Istanbul Grill

I did not get to try the food there because i left the place at the rude attitude of the server a few minutes after i arrived. I will definitely not go back. There is also a serious parking issue…

Tried the sandwiches. Food was good but the service was not outstanding, which I paid more attention to. I had one with the chopped lamb, which I supposed to be better than I had at other places but it wasn’t.
If you don’t have time and just want some fast food, this is the place. Or I don’t recommend.
Updated:
This time I enjoyed a lot! I had kabab and Turkish pizza with sausage, which is my favorite! Amazing! Oh! The homemade yoghurt is awesome! I like sourness;)

After a long day of moving a friend into her apartment, all my friends and I wanted was a decadent and delicious meal, so we headed to Istanbul Grill to sit, relax, and enjoy some Turkish food. The venue was great — intricately decorated with Turkish memorabilia with a cozy and homey vibe.
The food was equally as authentic. We ordered the hummus to split, which was good and bad — good because it was delicious, but bad because after stuffing myself with pita bread I wasn’t really hungry for dinner so I just ordered some falafel. The falafel was perfect, but after a bite of my friend’s kebab platter and my other friend’s Turkish pizza, I knew I should’ve restrained myself with the hummus so I could’ve gotten a truly hearty dish as delicious as those.
Another huge perk was the service. Our waiter was incredibly friendly and funny, and even though we decided not to order dessert, he brought us a free pistachio baklava (which, coincidentally, is one of my friends’ favorite dishes there — we think he may have overheard her talking about it & that’s why he brought it, so sweet!)
For now, Istanbul Grill is a 4/​5, but I will definitely be back and I have a feeling after I have one of those kabab plates myself, it may just become a ⁵⁄₅.

Stopped in for some take out hummus and boy what a treat. The oven baked bread that came with the hummus was out of this world. The baklava displayed on the counter looked delicious as well.

Really good food. The eggplant and lamb are delicious. I also enjoyed the Turkish wine. Service is good and the staff are friendly. It’s nice sitting outside with the music, feels like you are on vacation in the Mediterranean. Dessert menu looks really good too. It’s busy but we haven’t had to wait around around.

I am new to the area but this restaurant is among the top of my favorites for Houston eats. With a casual environment, great service, and fresh, homemade food, few things get better than Istanbul Grill.
For starters, the zaatar oil and warm bread is so yummy but we added the Meze platter to the dip options and it took our starter to the next level. 8 appetizers for an affordable price gives you a great sampling of their offerings.
We shared the grill sampler entrée, and again, were impressed with the flavorful and juicy meats. The platter also comes with a salad (could have done without that) and a heavenly lentil soup to start.
We also couldn’t leave without trying the Turkish pizza with cheese and Turkish sausage. The sausage was almost overpowering but the cheese mellows out the strong curry flavors.
Ended with baklava and Turkish coffee. Heaven. We will definitely be back!

Oh my gosh this place. We just left El meson because of how schmancy and expensive it was, and went walking around something else to eat. Saw this place, never had Turkish or cuisine from Istanbul before so said ADVENTURE and went in. Best idea ever! Food was delicious, waiter was very nice and patient with our questions. We had the labni for appetizer. So good! Then hubby had the adana plate, toddler had doner (i think) but they were nice enough to just put the meat on top of rice for us and I’m sorry I don’t remember the name of mine but it started with an I. Everything was delicous! Then we had baklava for dessert; one teeny square was perfect after the amount of food I just shoveled and tried a Turkish coffee. Deep earthy flavor. Tastes muddy but I think that’s also because there were grounds at the bottom of the cup. But really good. Check with tip came out to 50. Definitely will come again the next time we’re in houston and recommend to others.

I’ve been here several times over the years and I have to say the bread is delicious. I ended up having 2 baskets of it before my meal came. Carb addiction! The sandwiches are a good serving size for lunch. I had the Kofté sandwich, but should have ordered another sandwich with more meat. See pic attached.

This was yummy. I enjoyed it. Next time
I will get the pizza that everyone is photographing. We ordered a pizza but it was not as expected, though still delicious. We also ordered a mixed grill plate which was very good, and for an appetizer we ordered some sampler plate. Everything on it was delicious! I recommend eating here!

Really great place! Good quality food at appropriate prices. Good sized portions.
Iskender Kebab ⁵⁄₅ — tender cuts of meat with yogurt sauce on top of bread (or croutons?)
Adana Kebab ⁵⁄₅ — came with house salad and rice with chickpeas. Tender ground lamb with spices skewered to perfection.
Pistachio Baklava ⁵⁄₅ — ordered this off menu based on a Unilocal tip. I’m not a fan of walnuts so this was great since most baklava is with walnuts. Delicious!
Service was prompt and friendly. Will definitely be back!
Update: patlican (eggplant) soslu was an amazing appetizer! Dip with the pita bread :)

Mezze platter is great way to sample vegetarian appetizers.
Lentil soup is amazing, especially with the warm bread.
Best tip of all: Ask for the off menu pistachio baklava. Made in house, warm, flaky, delicious, this treat is unlike any baklava I’ve had elsewhere and well worth the added price. I would have taken a picture, but we polished off two orders too quickly.

I usually get the Meze plate (mixed appetizer plate, #30) which is vegetarian, has lots of variety, and is plenty of food for one person to eat as a meal. They’ll bring out some hot bread with a dipping sauce of olive oil with some kind of seasoning in it — maybe toasted sesame seeds? The eggplant salad is slightly sweet and smoky. The leeks and green beans have a fresh, full flavor. The lentil soup is outstanding and has a rich, buttery flavor. The rice with chickpeas is simple yet delicious. From grilled meats to sandwiches to Turkish pizzas, we’ve never had a bad meal here. Lots of vegetarian options on the menu, and parking is not too bad since they let you double-​park in the front lot (just give your keys to the host).
The staff is friendly and attentive — great service and great food all around. Recommended.

The owner is always there! He is very attentive and friendly. This place is very close to me as I could walk there from home in the village. Great Food! A place to sit down and eat at unlike some other Turkish/​Greek/​Arabic Kabab places. Yummy Food! Considering the area where it’s at, I don’t think he could be any cheaper taking real estate cost into account.

Small place and very comfy relaxed place. Food is great and the staff was very friendly.

I ordered GrubHub delivery from Istanbul Grill.
My initial reaction after ordering was shock because it said it would would be 75 minutes before I got my order
I was however pleased that the other came in about 40 minutes and was relatively warm.
The course, Chicken (Adana) Kebab, was absolutely delicious. I was licking my lips after this one. Was a little disappointed by the portion size, going to order two next time. Will definitely order again!

Nice restaurant in Rice Village. I really like going to this location because of the food and, of course, it’s location in Rice Village. After roaming through Rice Village (you can switch the order as well) shopping and what not, nothing is better than a delicious plate of the Iskender Kebab. This consists of sliced doner kebab layered on bread and served with yogurt. Def one of my favorites here.
Other items:
The Doner Kenab is very good
Doner sandwich is amazing
Manti is very good (traditional, Turkish ravioli with meat inside)
Although this is not the best Turkish restaurant in Houston, the combination of food and amazing location makes it a perfect choice no matter when.

This was my first time to Istanbul Grill and I think I’ll need to come back for more. We got the Humus with Pide bread for appetizer while waiting for our friends and it was so good. I had never had Pide bread before and it was warm and delicious. For my entrée I tried the special. It was ground lamb and beef stuffed in cabbage leaves with rice and vegetables then topped with tomato sauce and yogurt. It was so flavorful. Needless to say I was too full to try dessert. Looking at the rest of the menu, if like to come back and try the pizza and the sandwiches. Good thing they’re nearby work for lunch ;) Can’t wait to go back!

I have never been to Turkey or experienced authentic Turkish food. I didn’t even order Turkish food. I order more Mediterranean safe side hummus and a gyro sandwich. I chose to stay in my comfort zone today. I have always been a fan of «Greek» food… Niko Niko’s, Aladdin, Theos… etc, which are all tasty but are very commercialized and don’t have the authenticity vibe.
We were greeted multiple times among entering and were immediately taken care of. Our wait Baito was so attentive, he explained many thing on the menu and made some great recommendations for us newbies.
We played it safe and ordered the hummus for starters. It tasted very similar to how Phoenicias hummus taste which is HEAVENLY. I wanted more and more but saved room for my entrée.
The gyro sandwich came out within 5 minutes of ordering, the man cut some meet off of the the huge skewer made my dish and it was delivered sooo fast! It had red cabbage, carrots, lettuce, tomato and cucumber inside. It came with a side of spicy cucumber sauce. It was all so delicious! It truly felt like it would be a good representation of authentic Mediterranean/​Turkish food. Now that I have become comfortable with it I plan to return and be more adventurous in my choices!

I finally tried this place out after two of my mentors told me about how delicious this place is. This restaurant is right next to Little Woodrow’s on Morningside. I’ve passed by it several times but didn’t know it was the Istanbul Grill they were talking about.
There is an outside patio, but my friend and I sat inside due to the weather. We get seated, got our menus, and asked for drinks.
We ended up getting our food before our drinks. Our waiter totally forgot about them, so my friend asked another waiter.
We received bread and zatar oil before the hummus arrived. The bread is so so good! Warm, soft, and thick. I actually mixed the hummus with the zatar oil and ate it with the bread. You can always ask for more bread!
71. Doner Kebab. (³⁄₅) It was okay, seasoned but not overwhelming. It was kind of dry in my opinion. I think the hot sauce the waiter brought added the missing touch.
77. Iskender Kebab. He described it as «a meat plate over croutons with sauce». I wanted to get some of the bread, dip it in the sauce and eat some for myself. I chose not to, which I sort of regret. The yogurt and red sauce looked tempting.
It is A LOT of food! Neither of us finished our plates. Overall, the food was okay for me. Not memorable. This place has a casual atmosphere. Good service too besides the drinks mishap in the beginning.

After bookmarking this grill for a while, my sister and I finally checked it out. We were not impressed and there was so many positive reviews about it!
We tried the hummus to which we saw in reviews that it was the «best» hummus in the world and unfortunately it was not. I ordered the chicken shish kebab #73 and although the overall dish was ok, it just was not worth ~$ 11.50 especially for that portion size and the amount of chicken you get.
My sister got #77 Iskender Kebab and although the menu states that it’s the most flattering and popular dish, it was not appetizing to eat upon receiving the dish. The sauce reminded us a little bit of spaghetti and the diced pide bread underneath the sauce and yogurt was not good. The doner kabob that laid on top was not very flavorful.
Overall for the total price and quality of the food and portion sizes, we can get our money’s worth and appetite elsewhere.