Best Turkish Restaurants in Downtown / Union Square

It was our first time here. Love Turkish food and we were in town, gave it a try. Most of the stuff we ordered tonight was either completely cold or partially cold. For instance Turkish tea came to our table very cold. I had to ask to change it. The wood fire flower bread was looking good but was doughy! Patlican was completely cold. But, again maybe this is an appetizer that can be eaten warm and cold. Anchovy rice pilaf that came with Branzino was cold and so was the grilled sea beans. The sumac onion that came with shish kebab and looked so gold, was not eatable as it was very cold. Also, there was a slice of tomato with the shish kebab that had grilled marked but fridge temperature cold ☹️ We are not coming back.

The food was delicious in every plate we tasted from the kebab, our favorite to the pâté, the octopus skewer, the mouhamara and humus was also tasty.

I have been here twice before and loved it. This time was ho-hum. We dined outside, yet the table next to us was so LOUD that we could barely talk. Wait staff was friendly, but not very attentive. Trout had bones in it (last time I ordered it they had de-boned it) and was very salty. Sea bass was very good. Beet salad was tasty, but a bit small. Wine pours seemed small. Overall okay, but not as good as previous visits.

Amazing experience at Kitchen Istanbul. Everything was exceptional - service, wine, food, dessert. It has been a long while since we’ve had a restaurant hit on every note.

The service and food are great! Really kind and special people making fresh, flavorful food.