Turkish Kitchen

Liked the food and the drinks are really nice. The decor and service are really good also. But it definitely is a bit overpriced. Been there several times and will be going there again.

Pros: Everything is good.

Cons: Pricey

Posted 01/05/09

Usually when you eat at a restaurant and you send your food back, it is understood that you should not be charged for the food...can someone please tell this to the folks at Turkish Kitchen?.

Posted 12/28/08

I've only been to Turkish kitchen for lunch. I had the green salad. They have a great wine list which is almost enough to make any bad meal good. Don't get me wrong I don't think my meal at Turkish kitchen was bad. I also hadthe iskender kebab which was excellent. I definitely need to go back for dinner.

Pros: food,service

Posted 11/02/08

We have been going to TK for years and we do not live in the neighborhood. Since we lived briefly in Istanbul we have more than a passing familiarity with Turkish food and have always found their dishes to be authentic.
Especially love the Icle Kofte and the calf's liver!! All the managers know us by our first names as do some of the veteran servers. One of our top 5 restaurants in NYC. And we are not twenty-something!
I read the previous review and can only suggest two things: It takes a good customer to get good service just as if you want a friend, be a friend. And, what inexperienced diner would schedule a party on a Friday or Saturday in such a busy restaurant? This is a lively, high energy place (it's got RED walls!) with robust service. It's part of their charm!!!

Pros: Food & lively atmosphere

Cons: Feeding the meter

Posted 10/02/08

This was the third time there and used to love the place. Went there for a birthday for a party of 10. We were seated 30 minutes late and then waited 45 min to get our first drink orders and received them one by one. The waiter was working hard but the managers and host could not care less about the customers as long as their seats were filled. Basically the birthday and dinner experience was ruined because everyone was always waiting for something to come to the table and/or yelling at the waiter. I asked for the manager 3 times and he came over an hour after we were seated. He comped us 3 drinks out of 14 ordered in the end($24...wow!) and acted as if he did me a huge favor. Fortunately gratuity is not included so we only left 15% which I feel was being generous. I apologized to the waiter because it was not his fault there is bad managment. He told me... and i quote "Sir, you did not act in any way that I wouldn't have if I was the one dining". I have recommended this place to others so many times before but will never again...I can find decent turkish food in other places...try Taboun instead. Genuinely hate this place and if on eless person goes there because of this review that it will be worth it. I dine out alot and have never had this typw of an experience before.

Pros: used to be the food but not worth it anymore

Cons: everything else...especially the managment

Posted 07/20/08

I came here for brunch on a Sunday. The food was good, not great, but good. The lines for brunch are ridiculous b/c there are only 2 seatings (11am and 1pm). The host, management, and servers are some of the rudest I have ever experienced. There is no reason for it either. Their job is minimal during brunch: drink orders, fill water, clear plates. They are constantly sulking about, in the way, and seem not to have a care in the world if they tend to the customers or not. I'm glad to see that so many others have had this problem and have written about it...I highly recommend skipping this and heading to one of the many other lovely brunch establishments in the area.

Posted 05/07/08

It is one of the best places that you can get good Turkish food. Ambiance is great, service is stellar. Dishes are truly genuine. I especially recommend Sunday brunch to get the real Turkish taste by sampling everthing from cold and hot appetizers to entrees.

Pros: great food, great service, good location

Cons: pricey

Posted 04/24/08

Host is OBNOXIOUS. Beyond NYC pretentious. If you show up or call for a reservation, there is no greeting "hello" or "sorry". Just a "Maybe next week" or a "You can sit you want but you have to leave in 30 minutes". Sunday brunch is delicious, but is it worth being treated like garbage to pay $22.00 for the honor of being seated, with no courtesy? I have to wonder if they perhaps treat Turkish clients better?

Pros: good sunday brunch food

Cons: OBNOXIOUS STAFF, Horrible Host, crowded and dark.

Posted 04/05/08

food was ok...servise not bad....but I don't understood WHAT KIND OFMANG.ı was 2nd floor..ı call mang he said give one minute ı am on the phone...he was talking cell phone in dining room...he looks like short guy but ı dont remember his name pls do somethıng

Posted 02/24/08

I don't care how good everyone says the food may be. I'm not going to give my money to a place whose waiters won't deign to give us menus even as they scurry around to provide wine and appetizers to the empty table next to us. Even when I asked a server carrying a stack of menus if I could have one, he turned on his heel and ignored my request. The host was equally unpleasant. I would have left with a bad taste in my mouth no matter what I ordered. Good thing we didn't bother ordering.

Pros: None that I could see

Cons: Wretched service drove me away before I tasted the food

Posted 02/14/08

We went here after work on a Friday. It's nice but not quite cool enough to treat people as poorly as they do.

Posted 02/01/08

Some friends and I went up to NY from philly and wanted Turkish food for dinner. We didn't have reservations, but the maitr'd was kind and let the 5 of us have a cozy table in the corner of the restaurant. All of the dishes were REALLY GOOD, except for the one I ordered--stuff chicken--it was flavorless and dry. I asked the waitress for recommendations and she recommended that dish for me.

The shephard salad is large enough to share.

Pros: REALLY GOOD FOOD

Cons: depending on the kind of ambience you like--it was too dark for me

Posted 08/13/07

I went with a few friends on a Wednesday night in July. They must have hired a new host since the reviews below were written: the guy who welcomed us was very friendly. In fact, all the service was pretty good. My biggest pet peeve at restaurants is when you need something (i.e., more water), and anyone who is not "your" server refuses to pay attention to you, much less send your server over. That is NOT what happened with on our visit here. The staff really worked together, and while the kitchen timing was uneven (a looong time to get appetizers, which were then cleared out of the way before finished to make way for entrees), we never wanted for attention to drinks, bread, meal quality, etc. The appetizers were all great (octopus salad was the best), though the entrees were a bit of a letdown (my lamb was very greasy, even for lamb). I would definitely go back, but I wouldn't go in the door starving, as it was about 30 minutes between getting to the table and getting any bread, etc. Otherwise, very good!

Pros: Appetizers, decor, fun Turkish wine list, friendly service

Cons: Slow service

Posted 07/18/07

Everytime I go to the city i make sure that I visit Turkish Kitchen. We've never been disappointed by the food yet. We have, however, by the service. The host at the door, I didnt catch his name, can be extremely rude and obnoxious. But otherwise, the waiters we've had until now were all equally pleasant and polite. I definitely recommend you visit this restaurant if you want to have a taste of Turkish food. Their "hunkar" and "iskender" are especially good. In the mezes they make the best "Arnavut Cigeri". :o)))
Cant wait for our next visit!

Pros: Food, atmosphere, decor

Posted 01/16/07

We went with 5 people for dinner on a Friday night-the place was quiet was told that we could not be sitted. I asked how long and said I needed to call 2 weeks ago. As I started to walk out-he said we can sit but will need to leave in 1 1/2 hours. We decided to stay because we did not know the area-5 of us order different meals only 1 was happy. I had a good spicey chicken on pita and it was served with a onion salad (ALL ONION. The rest of the family ate very little of their lamb and chicken dishes.

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!!

Pros: fair chicken and lamb

Cons: HOST-HOST-Host

Posted 12/08/06

i used to go to the sunday brunch at turkish kitchen every chance i got, but each time i would get treated horribly right from the beginning. in fact, several times, i was told over the phone when i called the week before that there were no tables available, but when a male friend called back 2 minutes later, they gave him a table. i have since come to my senses and stopped visiting this restaurant. i am turkish and so proud of the food served there (simply amazing brunch!), but extremely ashamed on behalf of the management which thinks customers will continue to return after being treated so poorly. i see now that i am not the only one who feels this way.

Posted 12/07/06

Despite great recommendation from friends, this was such a disappointment. The decor is modern and clean, with lots of red with sprinkles of blue. Dark and dense, very sensual. But what is going on with the food?? Bland at best. I had a kabob, and it was just grilled cubes of flavorless meat. My microwave could have done better. I liked the red matchbox with blue matches and the fancy cocktails at the bar, but no, I shall not return.

Pros: decor

Cons: bland food

Posted 11/05/06

Wonderfull Dinning experince guys. I do not get enjoy NYC as much as i would like, but When i Do Turkish Kitchen is Always on my list.. Also server hekan is very friendly. Than you so much again . Good Work..

Posted 09/30/06

.My second visit to Turkish kitchen was excellent all around: from the very pleasant hostess who greeted us at the door, to the delicious appetizers, main course and desserts.The service was excellent- attentive and friendly without being pushy, extremely friendly Maitre D' that came over to our table to check on our experience. i proud to be a turks.

Posted 09/10/06

The service here is always bad and extremely slow. People are complaining all the time. But still, it is one of my favorite turkish restaurants in the city. The red walls are intriguing, and the food is excellent. I am never disappointed with the meat pizza, spinach with yogart sauce, and their baby lambchops. I always bring friends here. So go if you have the patience.

Pros: food

Cons: service

Posted 09/05/06

we went to Turkish Kitchen last week party of 8. We ordered some appetizer, and main course. Food is not same before. I brought my relatives. service was very rude.. Are they Changed Management or ownership ? They ruined our night. We will not back..

Pros: Rude Service, and staff not clean, they smell....

Cons: Bad Looking Hostess

Posted 08/13/06

I am a customer this restaurant since openning. Before for dinning you should have reservetion 2 weeks advance, it was great food and great service, but food is not same before and service is terrible.

Posted 08/04/06

I love Turkish food. When i come to city i always try diffirient Turkish Restaurant. When i goto Turkish Kitchen First hostess was very rude. And we order some appetizer. Appetizers were not fresh. We couldnt eat it, also, we try shish kebab for main course, meat is very salty and its not soft u cant eat it...I called owner or Manager but no one come to my table for excuse . We will never go That place again.

Posted 08/02/06

I had the opportunity to go there with a group of friends last week.The staff was rude and the service was exceptionally poor. The food was quite bad. Altogether a very very bad experience. Would highly recommend people to avoid this place.

Pros: None I can think of

Cons: Bad Food, Very poor service, Rude staff

Posted 08/01/06

What is wrong with these people. We went there last thursday to have a good night out with friends.
Instead we almost lost our mind. Nobody who works there have any manners including the manager. I have been to Turkey and to the other Turkish restaurants in the city. Turkish people generally are very friendly and polite. Except all the people who work in this place. We had beyond very bad service, we were rushed,orders were messed up,and food was not good at all. It is a talent to run a bussiness that bad. Never go back...
And they have to stop writing reviews for themselves....

Pros: RUDE

Cons: RUDE

Posted 07/26/06

What a beautiful night I had there with my girlfriend last week . i wish i spend all my Thursday in there.
I had the best meal and service.. I would recommend this place to anyone.
They are very polite, smart and fun.. Manager made us feel so comfortable that we felt like we've been here hundreds of times. He was attentive to all our needs.it reminded me of several upscale restaurnats in ny.Worth every penny.

Posted 04/26/06

Having never been to Turkey, the dining experience here has made me want to go visit the country. The food is delicious, fresh and there's grreat consistency. I've never been disappointed in the many times that I've been here. The service however, seems to be a problem. With a bit of staff training, specially on how to properly pour a bottle of wine, this restaurant will be much better than it currently is -- and it will be around for a long time.

Pros: Great food

Cons: Untrained staff

Posted 04/12/06

it was my first time at a turkish restaurant in NYC. I loved it. Everything was great...the food, the wine, desserts...especially the almond pudding...I highly recommend...thumbs uppp...way upppp!!!If you want a great romantic experience with a loved one, I recommend turkish kitchen.

Pros: great food, great service, great atmosphere

Cons: none, none, none

Posted 04/09/06

Held a birthday dinner for 20 people there on a Saturday night. They were great in planning the party and selecting a very reasonably priced menu. The food was great and the service even better. Highly recommend hosting your event there.

Pros: Food, Service

Posted 03/11/06

I was born in Istanbul and I really really want to like this place. Unfortunately, every single time I have been there the service was just rude and gets worse with each visit. Especially the manager or host who kept walking by and giving us the evil eye to see the progress of our dinner so they could turn the table over to other customers. It made me uncomfortable and I barely tasted my food watching him walk back and forth.
Turkish people are warm and friendly. This place is just full of themselves. The waiter was just throwing our dishes on the table without even clearing the appetizer plates and then they started clearing the food when we weren't even finished yet. While the food is decent, I think there are better places to have turkish food in the city without the attitude.

Cons: Rude, Rude, Rude

Posted 03/05/06

my name is steve;
i went to the turkish restaurant with my wife . it was our first time in turkish cuisine. we were hungry and we were try to find a place to eat. thats how we met with turkish kitchen and turkish cuisine. that was a saturday night and we just walked in. we waited like 15 minutes. then we got a table upstairs. small table but huge service. nice dishes but great captain. we enjoyed our night with him. i recommed calamari and lamp chopes both great. If you really wanna go to turkish restaurant you have to go that place and ofcourse upstairs for great service. thanks for lovely night turkish kitchen and mumur.

Posted 02/12/06

If you really must, the food is fairly good, but if anything goes wrong with your meal, do not expect service with a smile. I came in with a large group, they got my entree wrong and brought out a new one only after everyone was finished. I barely ate two bites and then had them clear it. After asking to have the item removed from the check, the waiter failed to do so and the manager came over and told me he would have to REVIEW MOVIE CAMERAS to see if I had eaten any. They finally took it off, but really, the food is not so good that it is worth being treated like a criminal when THEY mess up your order.

Posted 01/10/06

Being a Turkish native, I tend to have an inclination to visit this place from time to time. The food is delish, you just have to know the manners to consume, if you don't want to be frustrated with the service. That's how you're supposed to enjoy your dinner, particularly your mezes which you should be sharing with friends and always with a glass of raki (consume slowly) I don't even get to the entrees most of the time. The meat dishes will never taste as good as they do in Turkey.
For appetizers, try the stuffed vine leaves, the eggplant salad, sigara boregi and mucver.
For other Turkish food places in the city, try Ali Baba if you're into carbs: Lahmacun (Turkish meat pizza), peynirli pide (cheese pizza) and baklava. For those uptown, Pasha (west side) is unmistakably good (grilled feta cheese) and try Beyoglu (east side)
Enjoy!

Pros: Delicious food, Variety

Cons: Ambiance, Hate the red walls

Posted 11/07/05

I love this place - there's this chicken in yogurt dish with pita bread that is absolutely amazing. this place is a little overpriced, but for that meal and the turkish martinis, it's totally worth it! and the decor is also very cool.

Pros: martinis, ambiance

Cons: expensive

Posted 10/22/05

very yummy food, very friendly staff, and reasonably priced food. steve forbes recently had nice words to say about this place and i couldnt agree more. i had lamb, with hummus, and zuccini pancakes

Posted 08/22/05

We had a great experience here--the waiters were so friendly, they even taught us some Turkish words! And the food was delicious, I truly ate to my heart's content. We will be back for sure! Can't wait!

Pros: excellent food, friendly service, good atmosphere

Posted 08/02/05

I was looking forward to introducing my parents to Turkish cuisine. When we got to the brunch, first thing they asked was whether we can finish in 2 hours! Like we were going to be there alll day! We were seated in the furthest corner on the second floor as far away from the buffet as possible. For my parents, it's not easy climbing the stairs. When asked if we can have a closer table, they flatly refused although there were tables available. But it was good we were far away because the FOOD WAS HORRIBLE! Cold dishes were warm, warm dishes were cold, fruit inedible, my glass dusty, and the servers gave bite size servings. To top it all off, we were given our checks in the middle of our meal when we were there all of 30 minutes! Such hospitality! We paid our checks and left immediately.

Cons: bad service, bad brunch, dirty utensils

Posted 07/31/05

For anyone who enjoys good food, excellent beverages, superb service, and a refined atmosphere, turkish kitchen cannot be excelled.i love upstairs. turkish kithcen's managment clearly refuses to compromise any of the standards and methods which have made that establishment the premier eatery for almost 10 years. Bravo !

Pros: managment, service, food

Posted 06/17/05

My husband and I had a wonderful 2-year anniversary celebration at turkih kitchen Visiting all the way from Texas, our experience at turkish kitchen was the highlight of the entire trip. Excellent service from turks,complimented the the great atmosphere and set the mood for a special evening. Highly recommended for couples and special occassions. i success you to drink turkish wine(karasi), for starters ask reccomendations from mumus upstairs captian. thanks for the lovely night.
.
Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Service

Posted 06/06/05

it was my first experience with turkish cuisine. i had a great dinning experience. the managment was very helpful and friendly. food was great.we were upstairs.ambiance was great and excellent service from friendly upstairs manager(handsome).Everthing about this restaurant was special. i highly recommended.
thanks............

Posted 06/03/05

Dined here and loved it! The service is slow but that is turkish culture. Allows you time to enjoy your meal and company, excellent for a date. Next best thing to Turkey without being there, authentic. Can't wait to go back, curbs my cravings till my next trip to Turkey!

Pros: FOOD, ambience

Posted 06/02/05

I love their food and service. They serve authentic Turkish food. Their menu includes different varieties of Turkish food besides the kebabs. This place is always busy so that should mean something!

Posted 05/04/05

One of the best Prix Fix lunch values ($13.95) I've had in the city. They give you more way more food than you can eat (especially for lunch) and the food was incredible. I had the Humus-Iskander-Baklava Prix Fix and each eas exceptional. My frined had the Lamb Shis Kabob and he equally enjoyed it. Definitely going back.

Pros: Good Value, Great Food, Inexpensive

Cons: Loud Decor

Posted 03/06/05

I have dined here many times in the past. In terms of Turkish food I think they are one of the best in NYC and they have been quite consistent about it. The service is below average. Waiters are not refined. I find the low ceiling and dark red colored painted walls a tad depressing. What I came to dislike about this place is their management. They are very rude even towards the customers. They are more like soup Nazis. Once the manager loudly referred to the customers patiently waiting at the all-you-can-eat buffet line as 'hungry animals attacking for food'.

Pros: Food

Cons: , Service, Decor

Posted 01/20/05

I love the Turkish Kitchen. Great place for a date or with the girls. The food is very good. The staff can be a bit slow at times. Go if you have plenty of time and enjoy. You will have to wait if you don't have a reservation on the weekend nights. Otherw

Posted 01/05/05

A friend brought me to the Turkish Kitchen for the prix-fixe lunch. First, I was surprised by the sexy red decor. Despite the hour of the day, I had one of their colorful Martinis - it was delicious! The choices for lunch were numerous, each one better than the other. And for such a great price, you get more food than needed in the middle of the day. Leave room for dessert! I can only imagine how great this place is after dark...

Pros: Food, Value, Decor

Posted 08/31/04

We found the place from the web. In fact it was higher than our expectations. The food is great, the service is slow but the presentation of food is great. These people really know that the God is in the details. The hospitality is as expected from a high class restaurant.
The Food is a classical sample of great Turkish - mediterrean Kitchen which I believe one of the best in the world.

Pros: food, presentation

Posted 05/07/04