Anatolian Kitchen

After hearing several of my colleagues talk about this place, I finally mustered up the will to drag myself to Palo Alto for something other than work or booze (although I did make a mental note of the wine bar right down the street, make no mistake about that, amigos). They sequestered the Sunday lunch parties on one side of the restaurant and all 10 small tables were occupied by the time we left. They have a pretty extensive menu that include items that are marked vegetarian and «gluten included.» A little backwards, but don’t fool yourself into thinking they have gluten-​free pitas.
There are several things that were great about this place, including the chicken shish kebab, which weren’t the least bit dry. The gyro is bomb, forgive my neanderthal description but it’s early and I just can’t tolerate any judgement right now. But really, this was the best gyro I’ve had in a long time because it didn’t have the weird residual lamb smell – you KNOW what I’m talking about. One thing I was a huge fan of that may be overlooked by others: the olive oil + vinegar they give you for your flatbread – they put garlic and other spices in it. It’s simple but I’m a simple girl! The Shepherd Salad (tomato, cucumber, red onion, lemon juice) is also delicious, simple, and low-​carb/​vegan/​gluten free/​cruelty free/​fair trade if you care about that stuff.

I’ve been here a few times and gotten the manti, chicken doner, and tried some of my boyfriend’s lamb dishes. I love Turkish food and have to say I was disappointed with this place and am suprised to see so many positive reviews. All of the food has been solid, just not stellar. Very forgettable dishes, and while, yes, manti is a hard dish to control temperature for due to the yogurt topping, mine seemed cold from the moment it arrived. The vegetables that come on the side look like they were from a grocery store freezer bag so it doesn’t make it the best experience, especially for the price. I’ll probably come back again — the wait staff is friendly and the atmosphere is nice — but I wouldn’t if my boyfriend wasn’t a fan of it.

Service is great here. Food was fine.

tldr: They’re incredible with cooking meats, whether it’s lamb, beef or chicken; it’s always moist and flavorful! Top faves: Alexander’s Favorite and Lamb Kebab.
Loved the complimentary pita bread with dipping olive oil and spices (no idea what the spices are but they are a bit vinegary and savory)!
Alexander’s Favorite (⁵⁄₅): Best Mediterranean main course I’ve ever had Thin slices of ground beef over bread crumbs that’s drenched in tomato sauce with a side of creamy yogurt and a drizzle of butter. OMG the dish seems so simple but the flavors meld together so well. The slight tang of the tomato sauce is neutralized by the yogurt and makes this one delicious hearty entrée.
Lamb Kebabs (⁵⁄₅): One of the best cooked lamb in the bay! Two skewers of cubed lamb that is seasoned to perfection and paired up with a yogurt sauce. The lamb isn’t dry at all and very tender. The rice is also very fragrant and goes well with the grilled veggies as well!
Combo platter (³⁄₅): A bit of a hit and miss with this one. Good to try all their apps but next time I’ll be ordering the ones I like only. The falafel are decent though not as good as cheaper places like Oren’s hummus. The hummus and babaganoush are solid but a bit runny. Dolmas had very bitter banana leaves, which were a bit hard to handle. Their yogurt dip (forgot the name) was also too cucumbery compared to other varieties I’ve had elsewhere.

I’ve been here twice, and each time, i’ve walked away happy with my food.
The most recent time was for a small, work lunch. I had the Manti, which are small dumplings with a delicious yogurt sauce over the top. I’d recommend it. If you think that everything here is kabab, this will change your mind. That said, the kebab are excellent here, so don’t hold back if you enjoy it.
The tea was warming, and refreshing at the same time, and they have excellent baklava. I usually actually dislike baklava, but this one wasn’t too sweet, still very crisp, and loaded with nuts. My boss was a big fan of their coffee as well, served with just the smallest bit of Turkish delight.
Why not a higher rating? It’s not a place I crave. While everything is solid, I don’t hunger for their approach to any of their dishes. It’s good, just not great.

This is an excellent place for quality Mediterranean food. I had the Chicken Doner which was really good and the salad on the side was particularly amazing. The romaine was crisp and their olive oil vinaigrette was splendid.
I also had the combo appetizers and the baba ganoush they served was among the best I had, the consistency and taste were perfect.
Definitely recommended!!!

Was looking for dinner near the California Ave Caltrain station on a Saturday evening so we made a reservation and came in for some mediterranean.
Awesome ambiance and décor, and the service was the best I’ve received in a while. They start you off with a basket of pita bread and a greek-​style vinaigrette which complimented the pitas perfectly. We started with a falafel plate, which was incredible and among the best falafel I’ve ever had, served with hummus.
After a slightly long wait, my lamb shish kabob was deliciously seasoned and perfectly tender, cooked perfectly. The lightly roasted and lightly salted vegetables on the side were great, and the lemony/​buttery rice paired exquisitely with the spice of the lamb.
Service can be slow at times but the server’s demeanour and the incredible food definitely make up for it and then some. I’ll definitely be coming back (although with a reservation, the place gets pretty packed)!

The Unilocal reviews looked promising but the food was lackluster. The Mousaka was one-​note in flavor. The eggplant and potato layers lacked texture and definition; I couldn’t tell one vegetable from the next because everything was mushy (including the ground beef). The tomato sauce didn’t help with the flavor of the dish. All I tasted was salt. The most confusing part of the meal was the temperature of the Mousaka when the plate came out. It was steaming hot (and not in the fresh from the kitchen oven way). It was more like, «hmm…this they reheat this in the microwave?» Needless to say, I barely touched my meal.

Down in Palo Alto near California Drive, pulled out my handy Unilocal app to find a new and interesting place to eat.
We started out with hummus which was served with bread and fresh pita. They also had this oil dip with seasoning which I really enjoyed. I forgot to ask what the spice was, but it was really good and unique.
Though it took a while for the solo waiter to take our orders, once we ordered the food came out pretty quickly. I ordered a gyro plate. The gyro was very juicy and tender, slightly salty. The sauce it was served with was just okay. It also included white rice which my daughter loved and a salad which was okay.
Prices were pretty much average for this cuisine, service was a bit slow, street parking was relatively easy, but we did come at 2:30 pm for lunch so not many people here at that time anyways.

The staff is super friendly. The water came in a metal jug with metal cups. The table was made of copper? I could smell the metal while sitting, didn’t care for it very much. The babaganoush was ok, and so was the humus. Not high quality food.
Dish Dash or Kabul in Sunnyvale offer a much higher food quality and better options to sit comfortably.

Met some friends here for dinner on a warm summer night. We decided to sit out on the sidewalk since the weather was so nice. I ordered The Mantu dish (pasta filled with beef and a sauce) very flavorful.
Ordered an appetizer to share amongst our group and we liked the hummus and babaghanoush with falafel. It’s a cute spot in Palo Alto, must try.

Nice décor and ambience, great food, s… l…o…w service. Would definitely come back again though! We tried the mousaka, veggie manti, grilled salmon, and Alexander’s Favorite. Alexander’s Favorite was definitely the standout in my mind. Meat doesn’t normally excite me, but the slices of beef were so thin and flavorful and I loved the accompany tomato and yogurt sauce. The mousaka was excellent as well. The veggie manti was good — I also liked the yogurt sauce on top. The grilled salmon was just meh — slightly overcooked and nothing special or exceptional in the preparation or presentation.
The baklava was also very good — super sweet and sticky as you might expect, improved with ice cream.

Came here for a work lunch and i’m quite glad I tried this spot out. This place is located just off the main street (Cal Ave), which is nice since there aren’t millions of people walking around outside if you’re eating outside.
Got the combo appetizer to start: Hummus, tabouleh, babaganoush, cacik, dolma, falafel, olives, piyas. Everything was on point.
Entrée wise, I got the Doner Kebob plate: Rotisserie-​cooked ground lamb and beef, served with rice and sauteed veggies. Meat was super tender and juicy — definitely worth a try.
Dessert-​wise: Rice Pudding — similar to rice dunked in some sweet coconut milk — delicious. Baklava had all the right flavors to try. Highly recommend trying out both if you still have the appetite! Waitstaff was friendly and took care of us.

This place is right around the corner from work and is a place we frequent a lot! Everything I’ve tried here so far is good. I loveee the doner (shaved beef/​lamb). I’ve gotten the doner plate, Anatolian salad with doner, and chicken wrap.
the Anatolian salad with doner has been my favorite so far. The salad has a light dressing on it (I think it might even be just fruit juice?!) with lots of goat cheese (hooray goat cheese!) and it goes perfectly with the doner.
See ya soon!

This place took me by surprise. They’ve got GOOD MEATS.
Appetizer combo (⁴⁄₅): What you’d expect — hummus, tabouleh, the usual. Very good for sharing. The falafels were overfried though, the shell was a bit too hard.
Sea bass (⁴⁄₅): Chef’s special. They serve the entire fish, stuffed with lemons/​onions/​whatever else that seeped into the meat.
Lamb special (⁵⁄₅): BEST lamb I’ve ever had. I’m not a red meat lover, but this was outstanding. Incredibly tender and melts in your mouth. Must try!
Alexander’s favorite (⁴⁄₅): Very unique — the sauce is similar to spaghetti sauce, and the meat had been minced then put together.
Baklava (⁴⁄₅): A bit too sweet.
Kunefe (⁵⁄₅): Never had anything like this before. I almost didn’t want to order because the description (goat cheese/​house syrup) made it sound heavy. But it was less sweet than the baklava, and turned out to be really great! Also a must try. The house syrup tasted like honey.
I’ll be returning! You’ve earned a repeat customer, Anatolian.

Meh. Nothing special. Slightly overpriced. Really really nice people and service, though.
I ordered a lamb plate as well as hummus to start. The hummus was underwhelming and the lamb was pretty dry. The bar is nice though along with the bartender. Good, friendly service. I’d likely come back here just to sit at the bar, grab a drink and watch the game.

Loved the quite street where this place is located. Loved the food. Water jars are lovely! I love the style of the place.
The service is somehow «get the waiter over to your table… if you can!» But other than that, I really liked the place.
I’m looking forward coming back here for more.

Okay, I’m not sure how this restaurant received a solid four stars from Unilocalers. Perhaps they’ve never had authentic Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean food before? I am fortunate to have such as my sister knows how to tussle up an amazing Persian meal; thanks to dating a Persian guy for over ten years. Therefore, I have a benchmark to compare it to. And Anatolia failed to deliver.
The kebab was dried and flavorless. The steamed veggies were overcooked; no crunch left in the zucchini or broccoli. The rice was the only edible thing on the dish.
I also had the eggplant appetizer, baba ganoush, it was flat. Lacked the smokier-​flavor that you’ll yield from roasting out grilling it. It tasted as if the eggplant was steamed, peeled, and thrown together with other ingredients.
Overall, I wouldn’t come back. It’s unfortunate bc the location is awesome. And they have such great outdoor seatings.

Went here with several friends-can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this place before. The service was fast, friendly, and efficient. I got chicken skewers with vegetables. I realized too late that I should’ve asked for no-​butter on the veggies, but otherwise, it was a fresh and filling meal.

Nice location in midtown Palo Alto off California street. There are several parking lots in the area but we parked on the street. There are a few café and dessert places within walking distance so this location is great. Good thing we made a reservation for lunch because the place was nearly packed when we got there at noon.
We started off with the hummus and pita bread which was delicious! I was excited to come here because of their popular Alexanders Favorite dish which is strips of lamb and beef with delicious white yogurt sauce and tomato sauce. Supposedly the correct way to eat it is to mix everything together. It started off tasting wonderful but after I was halfway done I started to get tired of the taste. And since I had mixed everything together, there was nothing else to alternate in between bites. I ended up not finishing the dish, and it ended up being OK.
I wouldn’t mind coming back again and it would likely stay in our lunch rotation, but maybe I’ll get an additional side next time.