A La Turka

Everyone here is super freindly, gives you a feel of a family owned warm goodness.
The food is awesom, and the Turkish tea is my favorite thing ever…
I have yet to find better lentil soup in Manhattan as a whole. been there a gazillion time and I’ll keep coming… keep up the great everything.

If you’re Turkish and have had proper Turkish food before, this is not the place for you. There are several places through out the city that aren’t as crowded that you could go eat in. We literally got placed all the way in the back. Ordered the appetizer sample; the babaganoush was a hit, the eggplant with sauce was a miss. Hummus was alright, Acili ezme (finely chopped peppers, tomato, etc) was really good… ALSO I don’t consider «cacik» (cucumber and yogurt) an appetizer, unless you’re a Greek restaurant (their appetizers selections are more limited then ours), sorry. We ordered the mixed grill plate as our dinner, Def a no-​go, I didn’t enjoy it at all… Everything was overly bland and under-​seasoned. We then got dessert… The service was nice, they come and show you on a huge tray what you could pick out — We got the sutlac (rice pudding with a caramelized top) and the Kunefe (I can’t translate this properly), Sutlac was frozen, kunefe was overly sweet. All the servers were extremely nice, only plus side of our evening. Don’t think We’ll be going back!

My brother is visiting me from Turkey. To have a nice Turkish night, I took him to Alaturka where I found through Unilocal.
The staff was super welcoming and friendly.
We ordered Turkish pide with ground lamb and Lahmacun which is called Turkish pizza. God damn! I gotta say that they rock at pide section. We left the table full and with a huge smile.
I should compliment the guy who makes these amazing pides.

Attractive authentic spot. We loved the smoky eggplant salad, fresh chopped salad a la Turka, beautifully grilled calamari, juicy chopped chicken kabob and lamb meatballs. Friendly and helpful staff.

Had a very good meal here w the fam– it’s big spacious restaurant. Got the stuffed chicken which was simply Delicious. Very well seasoned and prepared. The falafel was ok too.

I came with my wife for late lunch /​early dinner.
We ordered the mixed mezza which was great. Then we had lamb chop and kebab which were great.
Service was very good and the place was crowded so it’s recommended that u book beforehand.

Was pressed for time and the waiter did an amazing job at making sure the food came out quickly and we were in and out of the restaurant in under 30mins, which was amazing given how crowded the place was. The lamb kebab was delicious but was not a fun and the zucchini fritters appetizer. Also, their bread is really good. Just wish it came with better sauces on the side.

Had lunch with friends at A La Turka yesterday… here are my thoughts:
Ambiance: The restaurant was very quiet at 1:30 pm. The only other party was a party of one. Things picked up a bit around 3pm though, which made things a little less awkward.
Service: Excellent, which is why this restaurant gets 3 stars. Our server was very friendly and accommodating.
Food: Very average.
– Trout was full of bones, despite the waiter assuring me it was boneless. It wasn’t too flavorful and I had to add lots of salt to it, and the accompanying vegetables. I don’t recommend this dish at all.
– Husband and daughter had the chicken shish. They commented the meat quality was a bit suspect but that there was good flavor.
– Complimentary bread was dry and stale.
Overall: For the prices I would expect far better food quality. We won’t be returning.

What a horrible experience. I work very hard for a living at serving people everyday. I strive to make my clients experience the best. When I go to a restaurant I expect to get a good experience. The owner of the restaurant is greedy and wants to maximize the covers for the night and squeezed us in the remote corner where it was difficult for our party of 8 to sit. The waiters also could not come in the back easily. We were getting a draft from the cracked glass the entire time and had a view of the garbage piled behind the restaurant. I felt as if I was in a claustrophobic Turkish prison the entire time. The owner is s greedy anxiety prone lunatic with little to none customer service skills. In the end we were forced to pay under protest $ 500 for the worst dining experience. It was probably against the fire code as well because we were trapped the entire time.
We were told that we should not make a reservation through open table if we want good seating. This was not up to any civilized dining standards. The odd thing was that we made reservations a week ahead of our anniversary dinner which was ruined by the owners greed. He doesn’t care about client experience. I would say that if you do make an OpenTable reservation please call ahead and make sure they are not going to give you the Turkish prison experience.

The service was friendly and pretty good. That is about the only positive I can write.
The food was barely average. For Turkish food it was bland. The Manti («dumplings») tasted horrible. Or to be more precise, had virtually no flavor except for the yucky sauce. It tasted as if it came from a can, except it had no flavor. Myself and the other person in our party that was at the other end of the table both sent it back. (I can count on one hand the number of times I have sent food back) The mixed grill I got was good, but relatively bland compared to other Turkish places I have gone to.

BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD
After visiting the restaurant for the 5^th time during my visit. .TODAY I can its the worst service ever. they don’t know how to treat expats. I had a very bad experience today and the manager is not respectfulat all.
WORST WORST WORST SERVICE and attitude ever from the manager.

I enjoyed the food here overall. It wasn’t the best turkish that I’ve ever had though. This restaurant has some pretty fierce competition on the same block by other similar restaurants. If you have a large group of people, this is the one to go to.
There is some great music playing in the background and the small bar area seems like it could be fun if you’re alone.

The place has a really cozy and comfortable feel to it. It can be fancy and casual whoever you choose to dine with there.
I had the mixed grill which had a solid variety. There wasn’t much of unique taste but the serving was of good quality meats that had a great char and juice bite. The portion is certainly huge. I would have liked more of the sides – the rice and particularly the verges are a pittance when it comes to balancing out the dish. The dipping sauces for the bread (which is very good) are helpful with adding flavor.

Let’s just start with the bread they bring out after you order. Holy moly! It is an enormous piece of warm pita/​naan/​pizza dough bread with a great raita type dipping sauce.
This place seems to always be busy, which to me, is a good sign. I was uptown visiting a couple of friends and they suggested this place. I had no expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. We got a bottle of wine that was really good and snacked on the delicious bread while we waited for the shepherd salata to arrive. The large was PLENTY for 3 people to share as an appetizer. Fresh veggies and light dressing.
For the main course, I got the mixed grill kebab platter and my friends each got the stuffed chicken. Portions are large and prices are fair. Everything was cooked to our liking and we left very pleased. I’m anxious to return and jealous my friends are able to go more often!

Located along a several block run of Turkish, Burmese, Persian and other ethnic and mediterranean restaurants, A La Turk a is a warm lovely and friendly place offering delicious home cooked Turkish cuisine.
The House Pide (Turkish Pizza) with Turkish Sausage was excellent, as was the Okra, home made Manti and just about everything we ate. Indoor and outdoor seating. A big wall of windows, brick walls, chandeliers, white tablecloths make it a causal yet elegant dining experience.
I left my credit card at the restaurant, (long story as to why) and someone literally chased me for two blocks to return it and ran away refusing to take a small token of appreciation.
Been there before and I’ll certainly be back.

I would give this place four stars as long as you know what to order. For now, I’ll give it three. The salads and appetizers are all excellent, but the main courses are nothing to write home about.
We started with the Shepard Salad, which was fresh, tasty and huge. We also ordered the Humus (some of the best I’ve had not in the Middle East), which came with some excellent pita (also unusually good for the USA).
Several chicken and fish dishes were ordered for the table, and they were all fine, but nothing stood out. If I were to return as two people, I would definitely order the salad and humus again followed by a hot appetizer.

I came here with a friend on a Monday night and was pleasantly surprised by how trendy this place was. The staff here are very friendly and attentive. We were greeted by a smiling hostess and immediately shown to a cozy corner table by the window.
To start, we ordered our drinks, which came promptly. I ordered an apple martini, which tasted like straight vodka. Great bang for your buck, but the bartender clearly has no idea what they’re doing. My friend had a glass of wine.
We were given some complimentary bread with red (spicy) and white (yogurt) dipping sauces; both were okay. We ordered the cacik appetizer (yogurt dip, which was very similar to the complimentary white sauce, but thicker), my friend had the lamb kofte, and I had the yogurt lamb kebab. Everything was okay, but everything was a little boring and of one note, flavor-​wise. Towards the end of my meal, I picked up a forkful of lamb and saw a long, black hair hanging from my fork. I could’ve said something to the waiter, but I had eaten most of my food already, so I didn’t bother.
Overall, hair-​in-​the-​food aside, this is an okay place to check out if you’re in the mood for some ethnic grub in UES that isn’t Italian.

Décor is attractive, white tablecloth place. Music is something Turkish. Service was OK but there may have been a little of a language barrier. I had to repeat myself a few times while ordering. Place was quiet on a Saturday for lunch. Prices are inexpensive — same menu for lunch or dinner. Wine list had many selections under $ 30.
We started with two cold appetizers — a good humus and a so-​so braised celery. My guest had the lamb shank which was fine. I had the kofte kebab which was good as well. Side dishes were fine,
Another review recommended the rice pudding — so I gave it a try. The dish was ordinary and served ice cold. I would not order it again.
Worth a try if you are in the neighborhood.
This is a nice place but I think that Uskadar (which is down the block) has better service.

My friend recommended here because she heard Turkish diplomats used their catering and she heard someone said every food catered by them was good.
I ordered Chicken Adana Kebab. It was very flavorful. It came with grilled vegetable and salad and flavored rice. All of them were delicious. I tried Turkish white wine. That was good, too.
Wait staff was friendly and nice. They served efficiently.
It was nice they have outside seating. Unfortunately, because of construction of subway line, the sight was not good, but it is not their fault. I want to go back to try different menu.
I don’t rate 5 starts unless I go to the restaurant several times, but this restaurant has a potential.

Saw this restaurant while driving around UES for good restaurants. A La Turka looked like it had a good crowd, and my family loves Mediterranean food and decided to try it. It was such a good choice, because we thorough enjoyed our time at A La Turka! The service was amazing, and our waiter helped in explaining the different food options.
The homemade flatbread in the beginning was delicious! For our appetizers, we ordered falafel, grilled calamari, and zucchini pancakes. All of then were so flavorful – we wanted more! For the entrée, I had the fresh Turkish okra – OMG it was so good. The tomato based sauce was not salty at all and the numerous vegetables really completed the dish!
A La Turka is definitely on my list of great NYC restaurants. Looking forward to going back whenever I’m in NYC again!