Turkish Cellar

This place is out of business or currently closed. Labeled something «Doner» out front. We were really stoked to try it out! Wonder if it will be up and running again.

Hubby: Where is this place?
Me: *frowns*
Hubby: Found it! Looks like you have to go through a market/​deli to get to the restaurant
Me: *stomach starts to feel funny*
Hubby: Hey look there is only one guy cooking!
Me: *beginning of panic sets in*
Hubby: Looks like we’re the only people around here!
Me: *loses it*
That pretty much sums up my reaction when I saw that there was no one at the restaurant besides our group on a Friday night. Normally that is something to celebrate, but in NYC that means RUN! We should have taken the hint and left the restaurant but decided to stay because the place has a super cute outdoor patio, which is so rare in NYC.
The low rating comes solely because the food was well… terrible. We ordered a bunch of appetizers like the hummus, zucchini pancakes, falafel and the cheese pastries. Most of the appetizers were super salty, especially the hummus and cheese pastries. However, when it came to dinner the food had no salt and no taste. The okra dish and chicken stew had the same «sauce» which was a can of tomato purée. The chicken kebab had no taste and the lamb kebab was so tough my friend refused to eat it and sent it back.
Overall the food was so bad that we ended up having to eat somewhere else since most of us couldn’t eat the main course.
I can’t complain about the service, which was very good. Our waitress was excellent and the waiter who recommended the wine has a great choice.
Great space and great service can’t make up for bad food. So my suggestion, save your money, there are too many other good Turkish places in NYC!

Charming little place. Had picked up lunch here a couple of times before realizing that they have an upstairs outdoor terrace. They don’t promote it much, so you can easily overlook it. But lovely spot on a nice day, good wines, and great food. Very authentic Turkish food — and inexpensive. A find in an area without much variety. And the staff is very accommodating and helpful. Will be back.

This place took us by surprise. Its tucked away on the second floor of a deli and even has an outdoor patio. It’s a great place to sample Turkish wines as Turkish tunes play in the background. We enjoyed very tasty appetizers like zucchini pancakes and super fresh shepards salad and eggplant salad. We cant wait to return to try the entres and relax with more wine, beer, and music. On the way out, pick up some turkish spices, snacks, and sweets in the first floor deli to tide you over until the next visit.