Pasha Restaurant

Pasha is without question one of the best restaurants in Houston. The food is absolutely delectable and the service is second to none. My husband and I first went to Pasha in 2005 and have been regulars ever since, sometimes eating there three and four times a week. The food is always fresh, mouthwatering and prepared with extreme care. The owner, Mustafa, is an absolute pleasure to be around. He takes the customers preferences and satisfaction very seriously and takes immense pride in the quality of his food.

It is very difficult to find restaurants in Houston that make vegetarian or vegan dishes and not only understand but cater to the particular preferences of some vegans. The vegan options at Pasha are plentiful and absolutely amazing. Our favorite dish is the mixed vegetable plate, which includes an assortment of vegetables in the most wonderful sauce, served on a bed of seasoned rice - absolutely scrumptious. The veggie pide is light, yet filling, tasty, but subtle at the same time. The humus, babaganush, tabuli and ezme are an absolute must to try. The texture of the humus and babaganush is perfect, flavors are rich yet subtle. Another favorite of ours is the dolma, again, perfect combination of flavors, great texture it is impossible to eat just one. Our favorite treat on recent cold days is Mustafas lentil soup absolutely wonderful.

At Pasha the food is wonderful, the environment is relaxing and comforting, the service is impeccable, but our highest complement for this wonderful restaurant is they are consistent! They do not have off days where the food is not as good or the staff is not as attentive. For five years we have always received the best food and service possible and are extremely grateful. Thank you Mustafa for everything!

The Scotts

My boyfriend and I absolutely love Pasha food! We go here at least once a week. The environment is homely, authentic, and the workers, including the owner, are welcoming and friendly. The food is incredibly delicious-- a few days ago, I tried the sultan kebab and it was to DIE for; eggplant puree topped with tender, juicy lamb and rice on the side. Some of our other favorites are the menemen, Turkish pizza, and of course, hummus and pita bread!

when the food is not nice, and you say it, owner has a temper. He does not try to get the feedback. He was not nice at all when we asked him the gyro had a hard to chew pita in it.

This was my first time to eat at a Turkish restaurant, and I loved it! I ordered the doner durum, lebni and hummus... all of which were fabulous and fresh. I will definitely visit Pasha again!

Pasha Turkish Restaurant is a cozy little house that has been converted into a restaurant to cater to the surrounding Rice community. Located on University Blvd. between Greenbriar Dr. and Morningside Dr., Pasha caters to a variety of tastes and wallet sizes. Recommended by publications like Zagat, Texas Monthly, the Houston Chronicle and My Table, Pasha is open only for lunch and dinner, with a menu for each.

The lunch menu caters to those stopping by to get a quick bite to eat. Menu items are downgraded slightly in size and are less expensive than at dinner. Try the creamy mashed chickpeas, tahini and garlic hummus as an appetizer to go along with a free order of unlimited, freshly-baked brick oven bread and olive oil infused with rosemary and ground black pepper. Also delicious are the Dolmas, delicacies of fresh white rice, crushed pine nuts, chopped onions and Turkish spices stuffed inside a rolled grape leaf.

For a real taste of the restaurant, Pasha offers a Meze Platter. This platter combines the best appetizers that the restaurant offers: hummus, meze, baba ghanoush, tabouli, eggplant salad, Dolma and labneh.

While the kebabs are all wonderfully seasoned but not overpowering, the real jewel of Pasha lies in the Doner Durum. The Doner Durum is a very simple yet elegant dish comprised of gyro slices rolled in a very thin layer of dough served in a rich and creamy yogurt sauce. Though decorated with tomatoes and herbs, this dish is not aesthetically appealing; nevertheless, it tastes incredible.

If all this sounds like too much, try the lunch special offered Tuesday through Sunday until 3 p.m. It consists of an entre with either the soup of the day or the Turkish salad made with freshly cut tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, red onions and parsley and sprinkled with a light lemon oil dressing. The entre choices include selections of seasoned and marinated chopped or ground meat and vegetables served on a soft bed of lightly flavored rice.

If that does not fill the void in a hungry stomach, Pasha prides itself on its oval Turkish pizzas. These are sauceless creations that combine traditional Turkish cuisine with mozzarella to create a delicacy that is not only delicious but also appropriate to eat with a knife and fork. The restaurant also offers a selection of wonderful sandwiches and wraps for those on the go.

For the dinner menu, Pasha unveils its signature dishes in its specialties section. Dishes such as the Yogurtlu Kebab present diners with choices of chargrilled lamb, beef or chicken kebabs ladled over soft pita bread topped with a zesty garlic yogurt sauce.

Other specialties include Menemen, a stew of sauted tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, feta cheese and eggs served on a bed of rice, and the Patlican Kebab, wonderfully marinated and chargrilled eggplant with light pepper and skewers of ground beef and lamb.

Save room for dessert. Pasha has a very light and flaky baklava, a sweet and crunchy Tel Kadayif, a creamy and flavorful rice pudding called Sutlac and an amazing caramelized flan dusted lightly with cinnamon.

Pasha usually offers all of this to customers for about ten dollars per order for lunch and fifteen dollars for dinner, but with the HedgeHopper Card, orders are discounted ten percent. For great food, great prices and a comfortable dining area, check out Pasha Turkish Restaurant and see what you think.

Pros: Authentic, Romantic, Quiet, Delicious, Helpful Service

Cons: Limited Parking

have been meaning to enter this review for a while. Ate there several months ago. I can't describe how great the food was. Authentic, fresh, etc. Just excellent. The service was top notch too!

Pros: food was EXCELLENT

Cons: limited parking

I am part of a student group at Rice University that requires catering every week. Originally, we had hoped to get a different place to cater each week, but after we tried Pasha for the first time, we were hooked. They have the most delicious, authentic Mediterranean food I have had in Houston, and I have lived here for almost 20 years.

Their food is amazing, but the service is what keeps me coming back. The people are fantastic, and they are always great about recommending something new (and, of course, tasty).

Whether you are looking to cater an event for 30 or spend a nice night out with a friend, Pasha has everything you can ask for food, great atmosphere, and friendly prices.

Pros: Great deals for catered events!!

Cons: What are the drawbacks?

The food here is fantastic and the service is great. We love the bread that they give you before the meal. The ambience is also great.

Pros: Food, service, ambience

Cons: Parking

We've been meaning to eat at Pasha for a while. We did this evening, a spur of the moment decision, and were so pleased that we did. \r
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The food was excellent, lots of variety, very fresh, tasty. The staff were excellent, polite, helpful.\r
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All in all a 5* experience. We'll be back for sure!

Pros: Awesome menu, great ambience

A group of 4 of us had dinner on a Friday night. We were promptly seated. The food is good, but perhaps some chef's specials, or an inquiry by the waitperson as to whether she could explain any items on the menu, or if we had any questions, would have been nice. The restaurant is in an old house. The acoustics & noise level were such that it was possible to have enjoyable conversation. The vegetarian eggplant was terrific. Bread is served before the meal, and it's delicious. I would have enjoyed a little more ""Turkish"" or ethnic decor, but all in all, it was a lovely meal.

Pros: Great food

Cons: Limited parking

My wife and I recently discovered Pasha's and have been there 3 times in the last 4 months. The food is very good quality with helpful service from the staff. We are always offered somethign from the specials list, which is usually very fresh and specially prepared (last time was a very nice preparation of lamb in a fashion we hadn't tried before).\r
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Service is good but communicating with some of the staff can be a little problematic - stick with the manager if you can and you won't be disappointed. Be adventurous and try the Turkish wine or Efes beer. Generally pretty good and we've had some nice surprises. A little bit of Istanbul in Houston.

I go to Pasha mostly for lunch so often with my friends since I work at the Medical Center. We enjoy their lunch specials very much. They offer soup and salad plus one main course (from gyro kebab to vegetarian dish) for only $7.99, this is a great deal. Not to mention about their great home made pide bread and olive oil dipping. This time we planned to have our Christmas dinner party there. We threw our Christmas party at their very big party room we were about 40 people. They offered us three meal course: appetizer platter (meze), mix grilled plate, and baklava along with soft drink and hot tea. The food was delicious even though we were very large people the service was still great. The great thing was we only paid $20.00 for each person it was a great deal. Most of the people experienced Turkish food for the first time and they planned to come back. By the way there was a valet parking, which was complementary, and it really helped us out. Over all I would recommend this cozy restaurant.

Pros: service and food

My Wife and friends visited Pasha and were thrilled to have dined there. Traditional Turkish music plays overhead as you enjoy the nice ambiance. \r
DELICIOUS food and nice staff. The staff was very friendly and hard working and made sure everything was to our liking.\r
I am hooked on Pasha Meze Platter consisting of dolma, hummus, babagannush, eggplant salad, ezma etc. Everything on the plate was tasty, I definitely recommend this meze/appetizer plate to everybody. The food is EXCELLENT. Tried soup of the day and Iskender Kebab. Good portion sizes. I can assure you all I will be going back often. Menu offered standard Mediterranean dishes as well as a lot of unique ones. Deserts are authentic Mediterranean. \r
Worth going to if you want a great Mediterranean meal with low cost. Pasha is perfect for a healthy, inexpensive family meal when you don't feel like cooking. The owners are truly wonderful who welcome their guest with a warm mediteranian hospitality. Service is great. They have some of the best kababs, even vegetarian dishes to offer (They can make eggplant taste wonderful). Everything is made fresh and home made including fresh bread (pita) and olive oil sesame mix. I highly recommend to dine there. Keep it up Pasha.

Pros: Friendly, fresh, affordable, Excellent, authentic Mediterranean food, inexpenisve, good, lots of veggie options, Atmosphere, Quality of Food, Service, Good vegetarian food

I visit my cousins every year in Houston from Istanbul. When I came to Houston this year, my cousins decided to take me to the Turkish restaurant named Pasha. They told me that it is the best Turkish restaurant in town. I was looking forward to experiencing the foods at this restaurant because I was curies about Turkish food in Houston. So we went to Pasha to celebrate our Holiday ""Eid"" December 22, Saturday evening. We were greeted by a warm welcoming by the waiter, the restaurant was beautifully decorated. Even though it was a busy Saturday night we got our table promptly. As soon as we got the table they served us complimentary home made pide bread which was superb with olive oil dipping zatar. I thought the bread and zatar was filling by its self. Anyway I ordered firin kebab (oven baked lamb tenders) which was the special of the day, it was out of this world. They served the dish over rice and shepherd salad. The lamb was very tender and juicy and the Turkish salad was very fresh. I have tried this authentic Turkish dish in Turkey many times; I could say this was better then what I have tasted there. Best of all the portions were great. We were 4 of us and everybody had a chance to taste everybody else?s dishes. My cousins ordered iskender kebab, lamb shish kebab, and lahmacun. They were all equally great. Finally we shared baklava and sutlac (oven baked rice pudding) along with hot teas, which topped our dinner. I also have to mention about the owner who was very welcoming. He actually came to our table to check if everything was ok and he also congratulated us on our holiday. In the end my cousins were right it was the best Turkish restaurant in Houston. I will definitely come back next time.

Pros: service, food, ambience

I was there on Wednesday, Dec 19th. Things have changed a lot since it first opened. My wife and I went to this restaurant to have some Turkish Pide (pizza like dough with tomato and ground beef on top). They used to have that very well done before. We ordered Pide, Turkish Gyro and yogurt drink. The server (I guess also the owner) asked us to taste yogurt drink to see if it is still drinkable. That one was expired a long time ago and he was experimenting on us. He brought the Gyro, it tasted well but was not warm. Then the Turkish Pide came , it was so untasty. He had put some cheese on the tough along some ground beef and he was calling it the ""Pide"".If you ate other Turkish restaurants, you will know what I mean. I can't evel call it a pizza it has no sauce on it. We asked him to change it or refund our money. He was so rude that he said us that we have to pay first or we should leave. I will never ever go there again. No wonder it is empty all the time.

Pros: location and parking

Cons: attitude, bad taste

My former roommate dines here regularly at lunch, which is when he says you get the best experience and the best price. He, however, took me at dinner, which is significantly more pricey. I didn't find the food bad, but I didn't find it partcularly unique, either. I'd go back and try something else, likely for lunch... but, aside from the food, the atmosphere is very cozy and friendly, and the staff is charming. Watch out for parking, though. There's pretty much none, and you'll probably have to park somewhere on the street. Give it a try, I'm sure you'll find something you'll like, and the atmosphere is definitely inviting.

Pros: Great atmosphere and service.

Cons: Lack of parking, slightly pricey at dinner.

I'm a military brat and lived in Turkey for 5 years!! I looked for years to find a good place to share the Turkish cusine with friends and my husband - this is it. \r
Great atmosphere for couples. \r
Wonderful wine from Cenkaya (sorry about my spelling) and my husband loves the Efes beer!\r
We visit quite often and now are treated like family!! \r
Food is delicious and priced well. \r
Good for kids in the day - but, in the evening it seems to be more of an adult atmosphere (that we really enjoy).

Pros: Food, service, atmosphere

Cons: on the weekends it can get a little busy and the parking lot is smaller and hard to get in and out of - but still worth it!

Pasha is such a great deal. Excellent food at inexpensive prices! The turkish pita bread that they serve prior to your order arrives warm and fresh-tasting. So good! I recommend the starter platter that has a bit of everything - tabouleh, hummus, etc. The service was friendly and prompt, and the night we dined there was a singer who provided nice ambiance (and disguised the occassional noise from up above - I think some of the family live upstairs). Overall a pleasant dining experience.

Pros: Tasty food, Inexpensive, Friendly staff

Cons: Parking

I love this place. My boyfreind and I visit at least 2x a month. You must must must try the Iskender (I hope I spelled that right). It looks a little intimidating if you haven't tried Turkish food before, but try it....it is sooo good. The Turkish tea, the pizzas and all of the appitizers are fab as well. Its a great date place, has excellent service, and the food is great.

Pros: food, service, atmosphere

Although I say it's hidden, it's in the Village. It's just that I have probably driven past this place 10 times and never known what it was or what kind of food.

The food is great- I had a turkish pizza (can't remember the exact name) and although I had never had one i loved it! That servers were also very friendly and attentive.
Great place I will visit again.

Pros: Food, Ambiance

Cons: Parking

A wonderful hidden gem in the Rice Village area. Very enjoyable from your first step in the door to your last bite.

Another of The Village's little secrets, Pasha has treated me like family since the first visit, providing the little extra touches that keep you coming back for more. The cup of tea to finish off the meal leaves you feeling warm and contented, the perfect compliment to the sutlac.

Pros: service, taste, value

We loved the restaurant the moment we stepped in. This restaurant has a nice ambience and great food. For the kind of service, food and ambience that the restaurant provides the price is extremely reasonable. Try the chicken kabab and donor kabab. Turkish tea that they serve is so light and refreshing.