Istanbul Turkish Cafe

Chicken gyros were excellent, loaded with chicken and lettuce & tomatoes. One complaint: asked the man behind the counter about the white sauce in the small plastic container, asked him if it was Tzatziki sauce —
— because we were there before and we remember it as being watery, not thick like good Greek Tzatziki should be ! Maybe they should copy/​paste the recipe I just posted above. Also noticed another reviewer had the same complaint, watery. Yuck ! And the topper was, the man said «It’s yogurt sauce» with a scowl & an attitude. Grouch, maybe he shouldn’t be in the food service industry.

Let me just clarify that this is really a 3-​star review. I had to give the extra star solely for the steaming beauty that was their fresh baked pide bread and the Kunefe.
Yes, it’s true, the service is very European (hence, the 3 stars). Lucky for them, I am used to the disinterested-​bordering-​annoyed tone of my own people’s waitstaff both here and in Greece. I was lucky to get a smile from our server, but once orders were taken, he washed his hands of us.
The falafel with hummus I craved and the chicken kebab my mother got were on two separate ends of the salty spectrum. When eaten together, the chicken successfully seasoned the falafel balls. This was especially true the following day, when I ate the leftovers that had mingled with each other overnight in my fridge. Perfectly seasoned bites.
After motioning to different food runners for things like lemons and napkins, thanks to our server’s peace out, we FINALLY got a very sweet man to not only make us two delicious cups of Turkish brew, but bring over an entire dessert tray for us to choose from. The Kunefe was a gooey sweet cheese covered in crispy fillo dough shreds piece of heaven. My mom was licking the fillo-​hairs from inside the mini pan they served it in.
Fresh bread and dessert always save the day and for those two reasons, we’ll probably be back.

I work for a large office so we order from here at least twice a week. We mostly order because of convenience– the place is close by and isn’t really fast food like the other restaurants nearby. However, it is way overpriced for what you are actually getting. Ordering at the restaurant you are guaranteed to wait at least 30 if you’re taking food to go. On the other hand, when ordering from grubhub or seamless not only is it MORE expensive than in store but they often get the orders wrong. It got to the point where we make an order online then call them to confirm it because otherwise we get the wrong food. The quality of the food use to be better as well. Recently, the salads have not been fresh. Other food items are pretty good-​nothing special.

Food is always great! I love Brooklyn for that alone. Bomb food! I get the chicken skewer, tabbouleh, hummus and you get these giant round rolls with sesame seeds on them.

Quality & service has gone way down since they opened yet prices have gone way up. Customer service in the beginning was really good, they were friendly and outgoing. but i guess the honeymoon phase has ended cause now when we call for delivery we get nothing most of the time but attitude & portions and QUALITY are hit or miss. There is no consistency in their pricing, portions, personality and sad to say the quality of their food. The meats are mostly fat and gristle, sometimes over salted to the point that its inedible or under-​salted and bland. We were actually given hummus that was sour & not from too much lemon juice but the sour smell of spoilage. So sad cause this was our go to neighborhood Turkish place. We were in there almost everyday and we ordered at least once or twice a week from them. We should’ve known something was up when my wife referred to me as her wife & the guy at the counter kept correcting her saying «your husband». Too bad! Thank goodness we moved closer to Beyti, they are amazing & so far do not discriminate.

Worst place to order from. They took two hours to deliver, when they are only a 12 minute drive away. When I called, they hung up on me. When the delivery guy finally arrives, instead of apologizing, he blames me for ordering from a place that is too far, which is obviously not true.

I am boiling mad right now from the treatment I received after making an order from this «restaurant». First the order was 2 hours late and when the driver finally got to me he doesn’t apologize for the long wait but instead says «just a little friendly advice, you are too far away and it would be better if you order from someplace closer».
I am a very understanding person and if this driver just apologized I would’ve told him it’s ok and still given him a nice tip but no, not only was he 2 hours late but he had to be disrespectful as well. I will never order from Istanbul Turkish Café ever again and I advice all of you out there to avoid this place like the plague.

American who eats turkish food everywhere this is top 3. Everything is incredibly delicious and fresh. If youve never tried anything more than a dull diner you will have a new lease on life; try it.

Horrible take out! The food is good when you go there and order while watching them prepare your food. Ordering online with them is terrible! They don’t read any of the instructions you leave and takes to long to receive a completely wrong order

I’ll give this place a 3 star my wife would disagree though. The food was OK but, I’ve had far better. I’m sure they have other dishes I would like that I haven’t tried yet.

Ordered delivery from this place one night. The food was just terrible. Got the mixed grill platter — very small for the price and very underwhelming. Stuffed grape leaves — horrible! Mushy, bland. Had to just toss them. Falafel with hummus — disgusting, the worst I have ever tried. The hummus was just mashed chick peas, no oil, no spices of any kind. The falafel — same, just mixed with some green stuff and fried. Gyro platter — a lot of meat, but all dry. Also, the tsatziki sauce was just water with a little milk added to it and some cucumber shavings. My husband was really hungry, but could not even eat any of this food.

This place has never disappointed, have been eating here since I can remember!
Truly authentic Turkish cuisine!

Chicken vegetable soup is a winner, when not too oily. Food is fairly pricey compared to local eateries but the quality of the chicken, and pilaf, falafel, and so on make it clear that you get what you PAY for.
Tasty dishes, fresh food, and free delivery — all that it takes to satisfy my tastebuds and free from regret for spending $ on food when I could opt to cook a meal.
The service is mediocre, but it’s pretty busy so being a former employee in the retail industry, whether food related or not, it’s understandable. There’s no time for personable customer service in NYC, but a more welcoming feeling would benefit the business.
Overall, I recommend this Turkish restaurant, ESPECiALLY in a neighborhood like Bath Beach where there are very few restaurants that provide quality ingredients and food comparable to Istanbul.

Istanbul is a Bensonhurst Institution, they are open late and the food is excellent. I like the non meat options like Shepard salad, Eggplant Salad or Hummus. In stead of t he usal pita bread Istanbul served a thicker bread loaf which I have to admit can sometimes be a bit hard.
However the food here is great and the bread does not detract from the fakvirfull, shish kebobs,

I ate dinner here today with my coworker and I had one of their new yammi lamb dishes with yogurt sauce, special tomatoes sauce and I think croutons which was filling. The portion was way to big, gave me so much lamb I took half of the plate home. My friend had the chicken kebab which was delicious as well. We both had Turkish tea which was on the house. They serve you this puffy and soft tasting bread with olive oil dip. For dessert we ate Tirismisu. The waiter was very pleasant and service was great. Customer service is excellent. Will definitely return again!

You get the best bank for your buck here
The quantity of food for the price that your get is insane.
The food is really delicious– the gyro meat is not greasy or fatty… Perfectly seasoned and crispy/​moist. The Adana kebab is great too
All the salads and dips like hummus, baba ganoush, Hezma, eggplant are very delicious.
And of course the baklava YUM
It’s a little gem in this neighborhood that’s mostly filled with Chinese and Japanese food.
Anonymous reviewer says «the closest you get to tel aviv in Brooklyn.»

The food is very good, but the service sucks big time.
I had a strong feeling they do not care if you will be back or not.

**This is a review for the take-​out/​fast food side, not the sit down restaurant
Wow, this is the most overpriced «fast food» place I’ve ever been to!
We got 2 combo platters, 2 drinks, and a side of baba ghanoush… for $ 40! I could have easily had a sit down dinner somewhere at that price.
Despite it being pretty empty, it took a long time for our food to come out. I didn’t like the flavor of the chicken gyro. The Baba ghanoush was soooo bland. And the rice and «salad» that makes it a combo platter, were not good at all.
Better off at McDonalds!

A little gem in the heart of Bensonhurst. The food is so delicious; the flavors so delectable. Great service & pleasant atmosphere plus outdoor seating in warm weather. Amazing bread to go along with all the food. Just LOVE it. A definite must

Mediocre food for insanely expensive prices. I got the Lamb shish kebab over rice and ended up paying $ 10+ for it. While it did come with bread and salad, it definitely isn’t worth that much. To make matters worse, there were only 5 measly pieces of meat in my order with the rest of it being rice. I did not find the rice to be particularly tasty and the meat was not my cup of tea. It was very tough and dry and had traces of that strong lamb taste that I dread… The sauces were nothing special and seemed very watered down.
I really want to give this place another chance and try their gyro over rice next time but I’m hesitant to come back because of the mediocre food and expensive prices. Not to mention that it took forever for me to get my order and that the vibe in there is kind of hectic. Spend your money at a halal cart instead!