Greek food in a cozy cafe off the beaten path. Come for the amazing octopus, souvlaki and baklava. Vibe: 5/5. Tucked away on a narrow side street in Greektown, Karella's is a small restaurant that offers 2-4 person dining both indoors and out. Inside, the restaurant has a hand full of 2 top tables (can be pushed together for a 4 person group) making this a perfect date night spot. Outside there is 1 large 4 top that could squeeze up to 6 people if needed. When you walk inside, the sounds of Greek folk music paired with the Mediterranean decor are nice touches that add to the ambiance. The small kitchen is located at the rear of the restaurant which can be seen from the dining room. Karella's is setup as a counter service cafe, with a display case and beverage cooler at the main counter in the rear, but during our dinner we ordered/served at our table. Service: 5/5. The staff at Karella's was fantastic from start to finish. Days before our dinner, I reached out to the cafe to see if they still had outside dining, as we were bringing a dog and wanted to make sure we wouldn't have any issues. They assured me they could accommodate us and would have the outside table ready before we arrived. When we arrived for dinner, they were so kind to allow us to sit inside with the doggo since he was small and well behaved. As mentioned above, Karella's is setup as a counter service style restaurant, but on our visit we were serviced table side by what appeared to be the owner (only front of house staff present). He was very personable and did a fantastic job in explaining the menu and checking in on us throughout the meal. Beverages were kept full and when it was time to settle on the bill, it was a breeze making sure our Venmo went through (cash or Venmo only). Food: 5/5. Our group of 4 thoroughly enjoyed every dish we had at Karella's. We typically eat family style at restaurants, so we opted to try the cheese balls, crazy feta dip w/ pita, the octopus, the beef and pork gyro souvlaki platters (includes Greek salad and fries) and baklava for dessert. Again, everything was fantastic but the main winners of the night were the perfectly cooked octopus and the pork gyro souvlaki. The octopus was crispy on the outside, unbelievably tender on the inside and simply seasoned with lemon, olive oil and fresh herbs. The pork gyro souvlaki also had a nice crispy outside and perfectly tender on the inside. Paired with the homemade tzatziki sauce on pita, it was a match made in heaven. The homemade Greek cheese balls were also tasty. The owner told us that they are made with a blend of Gouda and several other cheeses to give it a nice nuttiness as well as gooey consistency. To round out a great meal, we had a fine example of baklava. Overall, we loved every aspect of our dinner at Karella's and will definitely look forward to dining with them again!

Second time coming here. Food was so good. The pita bread is like a little cloud of yum. 10 out of 10.