Beyoglu

Very good Food, great price albeit below par and slow service and heavy noise. Still definitely recommend dropping by.

Had not been back here for many years, but met up with friends for dinner here recently. Even on a week night they were busy & pretty full. Service is good. Food is pretty good too. We had the small cold mezze plate to share & 3 different entrees to share. Chicken shish, Lamb chops & Adana kebab. Everything was good.

Extremely noisy if you want to have a conversation not the place to go if you want good value and decent food it’s a very good place to go

A guaranteed spot to get quality food in a energetic atmosphere. They have lovely outdoor seating and an upstairs area that accommodates larger groups. Everything was delish– I highly recommend the falafel and feta cigars as starters.

Manager doesn’t honor reservations, rude, obnoxious. Don’t bother going. Reservation for five means a table for four where they expect two people to share a seat and squeeze a plate in by the bathroom. Food is then thrown at you lukewarm. Place has gone downhill.

The food is delicious. The service depends on the waiter you get, some are very good but others not so much! Really enjoy the meze appetizer platter, it’s a variety of dips including hummus, couscous, eggplant, yogurt and others, served with Turkish bread. We also had the shepherd salad and fried calamari. The doner kebab, a favorite of mine, is only served on the dinner menu, so I rarely eat lunch here! The baklava is a must but usually don’t have room, so I take it to go and enjoy it later. Good value in nice surroundings. Should make reservations because this place can get very busy!

We took a trip from Boston to NYC for the long Memorial Day weekend, and it was the best decision ever. On Saturday we visited the Met then left to grab some lunch.
It was 90 degrees so we went to the first place we saw, which turned out to have a very tourist trap vibe, and so we escaped to find a better venue. Trusty Unilocal led us to Beyoglu, an absolute gem of a restaurant, where we dined on fantastically fresh and scrumptious Turish faire!
Just the tabletop tiling alone made for a great dining experience, but Beyoglu really hit it out of the park when it came to the dishes and helpful, patient service.
This is probably the best dolma I’ve ever had — super fresh grape leaves wrapped around amazingly spiced rice. I wish I could have this every day!
Here’s another plate I could nosh on indefinitely — the crisp Shepard Salad, with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and peppers, and lemon vinaigrette. This is such a refreshing and healthy treat after walking all day in the blistering heat!
Unilocal told us to order this Mezze Platter, and we were glad we listened. With freshly-​made hummus, spinach and onions, baba ganoush and other great dipping selections, we were happy campers by the end of the meal. The bread is large and fluffy, and I got gluten free falafels to soak up the spiced goodness! This meal gave us the fuel to adventure through Central Park and lasted us through dinner in the Village that night. Life saving I say!

First visit so did the Turkish tapas thing… as it appeared many did. Couple next to us had about12 dishes on their table. Shared large fresh salad, simply dressed with vinaigrette. Then shared large cold appetizers platter. Spinach was especially good. Finished with baklava and rice pudding. If you like Greek food, you’ll love this. I found the flavors familiar but a little more subtle. (Hummus has just a hint of garlic.) Service excellent. Hope to be back soon to try some entrees.

I was surprised at how great this place is! It’s a lot larger than I thought and has a second floor and outdoor seating area. I went on a Monday night and the place was very crowded by around 8, so definitely make a reservation if you go on a busier night/​weekend. Got the meze platter and salmon to share between two people — we were both full when we left and took some home. The meze platter was the best I’ve had and everything included in it was amazing — definitely get it if you come here. The salmon was solid but slightly overdone at medium so try medium rare. The atmosphere is great for a one-​on-​one dinner or a small group. Very pretty restaurant and a great experience!

Was craving Mediterranean food on a Saturday night and brought my friend whose mother makes fantastic food having grown up in Israel. I wanted to see if this place was the real deal and would stand up to expectations. We ordered the grape leaves, baba ghanoush equivalent, hummus, and a chicken and rice dish to split.
Definitely surpassed my expectations and my friend was very pleased with the quality and authenticity of the food, which I was surprised about. The prices were very reasonable and I loved that we were able to try so many dishes a la tapas style.
Knocked one star off for the service– we were told between a 20 – 30 minute wait so we sat outside and waited. After 30 minutes I went back in and it definitely seemed as though they forgot to put us down or gave our table away to other people. They told us it would be another 15 – 20 minute wait and said we were after another couple (who most definitely just walked in and put their name down just before I went to check up on our table).
Other than that, I would definitely stop by for the food if I’m ever in the area and willing to wait. The quality of the food and reasonable prices made it worth the wait/​service.

LOVED my visit to Beyoglu last weekend. 45 minute to 1 hour wait on a weekend, but it was worth it. Food was outstanding. Prices made it even better. 5 of us went and ordered mass amounts of food and basically treated it like tapas.
Some things you need to try: The shepherd salad. It’s a tasty way to get some veggies in when the majority of the rest of your meal will probably be proteins and starches. The Sigara Borek, which is filo dough stuffed with feta. Just a delicious appetizer to snack on when you’re waiting for your entrees. Like the greek version of a taquito. The meze sampler, rather than just ordering the hummus, as it has many great flavors to dip their bread into. The Kilic Sis, which is the grilled swordfish kabob. This is very popular item and it’s obvious why when you try it. The fish is meaty and has a lot of flavor with the lemon over top. And finally, if they have a special involving ground lamb, eggplant, and cheese, order it. This was the favorite of our group. I can’t recall the name, but it’s basically like a lamb and eggplant lasagna and it’s outstanding.
The only reason I’m going with 4-​stars instead of 5 is because of the bar situation. The wine menu wasn’t bad. We shared a bottle and the price was good. The issue was the rest of the bar. The only offer two beers: Stella and a foreign beer, possibly from Turkey. There is no cocktail menu, so I hesitantly ordered a gin and tonic. I’m pretty sure my $ 9 drink cost more than the entire crappy bottle of gin that was used to create it. I would recommend the wine, but you’ll be disappointed with the price and possibly the quality.
Such a great place to try something new at. I highly recommend it. Just wish the bar menu was better.

I tried out Beyoglu while catching up with a friend.
It was busy but a nice ambience — the tables weren’t too close together like they are at a lot of restaurants in NYC.
I ordered the Beyoglu salad — like a Greek salad with chicken on it. It was good and very fresh but took a really long time to come out for some reason.
My friend and I shared the Vegetarian Platter of mezzes. I’d say that was the highlight of the meal. The dips were all delicious — but especially the tatziki! We cleaned the plate and the table next to us asked what it was so they could order it.
I’d go back here as long as I have time for the wait. The food was nice, atmosphere good, and it is convenient to the 6 train.

Had lunch with friends at Beyoglu yesterday… here are my thoughts:
Ambiance is livelier than I’d expected. The restaurant is well-​lit and welcoming. It was busy for a Saturday at 1pm so I suggest making a reservation.
Service is top notch. Our server was super friendly and accommodating. We were super impressed.
Food was good for the most part.
– Sigara Borek — I didn’t try this but it received great reviews.
– Patlican Domates Soslu — Excellent, and I usually don’t like eggplant.
– Cacik — I didn’t try this (lactose intolerant) but it was also well-​received.
– Tavuk Izgara — My husband really enjoyed this. I don’t eat chicken but can say the rice and cabbage accompaniments were delicious.
– Branzino — This was just okay, especially for $ 21. I’ve had far better Branzino at a number of Turkish restaurants but this one was a bit dry and had lots of little bones. I don’t think I’d order it again.
– Doner Kabob — I didn’t try this but it look delicious.
Overall Beyoglu doesn’t hold a candle to Limani or the various Turkish restaurants I’ve been to in London (somehow I can’t find a comparable place here in the USA). But the service was so fantastic that we’ll likely return to try other items on the menu.

This Turkish UES café is cozy, approachable and affordable.
Perfect for dinner if you live in the neighborhood and perfect for a group of friends/​strangers/​new friends.
I went with some friends that I have met recently.
We ordered: large meze platter, fried calamari, tamara (cod liver roe), falafels, crab cakes, Ahtapot Salatasi (charred octopus), grilled lamb with rice and tomatoes, and grilled branzino.
We had a great time!
We talked and laughed loudly (perhaps too loud for the crowd).
We ate and ate and ate.
Everyone left stuffed (and spent $ 25 – 30 per person).
The best dishes were the meze platter, the charred octopus and the grilled branzino!
Meze platter came with earthy creamy baba ghanoush, silky hummus and garlicy-​lemony yogurt. So good.
They also gave us a kisir (cracked wheat bulgar salad), sauteed spinach and chopped tomatoes. These were ok.
The charred octopus was tender and perfectly cooked. I wish we had ordered 2 plates of this.
The grilled branzino was tender and flakey and so flavorful. Perfectly seasoned, the fish just fell apart under your fork.
Definitely do not order the grilled lamb. Very dry and slightly fatty. It was almost inedible except for the tamara that we slathered on it.
The tamara was pretty good but slightly salty. For $ 6 you could get cod liver roe with mayo as a sauce.
When we come back, I would order lots of mezes and one entrée. We could not finish the grilled lamb.
As for the waitresses– we didn’t see ours much but she wasn’t horribly rude or off putting. She just appeared like she didn’t want to be there.
Oh well, she didn’t rain on our parade.
We had a great time!

Your classic Mediterranean restaurant with everything you like about your neighborhood halal guy plus everything you want to share with your friends like hummus and babaganoosh.
Turkish is always a great bet if you want to share among your group and try a wide array of items. Dolmas and cigarro borek are always must haves, but you won’t go wrong with anything on their menu.

The way to go is to split a bunch of small plates so that you can sample things, because honestly plates are a hit or a miss. The first time I came with my boyfriend, and we each ordered a main entrée – he the chicken and I the lamb kebob. He took the chicken home and had to smother it in BBQ sauce to finish eating, while I heartily enjoyed my rice that came with the dish, but none of the vegetables. The table pita bread was hard.
The second time I came, I brought a friend for lunch, and we sampled the Turkish wines (very mediocre) and a few hot and cold appetizers. The vegetarian mezze plate was probably our favorite, as it had a few sides we enjoyed such as the hummus, eggplant dish, and peppers, and we were able to leave the ones we didn’t, like the yogurt dip. We also ordered the octopus (very good), and the little feta cheese dough (forgot what they’re called. but very mediocre as well). Overall, a fun experience, but again, hit or miss food.
Service was a bit strange both times… can’t really put my finger on it. For some reason this place seems to get very crowded at night, so I recommend a reservation especially for large groups.

Great sizes portions, and all the right spices. Stopped in with family and we were all super pleased. I had the gyro platter with yogurt and it came with this brown sauce on top that I couldn’t get enough of. Portion size was also very good and a nice side of peppers and tomato, too.
My uncle had the shrimp with cheese and I wasn’t sure he would enjoy it but he really did. Great sign for someone who is often a picky eater. My mom and husband both had the doner kebab which was probably a bit healthier than my sauce and yogurt covered dish, but seasoned just as well and didn’t need much sauce.
The bread they serve is pretty amazing but I was disappointed by the small portion they gave for 4 of us. We also wanted to dip something in it so they gave us some extra yogurt which was nice, though could have used more bread. The waiter was a hoot and I appreciated his great service.
I would love to come back if I find myself back in the UES, especially because I was drooling over the many yummy looking mezze items they have.

Great place for a casual dinner with friends. Prices were great, wine was good, and the meze platter was delicious. The Greek salad was standard, but it’s difficult to find a Greek salad that is spectacular. Overall, the food was tasty and my friends and I had a great time coming here. We will be back!

Although this was a carry-​out order on a Saturday night, it was ready within 15 minutes! Not sure about the other reviews but maybe they listened because it was fast!
We ordered a Greek salad, Sigara Borek (feta cheese inside filo dough in little cigar shapes), Hummus, Cacik (cucumber yogurt), Tavuk Izgara (chicken breast & rice), & Iskender Kebab (lamb & beef thinly sliced-​like gyro with tomato sauce and yogurt on top).
The food was amazing, enough for 3 the first night and leftovers for 2 the second night. The negatives were the bread that came with the hummus and Cacik were like loaves of bread, not pita. Speaking of pita, we were supposed to get pita with our Iskender, but didn’t. No big deal for us. Just change the bread, please!
The positives FAR out-​weighed the negatives! The flavor was excellent, the hummus and Cacik we ended up finishing standing at the counter with a spoon because we couldn’t waste a single bite! I’ve had a different version of a Greek salad in Greek restaurants, and at first felt let down, but this was a Turkish restaurant and their vision is different.
We will all go back and dine inside too! But, this first experience was a winner overall!

3.5 stars actually, well priced turkish/​medi food, good enough to share.
Good service, ambience, upstair seating blah blah, now to the food.
The best bites are here are by far the mezze to share, but not all are equal.
#Patlican Domates Soslu lightly pan-​fried cubes of eggplant topped with sauteed fresh tomato — !! this is the best dish of the night, its too bad we started with it.
#The dip sampler — hummus, taziki, babganous, etc which comes with unlimited turkish bread, a solid sampler that comes in small and large.
#Octopus — a bit disappointed, it was extremely tender and melted like butter, BUT, huge but, the outside did not have the crispy char I’m always looking for.
#Sucuk Izgara cumin and garlic spiced cured beef — second best dish of the night — well seasoned strips of ground beef made into slices. Great balance of cumin and garlic spices that was not too overpowering to the palate. Tastes kinda like really good kielbasa but drier, in a good way.
#Fried Calamari — standard, nothing special.
#Swordfish kabab — this is the second time i’ve gotten swordfish and the second time i’ve been disappointed, maybe its the fish and not the way it was prepared? Just a bit dry for me, tastes like chicken breast.
OVERALL: hit or miss dishes, well priced.