Ephesus Mediterranean Grill

It’s Ok, I know my mediterranean foods. I opted for the: «*Ephesus Mezze Platter — Make it your own & Choose 3! Generous portions of your choice of three appetizers for $ 14.50» Ordered tabouli, babaganoush (smoked eggplant) and the hummus.
If you order tabouli, it come out couscous. Definitely! NOT tabouli. Hummus is good and Babaganoush (smoked eggplant) is tasty. You will leave smelling like garlic. Overall — Great service but only ok food. Would love to see them get more adventurous, authentic and branch out with there food choices. This place has potential.

What a pleasant surprise. Got takeout from here a few weeks ago and WOW. It was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend the falafel, hummus and stuffed grape leaves for vegetarians.

Wonderful Mediterranean restaurant with a small, but ample menu.
We have enjoyed the adana kebab, chicken kebab, and gyro wraps. The shepherd salad is wonderful. All items were very tasty and prepared with fresh ingredients.
The atmosphere is cozy and the service, good. There was a little confusion while being seated, but the young hostess was new. I felt that our waitress could have been a little more attentive.

The chicken kabab had no real flavor and was a little tough. Looked like the chicken cooked in a pan and put on the skewers for looks. The same with the rice pilaf and the salad was blan. Sorry to say we won’t be going back.

I read the reviews and decided to try it out. My sweetie and I were impressed by the décor. The Turkish music added an air of anticipation. There’s lots that’s appealing but we went for the sultan’s platter after we tried the red lentil soup. The soup was aromatic and tasty, but it could have been a bit hotter. The platter was wonderful: the steak was marinated and flattened and was wonderful. The salad and rice were wonderful counterpoints to the meats. We ordered a white Turkish wine but, for some reason got the house Cabernet. It was hard to get upset at the friendly server. Likewise the reservation taker was very friendly and informative when I called. This is a restaurant that should get the support of the South Gulf Cove and Rotunda neighborhoods. It’s locally owned and provides an authentic, diverse and healthy menu. Moreover, it encourages takeout orders. All in all a very promising introductory visit.

The appetizers were okay. The zucchini cakes were over done and greasy. The chicken kabobs were good but the vegetable kabobs were very bland and pitiful in size. Two pieces of onion, 2 slices of zucchini, a small pepper and a piece of tomato and it was priced just slightly less than the chicken. The rice pilaf and salad was under seasoned. My friend said her gyro was not very good and didn’t even want her leftovers. The turkish tea was no different than my own tea at home. I will say that our server Chelsea was very good. We wouldn’t go back or recommend this restaurant.

New location :
8300 Wiltshire Dr, Port Charlotte, FL 33 981
Tried the new location the other night,
As always a fantastic authentic meal. A great new location larger and modern. And as always service was impeccable. Congrats with your new location.

We visited the Englewood location a number of times so we were looking forward to new Pt Charlotte locale. Food was lacking in flavor and seemed to have been dumbed down from original authenticity. Zucchini cakes lacked any herbs and spices, thick sour cream instead of yummy tsazik and «spicy“order consisted of some dried pepper flakes sprinkled on top of lamb. Shepard salad had no zing and could have been from any American restaurant. Only thing as good as before were the delicious pistachio baklava. So disappointed.

Service and food were both above average. Had the spicy beef & lamb on rice. It was very good. Our server was attentive even though the place was busy. The Baklava was very tasty. The printing on the menu was very tiny and difficult to read. Bring your appetite for sure and your glasses. I think the address is Gasparilla rd. I will go again

The best Turkish food I’ve had outside Turkey. Excellent selection of kebabs that taste very good. Limited selection of small appetizers.

DELICIOUS food every time we come here and the service is always outstanding. We’ve tried almost everything on the menu. The sultans feast is AMAZING.

Had an excellent dinner! Started with zucchini cakes for an appetizer which was very good. For dinner, the three of us shared the Sultans feast which was enough food for all of us and everything was perfectly cooked and had a great fresh flavor.
The service, atmosphere is very good and this one of the best restaurants in the area!
A must restaurant they you need to check out!

We tried the zucchini cakes and falafel appetizers, salads for lunch, and finished with Turkish coffee. All delicious and beautifully presented. Service was helpful and very attentive.

I can’t add too much to the rave reviews. I had the Adana kebab and my wife had the lamb chops each served with rice and a light, fresh cucumber, tomato, onion, parsley and mint salad. We were both thrilled w/​the flavors. We ended w/​the pistachio baklava. neither of us big baklava lovers. It was so much better than any we have ever tasted… lighter, more moist.
Even though it is in a small strip mall, it had a tastefully decorated interior. The music was appropriate and not overpowering. Such a sophisticated surprise for little Englewood.
We will definitely be return customers.

My husband is Turkish so he was really excited to see that a Turkish restaurant had opened somewhat close to Sarasota. It is definitely worth the drive. Everything we had was really good and the service is excellent. The owners are husband and wife who are very friendly. It is in a strip center but has a nice atmosphere. We will be back soon.

Omg. This is such a hidden little gem. Found the Unilocal reviews so helpful and decided to have lunch here! Omg the food was so amazing!
We ordered the zucchini cakes for an appetizer which were probably the best I have had. My hubby ordered chicken shish kabob and I had a falafel wrap. All the food was excellent. The service was even better. And for a couple with a 9 month old they were very accommodating.
Loved it all! We come for a yearly vacation and will totally be back!

OMG… Wow ! This place is amazing.
Very nice Mediterranean food. it’s worth the trip to englewood. …

five stars plus. what a hidden gem. cozy dining, fantastic food, fantastic service, and delecious desserts. Perfect ingredients for a perfect dining experience. my wife and I will be back.
Tom and Madeleine Perry

Sorry to say our meal was just okay. The chicken kabab had no real flavor and was a little tough. It needed an overnight marinade maybe but it was really missing some seasoning. The same with the rice pilaf and the shephard salad … bland.
We did enjoy the Falafel and the Zucchini cakes … both of which came with garlic yogurt.
Our server was polite and professional but unfortunately, we won’t be making a 25 minute drive to go there again.

So glad we tried Ephesus!
Incredibly attentive service and fantastic food, this restaurant really took us out of Englewood and into turkey. All of the food was freshly prepared and delicious. The steak, lamb and chicken was all prepared perfectly with delicious sauces. We are definitely going back!

This is one place you have got to try! The owners, Barack and Michelle are very inviting people. They offer a full array of fresh and healthy food, along with some exotic dishes.
Being of Middle Eastern decent myself, I’m thrilled they chose Englewood to offer a bit of their culture to. I’ve had several wonderful meals from this restaurant and will eventually try ever last item on the menu.
For those of you who shy away from items you are not familiar with, you will absolutely LOVE the Mediterranean Salad. It is one of my favorite items on the menu when I’m in the mood for a simple and fresh but filling meal. Sometime I enjoy it with chicken on top for added protein.
As a side note, they have a small selection of food items for sale that you can bring home (wonderful cookie type biscuits) and will even special order items that you may be specifically looking for.

Wow, a Turkish restaurant in Englewood !!!
Great authentic Turkish cuisine, especially liked the Manti (meat filled Turkish tortellini).
Tried shepherds salad, baba ghanoush, Adana kebab — all were good and the service was excellent.
The just got their first shipment of Efes beer from Turkey.

Everything was fresh and had a nice balance of authentic flavors. The service was great, very quaint and warm atmosphere.