Zeytin

I’ve been here on and off for the last three years. Zeytin maintains same friendly, ambiance. summer days are awesome, all windows are open Sunshine pouring through, during the winter days restaurant is cozy and warn. you definetly need to try the grilled octupus and the Hummuss. I will def. come back and recommend to a friend!

Gone. Done. Closed. Too bad.

The Lamb shank was incredible! Those you you that enjoy large portions and quality food will appreciate the Islim Kebabi as much as I did. The servers continuously brought over bread to accompany our Frisbee of hummus. The inside was very comfortable but lacked any Turkish feel. Instead it boasted a contemporary NYC bar with flat screen TV’s and mirrors that lined the back wall. If all you want to do is experience great Turkish food then this is the place, but if your looking for the whole package keep searching.

Sadly closed. They really had some good stuff here you couldn’t find anywhere else.
My post-​mordem for reasons why they couldn’t make it long-​term:
The service wasn’t great
Hard to compete with Kefi a half-​block away
Price point was a bit higher than most other Turkish places in NY

Best kofte I have ever had! The bread and olives were just as delicious. Baklava for dessert was a great ending. The bar has a great selection. The interior is classy.

2.5 stars
I wish I liked Zeytin more. It’s got so much going for it: attractive, woody interior; french windows that open onto the street; good location on the UWS; and some very tasty food. I’ve been here a number of times; at night, it’s almost glamorous. And yet…
Before I devolve into a puddle of disappointment, let’s review what’s good:
* crispy phyllo cigars (a full star of my rating is given for what is, essentially, fried cheese)
* mixed appetizer plate (nice but not exciting stuffed grape leaves plus a bunch of dips make the perfect cocktail accompaniment)
* the fresh, foccacia-​like bread. Go ahead, ask for more!
But the service is always vague. Sometimes the servers just disappear, and your water glass is only occasionally refilled. That’s too bad, because on my last visit, it was a challenge to place a drink order. First there was no Efes. Then there was no Sam Adams. Then she just admitted that there was no beer of any kind. She seems relieved when we just settled for water. But then there was hardly any water.
The hummus is kind of thin. I know, I know, this is a matter of personal preference, but it’s not very flavorful, either. This stuff has got to have SOMETHING going for it.
We also had a mediterranean salad with chicken. The chicken is thin but not dry at all. It had been marinated in something yummy because it was quite good, and the feta sprinkled over the whole thing was great. The salad was salad.
So you see why I’m conflicted. I guess the ideal visit here would involve a bite of bread with a couple of dips, a cheese cigar, any liquid they’re willing to dispense, and a hasty retreat.

I’ve joined Unilocal for the sake of reviewing Zeytin… I hope I can save a few fellow diners from a similarly dismal meal! Zeytin was so bad that my friends and I laugh about it now.
We went to Zeytin after walking around the Upper East Side for a bit after finding our original dinner destination closed for a private party. One of the people in our party speaks Turkish, having spent some of her childhood there. We were happy to try a new place despite it being nearly empty, and my friend soon struck up a conversation in Turkish with the waitress. We had a hard time picking our appetizers and entrees from the menu — everything sounded amazing! I asked the waitress if I should try the kasseri cheese kofte or the lamb doner. She told me to get the chicken, as she’d had neither in her two days on the job. We ended up sharing the mixed appetizer plate and the manti. Friend 1 had the steamed mussels and fried calamari, and asked for the pinot grigio. Friend 2 had the Chicken Shish and a red. I ended up going with the kofte. Unfortunately, the only redeeming part of the meal was the manti, which was nicely prepared and very delicious. Everything else was extremely bland. The mixed appetizer we shared was tiny, albeit nicely plated, and not nearly worth the $ 16 price tag. Friend 1’s mussels and calamari were «the worst he’d ever had,» and his dirty knife took quite a while to be replaced. Friend 2’s chicken was very dry, and the accompanying veggies and rice were underwhelming. My ground meat kofte had fairly large bone shards in it. When our waitress came to ask how things were, we politely told her that our meal was dissatisfactory. She apologized and said she was «just a waitress, and there was nothing she could do.» There was no management around. We opted not to have dessert and asked for our bill.
The bill, which took a while to get to our table, was remarkably high. Friend 1 noticed that he was charged for the $ 12/​glass sauvignon blanc (Villa Maria) instead of the $ 8/​glass pinot grigio he’d requested. It came to roughly $ 40/​person after 2 appetizers, entrees, and drinks. After complaining the the waitress about the incorrect wine, she again said she was «just a waitress» and that she could not correct it. She told Friend 1 to deduct the extra charge from her tip. So we did. Considering the far from tasty food, poor service, and rather poor attitude from the waitress, we tipped her 10%, or $ 12. Subtract $ 8 for the incorrectly charged wine and that’s a sad $ 4. Too bad, live and learn, right? Wrong. She runs out of the restaurant after us, yelling that «I am not your slave, and my service was fine. Never come back here!» She proceeded to chase us with our receipts and pens as if we were going to change our tip after a scene on the street. It was a comically bad dinner, but a great story. I’d actually have come back for manti (to go, of course), but I’ve been asked not to by this fine establishment.

After walking into Zeytin randomly, we figure we’ll try the brunch on a late Sunday afternoon. With the amount of time it took to even take our orders (around half an hour), we probably should’ve taken this bad vibe as a sign to leave.
Unfortunately, we stayed. Food was nothing special. We ordered two appertizers which didn’t come till we were almost done with our meals. After the long wait, we just ended up cancelling one of them. Also there was a mixup with one of our orders due to the lack of description for the food in the menu.
I can’t believe how bad the service was. This restaurant was pretty empty too with a lot of waitors working. I don’t see how service can be THAT BAD!!! Even the bill took a long time. We were then charged with an 18% gratuity. Outrageous. I probably would’ve left 2%. With the inattentiveness from the waitors, we probably could’ve walked out and they wouldn’t even notice til later.

We went to Zeytin mid afternoon on a Friday. The service was pretty inattentive and they seemed to be out of everything. Not the best start. I will say, however, that they kindly accommodated two large strollers (but then again, there were few other people in the restaurant).
We got an assortment of appetizers, including the hummus, and it was all very good. I thought the falafel were particularly well cooked and the zucchini pancakes were so-​so with a little too much dill for my liking. I also really like their style of pita. But, again, the service was terrible and they were out of many dishes so it gets 3 stars…, perhaps even 2.5.

Came here for a late dinner with some friends. We split an appetizer sampler at the table, which was mysteriously expensive for how little we got. The calamari appetizer was half as expensive and was much more food. It was also weird that it didn’t come with any pita for dipping, considering that part of the sampler was hummus and babaganoush.
I had the red snapper in parchment paper, which would have been too little to eat if it hadn’t come with some rice. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice the rice until after I had finished the fish… The fish was really good, but I guess I like anything with enough tomato flavor.
The teas are just tea bags, and they brought chamomile instead of the mint all 3 people ordered. We had some pistachio ice cream, milk pudding and rice pudding for dessert, all of which were fine, but overpriced.
In general, decent food but slightly overpriced, and service that was just a bit off.

Zeytin was nothing like I expected. For starters, when we arrived at 8PM on a Sunday night, it was empty. Literally, empty. There were two guys at the bar watching the Jets finish off the Chargers, and there was not a single person dining in the entire restaurant. Our first thought was «ok, we’ll have the place to ourselves.»
Second strange thing: when I heard «Turkish food,» I was expecting rich, interesting, complex flavors. Instead, everything was surprisingly bland.
We started with grape leaves and calamari — the grape leaves were absolutely fine, but without the kind of rich flavor they can have if stuffed with flavored rice, and the fried calamari itself was also fine, but served with an unexceptional creamy sauce and with no seasoning (how about a dash of pepper? Or a little bit of salt?).
Then came the main course: I ordered the harem roll which was described as «chicken breast stuffed with rice, pistachios, peppers and currants served on a bed of sauteed spinach in a white wine sauce.» (Reading it even now, it sounds amazing). What arrived was an undersalted (again, please use salt!) chicken. I wanted the stuffing to be rich and complex tasting– in fact, I was expecting the pistachios and currants to add a kind of sweetness to the chicken. Instead it was just some bland rice keeping the inside of my chicken warm. It wasn’t bad — it was just relatively uncomplex, and not nearly as interesting tasting as it could have been. My family had the chicken shish (which was a hit) and the lamb shank (also a hit) while my husband had the doner which was definitely a miss (it was, quite literally, a pile of very dry and flavorless lamb).
I really wanted to adore this place. The waitress was so sweet, the space itself is really cool, and we’re always looking for reasonably priced restaurants on the UWS. But everything just felt really underwhelming (and underflavored). I kept comparing it to Beyoglu on the UES and this just didn’t live up to my expectations.

So I cannot comment on whether its authentic or not but all i know is they started me off with some of the most delicious bread and olive oil I can remember having EVER.
When I got my main dish the karniyarik, I was pleasantly surprised. Soft eggplant, perfectly cooked rice, well cooked meat, perfectly seasoned.
Service was inconsistent. Took them along time to get me my bill which was odd. I felt bad though only one hostess and one bus boy working the floor… has to be rough!

Tried ordering delivery from here — my first time ordering from this place. Ordered a falafel sandwich, cold appetizer sampler and baklava. Two hours later… it still had not arrived. I called three times and spoke with two different people. The guy seemed uninterested in the delay — got a half-​hearted ‘sorry’ and that was about it. Cancelled my order and the delivery guy finally showed up 30 minutes later. The food may be amazing — but I will never know.

What we pay for dinner for two here is equivalent to what it cost us to eat three meals a day for a full week in Turkey, but I guess that’s to be expected. At least the food is deliciously authentic.
Among our favorite appetizers are the zucchini and dill pancake with thick homemade yogurt, the lamb dumplings, and the grilled octopus. Top entrees are the chicken breast stuffed with rice, pistachios, currants, and peppers, served on a bed of spinach; the eggplant stuffed with ground beef, tomatoes, and onions, served with rice; and the linguini with mussels, clams, shrimp, and calamari in a fennel-​basil tomato sauce. For a very light and very refreshing dessert, try the poached apricots, topped with crème fraîche and sprinkled with chopped pistachios. The Turkish coffee is thick and very strong.
This is one place we never order wine, because either by the glass or bottle, it’s overpriced. Without cocktails or wine, expect to pay $ 100 for dinner for two.

After a walk-​around Columbia University, we were looking for something around Upper West for a good spot to eat. Getting to Zeytin actually took more work than I thought it would, although my feet may have just been shot from the walking. It was a late lunch, so there weren’t many people around, so service was attentive.
Zeytin was featuring a prix fixe lunch menu (I believe it was $ 10/​pp, although I could be mistaken by this point), which featured an appetizer, salad, and entrée. First of all, the complimentary bread was delicious, and enhanced by the amazing appetizers. We got one each of the two choices: hummus and cacik (cucumber yogurt). The hummus was absolutely delicious, and this is coming from someone who’s not the biggest fan of the stuff. The cacik likewise was tasty, although the texture was much more solid than the Greek tzatziki I’m used to.
The salad was solid. Again, there were two choices consisting of a cucumber salad and Mediterranean salad, both of which featured a mild, tangy lemon-​based dressing. If you’re not sensing a trend here, there were two entrée options. The first was a disappointing vegetarian pasta with a butter cream sauce, something I could most assuredly make at home. The second was a meat patty plate with a mixture of beef/​lamb and chicken, which was quite good.
Overall, the food was solid for a great price. I imagine if you go regular menu-​diving, you can find something that tastes even better.

I just went to Turkey on vacation and was excited to come home and find a Turkish place that could replicate all the wonderful food I had while in their beautiful country. I was truly disappointed. The food was not good. The best part was the bread and the olives.
Returning from Istanbul I realized that we deserve better than what we receive here in New York a great deal of the time. I felt bad for the staff who were nice and helpful, except for one blonde waitress who could care less about her job and should not interact with paying customers as far as I am concerned.
Do not eat here. It is a poor representation of wonderful Turkish cuisine. Better food can be had at less expensive turkish spots around the city.
The ambiance is nice and the staff pleasant so therefore I will bump them up to 2 stars

Lovely restaurant! We snagged an outdoor table on a beautiful summer evening. To start, the olive-​oil cured olives on the table were the best! They also went really well with the shepherd’s salad (chopped up cucumber, tomato, red onion, peppers with a light vinaigrette). Very nice.
I had the red snapper in parchment paper cooked with shitake mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, lemon, fresh herbs, wine, and I think some butter. It was a nice big piece of fresh, perfectly cooked fish, and all the flavors/​ingredients blended together perfectly. This dish was excellent!
Incredibly nice and attentive service, and we weren’t rushed even though we lingered for over 2 hours. The bathroom was big, nicely decorated, and clean, so I’m not sure why I saw a negative comment written about it.
I saw the grilled calamari salad go by, and it was a huge portion. I will definitely order that next time I go back!
A lovely place to dine on the UWS! :-)

The lamb dumplings were awesome. Tiny nuggets of tasty. They come in a yogurt sauce. It sounds strange if you’re used to the idea of Asian dumplings with soy sauce but it’s such a divine combination. Next time, I’m going to get a big bowl of this and pop open a bottle of wine. OK, I’ll keep going. The octopus salad is really good too. It comes with some bitter greens, spinach, and tomatoes. The octopus is grilled nicely. It’s soft but not mushy or dry. I highly recommend this dish… af. Lastly, we shared the lamb shank main dish but I wasn’t excited about it. I was kind of game-​y and really nothing special about it. It came with rice vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc). I almost forgot to mention that their bread is really good and I’m not really a bread person. The atmosphere is nice and quiet but a little too bright. At the end of our meal, I think the waiters were bored because they really wanted to take our dishes and glasses away even though we were still picking at our food. Kind of annoying. Other than the end, I had a good experience and the food was really good. I’ll be back.

my (turkish) friend took me here when i was visiting. i’ve never been to such a fancy or expensive turkish restaurant before in my life (after a week in turkey or two years’ worth of döner shops in germany).
i had the iskender, which is more food than anyone should eat one time, but it was delicious. it was sort of like they took a döner (well, more like two) and turned it into a one-​dish-​meal with heaps and heaps of meat. it took a little bit for the food to arrive, but it wasn’t unreasonably long.
while it was very delicious food with very pleasant staff (it helped to have a cute baby on hand), i’m docking a star because imho it’s a bit overpriced.
p. s. if the waitress looks at your baby and mumbles «she’s so ugly i just want to eat her» (or something to that effect) it really is a good thing. (friend had that happen to her baby and was appalled and insulted, only to find out later when she called her mom that it’s really a good thing.)

I ordered delivery on a Saturday night. I ordered online on Zeytin’s website (
), which was really fast and easy. You can either pay by credit card or cash on delivery. Delivery time was as promised by my confirmation email: approximately 30 minutes after I placed my order.
I ordered the cheese phyllo dough appetizer and also the cucumber yoghurt dill appetizer. Both were amazing.
For the main course, I ordered the salmon, which I requested well done. It arrived in a lovely three-​sectioned take-​out dish, and the rice and accompanying spinach were great. The salmon too was lovely and a very generous piece. My one complaint is that it arrived more medium-​rare than well-​done. Hence they have lost one star.
But I would definitely order from them again, perhaps I would call to ensure that instructions regarding «done-​ness» are properly communicated.