Cigkoftem

The placed is closed!

Love it! Maybe not for eating every day, but i crave it if i don’t eat for sometime.

This place no longer exists.

Cigkoftem… wow! I wish I could take you home with me.
I got lured in with a free sample, and I am definitely a convert.
This is fresh, healthy Turkish vegetarian food. Packed full of flavor, each bulgar wheat patty has over a dozen herbs folded in. The patties remind me of vegan chorizo in consistency and flavor — only a bit spicier.
The patties aren’t fried or cooked again, but that’s ok, because of how they’re served. You can eat the them a few ways; one way is sort of like a falafel with lavosh (flat bread), and the other in the way you’d eat Vietnamese pancake: rolled in a piece of lettuce. Either way, just add a bunch of fresh herbs, some lemon and pomegranate reduction sauce for maximum enjoyment.
A portion is enough for two meals for me, and at just $ 6, that’s an unbeatable price. A portion consists of:
10 Cigkofte (vegetarian patties)
2 pieces of lavosh
1 garden veggies plate (lettuce, herbs, and a half lemon)
1 package of sauce
Cigkoftem, if you’re listening… please open a store in San Francisco!

It has ‘Free Samples’ written all over.
It was our good food karma that we accidentally stumbled upon this is an unusual eatery on our way to cienefeuge in the neighborhood.
They serve these amazing vegan falafal like (raw, not cooked) patty type of items which are full of flavors. They serve it with salad and wraps. A full meal.
The owner was quite nice and he invited my husband and me to sample one piece each for free. The mixture in form of patty is wrapped in a lettuce leaf to form a wrap.
They have two versions, mild and spicy, and the spicy is seriously spicy yet very flavorful.
The name Cigkoftem is a serious tongue twister and comes from Turkish language.
We’ll go back in case we are in the neighborhood.

When a shop says free samples, I’m there. I came in here last night for a post dinner-​dinner (one sometimes isn’t always enough…) Very pleasantly surprised by the friendly and welcoming staff. I tried the spicy version of the vegetarian «watchamacallit» they sell. I’m not really sure what you would call it actually. It’s some king of smooshed up nut mixture. Not sure. It’s probably healthy… but either way it was quite yummy… and healthy feeling. The only thing they’re lacking is some nutrition information!
** Actually, as an addendum to this review, I just found the nutrition information! The mixture is made out of Bulgur, tomato paste, oil, salt, and red pepper. It has 205 calories per 100 grams.

Just like how they do it in Turkey!
Nice to have this option in NYC. I ordered the 20 spicy pack home delivery. Weirdest thing, I got a call 15min. later, to be prepared to come downstairs and meet them since they deliver by car and they can’t park it. Only in NYC!
It tasted great as usual. A piece of lettuce, a bit of fresh mint as a base, gently place the cigkofte inside, few drops of the pomegranate sauce on top. Voila! your Turkish veggie roll is ready.

Hmmmm… maybe when they first opened it was better? I really wanted to like this place!
–The young lady working was completely unhelpful when I asked about the difference in the two different types of cigkoftem. She just said one’s spicy and the other’s not. Thanks.
–The place itself is sort of depressing even though it is takeout, I hated spending the ten minutes in there. Play some music or something!
–Everything is wrapped in plastic wrap! Yuck! So toxic.
–The lemons were all dried out from sitting there.
–The food itself was just ok. I ordered the big plate and it came with two wraps (was supposed to be 4), a bunch of lettuce, half a dried out lemon, some parsley, iceberg lettuce, and 20 of the handformed cigs. The cigs were interesting. I liked the spicy ones. But I like anything spicy. It was like eating an uncooked veggie burger sort of.
–It is cheap and filling I suppose.
I’d much rather get a falafel or something next time.

Meh.
1. Their prices went up. The big plate is now $ 12 and the medium is $ 9.50.
2. Not a great vegetarian option. Yeah, it’s not meat, but the only vegetable you get if you order a «plate» is nutritionally empty iceberg lettuce. If people love the flavor, great, but let’s not pretend that this is somehow a healthful meal.
3. Even the mild thing is pretty spicy; ask for a sample if in doubt about which option to take (you can get some spicy and some mild).
All in all, I recommend people ask for a sample if they haven’t eaten here before. I found this to be an acceptable, but unremarkable meal, and won’t come back.

I am no vegan and was a little skeptical of this shop’s foreign website, but when I went in there with my friend (vegan), I received a free sample and I was pleasantly surprised. Their product is great, full of flavor! Very natural and healthy I could definitely enjoy one of their wraps. Prices are great and the man preparing everything was very insightful and knew much about the product. Will return!

After months of walking by and trying to figure out what exactly was a Cigkoftem, I finally decided to go inside the store for a taste. My boyfriend and I tried both the mild and the spicy in both wrap and burger form.
Even though we generally like our food on the hotter side, we actually both preferred the mild cigkofte to the spicy one. My boyfriend, who ordered the wrap, felt that the spice kofte, dressed with copious amounts of parsley and mint, was a bit too herbal. I on the other hand, was happy with the flavor and texture of my mild burger.
Overall, my only complaint is that I got a slight stomach ache after eating the cigkofte. Personally, I think it’s just that my finicky stomach is not used to digesting the cracked wheat. I think I’ll definitely give it another try though.
Yuhe’s Suggestions:
— If you’re not a fan of the cold kofte, order a platter and take it home to make veggie burgers! The kofte has the perfect consistency for a fresh, moist burger.
— If you don’t want a messy meal, tell them to go easy on the sour pomegranate syrup.

Confession: I have gone here the past two days in a row. And I live all the way across town.
I bought the packet of 20 both times (half spicy, half mild), took the kit home, and assembled several delightful lettuce wraps for the bf and me. The spices are delicious, and the lettuce wraps are a nice healthy alternative to all the other takeout crap out there. While there are a few bar stools, the place is tiny and best considered a takeout place.
I love turkish food and have been to most of the turkish restaurants in the city, but haven’t had cigkofte since I was in Turkey. Cigkoftem is such a unique find… if only they would open an outpost closer to me!

fresh! flavorful! healthy! a delicacy! simply wow, are some initial words that describe my experience at Cigkoftem (pronounced Chee-​Kofté).
i’ll let the professionals tell you all the ingredients, when you go there for a bite. if you were walking past the store window and saw a wrap being made fresh, you’d think it was meat, but it’s not, it’s vegetable goodness… and im not even a vegetarian. lol. you can choose to wrap in lettuce (of you’re carb counting) or you can get it in a flour wrap. it comes in reg, med or hot (spicy), I like my cigkoftem hot.
I had a great time and can’t wait to go back! thank you for opening one up in NYC!

When I think back on the years I didn’t eat meat, I think of places like Cigkoftem which I had for the first time in Amsterdam, and anytime I was over seas I would hunt down… wait?! They have a Cigkoftem here!
* off and running *
Oh yes they do, and it’s just as good as I wanted it to be (and remembered)!
Cigkoftem are these special little balls of tomato and bulgur-​wheat mixture with lots of yummy tasting spices added in, almost looking like uncooked falafel. But oh how it’s better. For about $ 5 (yup under $ 10) I got the 10-​piece platter. Which came with 10 spicy (or regular if you want, but trust go spicy) balls, iceberg lettuce, two pieces of flat bread, lemon wedges, parsley and mint leaves and a little cup of sauce.
Now you can assemble your little ‘wraps’ however you wish, with whatever you wish from the given platter, but let me tell you how you should do it. It’s the simplest way too.
Cikoftem on some lettuce with some lemon squeezed on top, then roll it up and shove it in your mouth! It is the ultimate grandfather of all lettuce wraps, and an amazing vegetarian option on the cheap.

YES! I’ve been craving cig kofte ever since trying it in Turkey once, a year ago. While the red sonja at Mundo came close to what I had, it’s kind of a splurge ($ 8 for 4 pieces or something). And call me a philistine, but I prefer eating it with iceberg lettuce. Also, I don’t know what the word «philistine» means.
Anyway, $ 6 at Cigkoftem bought me more food than I could finish. Came with iceberg and flatbread and omg the mint was a nice touch, too. By the time I got there they were out of everything but the spicy, which was, I’m ashamed to say, too spicy for me! So, heads up!
I wish there had been more seating, because it’s not exactly the best grab-​n-​go food, unless you get the wrap which I think I’ll try tonight.

You know those mornings that are more like afternoons, when you are not only starving but when you open the fridge and see nothing but empty take out containers. Well I once again found myself in this land of starvation. So I was kinda forced into the closet place I could find, and even though I would normally walk straight past something this flashy and bright… I stopped in.
I got the $ 5 thing plate. which had 10 pieces of their vegetarian mixture, lettuce and few other things. I spent the time there slowly construcing the rolls of the vegitarian mixture in lettuce leaves and carfully added the herbs… And I have to say, it was nice, and even though I dont have any compaints about the food, I have to mention the only thing that was weird, was the density of main ingrediant… But… maybe that is just a psycologiocal thing, hunrgy and tired… But I would defiantly try it again.
And a few days past since I went there and I mentioned Cigkoftem to a Turkish friend, she went crazy «OMG!!! what!!! really!!! where!!!» so I guess this place is the place to go to when your in Turkey…

I was so happy to stumble upon this place! I had just come from dinner so I didn’t order a sandwich, but there was a big sign advertising «free samples» so I stopped in for one. Turns out, the restaurant had just opened 2 weeks previously.
I had never heard of cigkoftem and it looked pretty boring so I was skeptical but who turns down free samples? The sample came wrapped in a piece of lettuce with the option of getting spicy sauce. I was still skeptical after the first bite, but after finishing off the sample a few bites later, I decided that I liked it very much. The texture is very different from what I’m used to in a sandwich filling (it resembles a moist, uncooked veggie burger, although not unappealing as that description suggests) but I really enjoyed it. The spices were very good and I believe it would make for a great quick, healthy snack instead of the usual falafel.
I will definitely be back!

I was there and its amazing, nothing different in turkey or in new york, You should try the tasty yummy Food, My suggestion is wrap,

I too have been watching this place and they finally opened so thought I’d give it try. It was really tasty and healthy too! I will most likely become a frequent customer to Cigkoftem often, since it is on my way home, delish and wraps are easy to eat on the go!

I’ve been watching this space for a few weeks and they just opened today; Cigköftem is a Turkish chain that makes hand-​shaped felafel-​type nuggets; they have 130 branches all over Europe and Turkey, they say. From their brochure: «Cigköftem is a vegetarian food containing cracked wheat, tomato or pepper paste, chili pepper and 18 types of spices.» [Allergen alert: wheat and vegetables from the nightshade family.]
I got the wrap to go; they gave me 10 nuggets mixed (both mild and spicy ones,) parsley, mint sprigs, half a lemon, a wedge of iceberg lettuce, a little container of tamarind sauce, and two flour tortillas. You can share this! They have a $ 3 sandwich and a burger as well. (The spicy ones will clear your sinuses.)
I’ve been wanting for years to start a blog called «The $ 5 Lunch» but have been seeing my options vanish daily as inflation pushes prices up. (This is probably a good thing; deflation, I’m told, is scarier.) Cigköftem would still make it on there, with room to spare.