Istanbul Cafe

First visit to this downtown eatery made a good impression. There is an overall savor of authenticity in everything tasted: Baked Eggplant with Lamb and Mediterranean Salmon. Our waiter was shy, but managed everything well.

This a decent place, well decorated, clean restaurant. We ordered chicken adana kebab, chicken kabab and Mediterranean Tilapia. Little pricey, but taste is too good. We really liked. But for 4 of us they added 18% gratuity. Normally other restaurants add for 5 or more guests. But everything is fare as far as food is good.

I just moved to Cincinnati and I’ve been desperately looking for a good Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean restaurant. I needed to satisfy my hankering for the food of my parents’ homeland. This place is not it.
1. The food was greasey; oil literally dripped off my fork as I ate.
2. The food was Flavorless. Has the chef every heard of spicing the meat? How about salt? Neither was present in any of the food.
3. The prices are exorbitant for the quality of food. Seriously, 4.00 for 3 Oz of yogurt? The same yogurt you can buy for 2 bucks a bucket at the local Kroger. 6.00 for a couple spoonfuls of the most subpar hummus I’ve ever had? Oh hell no!
You might be saying «but dear Internet stranger, they have 4 stars here on Unilocal!» I hear you and I think I have 2 possible solutions for this phenomenon.
Firstly, it’s possible that I was there on an off day and their food is not usually so greasy it instantly closes off your arteries. If this is the case I’ll gladly accept an invite back to give them another shot and change this review.
Second possibility is that the ⁴⁄₅ star reviews are either artificially inflated by the restaurants’ friends and family or the reviewers have not tasted food before… Ever.
Don’t eat here. Skyline is across the Street and at least there you’re not paying through the nose for heart attack food.

Amazing Lamb special best I’ve seen — staff was very pleasant with good advice– will return some day

This place isn’t much to look at from outside and we were pleasantly surprised when we walked in. As far as the food goes, everything we had was absolutely divine.
The boys had the kids meals of mac n cheese — pretty self explanatory, and the chicken and French fries. The chicken looked like it was really well seasoned and was the chicken from the kebobs.
The adults had a combination of the red lentil soup and damaged plates. Let me start off by saying that these were the best falafels I have ever had! The hummus that came along with it was also amazing! The soup was nice and creamy and had a really great depth in flavor.
If we are ever back in Cincinnati, we are definitely coming here.

Hubby and I ventured here on a Friday afternoon for a lunch date. The restaurant was half full, but still quiet. A nice atmosphere for conversation.
We were seated promptly and our server was pleasant. We each ordered the $ 11.00 lunch special. I opted for the lentil soup and cabbage rolls while hubby ordered the hummus and chicken adana.
The hummus was fresh and flavorful and served with warm pita. The lentil soup was HOT and seasoned to perfection… fit to be a stand-​alone meal. The flow of service was perfect. We chatted a little and ate a little and our main course was presented just as we finished our first course.
The cabbage rolls were served with green beans and carrots. The meal tasted like a home cooked meal. While it was good, I didn’t notice any Mediterranean flare. The chicken Adana was amazing! It was served with the perfect blend of rice and veggies.
We really enjoyed our time here. Although I’ll likely skip the cabbage rolls, there were so many other options. Can’t wait to try their other offerings.

We tried red lentil soup, peta hummus, feta borek, kunefe here and everything was very very delicious

This place was an all around excellent experience. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and kept the pita bread & water flowin’. I had the lunch special, comprised of humus and a doner kebab that came with rice and veggies, and it was very tasty. Perfectly cooked and spiced and everything. Best part is, for the price, the portions were kingly. I couldn’t even finish it all! I would totally recommend this place to anyone who wanted a great meal from a lovely staff for not a lot of dosh. Five big, beautiful stars all the way!

Great food. We had the appetizer sampler plate, the adana, and chicken kabab. All were good, although the adana was a little too salty for my taste. We also got esme and another adana to go. Service was friendly.
I am rating as a 4 instead of a 5 because the food was expensive. Also, the waiter combined both the dine-​in and the carry-​out orders on one receipt and expected us to pay tip on the carry-​out charge.

I had the shish kebab dinner (carry out). The lamb was very tender and flavorful. The veggies were well seasoned, although a little overcooked. The place looked nice clean, based on my short time waiting for food. I’ll definitely be back for more.

When you come it the first thing you notice is that the place is set up waaay over the top for turkish food.
I love turkish cuisine and missed it since I moved here from Europe where I could get it pretty much everywhere. The choices on the menu were not many and rather disappointing. Nothing that I really craved was on there. I ordered gyro over pita with turkish yogurt with tomato sauce (can’t remember the exact name of the dish). It tasted really good I have to say but the gyro was definitely not freshly cut as promised on the menu and the dishes me and my husband had were not fancy but very expensive. My husband also had a gyro dish and he said it was very dry without sauce.
The service was soso. The waiter was very hard to understand because he didn’t speak loud enough and he refused to exchange some money for us so we could pay parking.
All in all I would say this place is ok but I am not in a hurry to go back.

I wouldn’t recommend the gyro, it’s pre-​sliced and processed lamb meat not from a rotating spit. Also, the fries were just plain. I thought for a Meditterranean place it would have some seasoning on it.

Over the last year and half, I have found myself here in the company of colleagues and friends in various moods — celebrating a successful project, planning or venting our frustrations. On all of those occasions, one thing remained constant — the quality of their food and the friendliness of their staff.
We tend to order a whole bunch of appetizers to share — the zucchini pan cake is among the best of its kind; the feta borek is amazing; the hummus, falafel and pita bread excellent. They make really good tea.
We tend to order the Mix Kebab Platter for sharing which offers good variety of their excellent Kebabs. If I order individual entrées, I enjoy their Shish Kebab, Adana Kebab and Iskender Kebabs. My friends love their Stuffed Cabbage.
Istanbul Café is my favorite restaurant in Downtown Cincinnati.

We always end up here before a show or something. It’s my favorite place to get dinner in Cincinnati. I always get the same thing — Vegetarian Stew. It’s really delicious and filling.
Also, I like the workers. They’re nice.

Upon sitting down, we had to wait a while before we got some water, even though we were literally the only table in the entire restaurant. Our waiter also had trouble understanding our order.
However, the food was absolutely fantastic! I got the shish kebab and grape leaves and I was blown away. Incredibly flavorful and delectable!
If they can get better front of house and wait staff, this would easily be five out of five.

The best falafel and lamb in Cincinnati for a modest price starts here. The restaurant is clean and classy, with lovely music and friendly staff all around. Any chance I get to go here is one I’ll take because I’ve never left unhappy or dissatisfied. It’s actually tucked into the Provident Building on Vine and 7^th, across the street from a juice place and an ice cream place. It’s easy to miss as the awning with the sign doesn’t pop out at you, but I think that’s indicative of what makes it so great; it’s a little bit of a hidden treasure.
It’s finer dining than Al Amir’s or Uncle Mo’s. The rice is exquisite when mixed with the vegetables and lamb. Seriously, if you’re downtown and want a great dinner, try this place.

I tried a sampler platter for delivery. Along with another entrée. The vegetables in it had a delicious sauce.

Came here during lunch hour. Had the appetizer sampler and lamb chops. Appetizer sample was really good very tasty and had enough spices also. Lamb chops was one of the best I have had. It was cooked to perfection and the meat was tender and juicy also.

Food was good but I’m giving 1 star because of the service other way i would’ve give them 4! I asked the waiter which one was better and if i should get Salmon or the grilled chicken kebab and he told me that i should get the chicken because Im a woman but that he would get salmon because its better and he’s a man! I don’t care if someone was raised a certain way those are comments you should keep to yourself! Other than that the lamb and beef kebab was as good as the grilled chicken! The sample platter, the feta borak and the falafel were tasty as well! At the end We ordered the künefe and it was really good (us women we eat dessert too) and ordered turkish tea but he gave us regular lipton tea which tasty! It was alright but i wouldn’t go back because of the poor service.

I came here for their lunch special — $ 10 for an appetizer + an entrée. Got the hummus for my appetizer and man, it was amazing! Forget the other choices (lentil soup or salad, which were also good). The pita bread was hot out of the oven, and together with the homemade creamy hummus, ahhh so good.
You get to choose from their kabobs, falafel or wraps for your entrée. Got the Doner kabob and Adana wrap. Omgee, I did not expect the wrap to be this good (actually I wasn’t expecting much for a $ 10 lunch). It was juicy and flavorful, I didn’t even have to put any sauce on my wrap.
They give you a good amount of food for $ 10. At first glance the wrap didn’t look big, but it filled me up, and the appetizer was bigger than I expected. Istanbul is definitely an awesome lunch spot for those who work in the area.