So happy I came here with my friends for my birthday!!!…read more I have seen this place over and over on Yelp because of the reviews, so I really wanted to try it and it didn't disappoint at all! It is very casual, a modest little restaurant on 2nd street, but it's probably the most authentic food you'll find on 2nd street as well. Everything was so incredibly flavorful and delicious. We started with the Galata mixed appetizer, so good!! It comes with A LOT! I loved all of the dips and the dolmas and babagonoush were excellent (which are always two of my favorite dishes). We got the beef and lamb doner which was to die for. Honestly. Great meat, seasoning was on point. I loved it. 10/10 We also ordered this chicken dish from a clay pot that was soooo good. Amazing depth of flavor too. 9.5/10 The waitress recommended the last skewer and it was delicious. Would definitely order again 10/10z We finished with pomegranate tea which everyone loved. It truly was a delicious dinner. I will bring more and more people here to enjoy the beautiful food. Everyone was absolutely so nice to us, I can't recommend this restaurant enough!

Food: 4/5, first time ordering take out from this place and it was delicious. We order the meal for…read moretwo and it was way much more than we expected. The lamb was good as well as the filet, chicken and gyro. The humus was really good as well! Service: staff was very friendly when I came in to pick up my order. Ambiance: very cute and modern.

Extremely delicious food! Their cig kofte may be the best I have ever eaten in my life and their…read moremanti is definitely top 5 for me. Lahmacun and iskender are also amazing! Service was fast and the portion sizes are really big. The ambiance is that of a cute little cafe.

We ordered via Uber Eats to take advantage of the BOGO offer, and opted to pick it up to save on…read moreextra fees associated with delivery. The price for two Doner wraps came out to about $20, which was a pretty good deal! The wraps were supposed to come with fries, but they only gave us one portion of fries. Is that what happens when you choose a BOGO deal? Pretty disappointing. The wrap itself was good, but dry as it didn't have any sauce, and it wasn't tightly wrapped, and felt like they skimped on the meat due to it being part of a special offer. If we had known, we would have just paid the regular price for the wraps, as skimping on portions when you're offering a deal seems dubious.

Amazing Turkish food every dish was top notch. The Muhamarra was exceptional! Highly recommend.read more

As someone with a Turkish background, this felt like a true taste of home…read more The quality of the food was exceptional! Fresh, and authentic! The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and the hospitality makes the experience even more special. Büşra and Eda are incredibly sweet, attentive, and make you feel genuinely cared for from the moment you walk in. Highly recommend them!

I love this place. The food is delicious. My favorites the menemens, tea and baklava. I have been…read morethere many times with friends and family and all of us wanted to go back. I wonder when they will open again

We didn't have a great experience during our first visit to Cafe Istanbul. Several employees were…read moregathered at a large table next to us with their friends/family and were extremely loud, to the point we couldn't carry on a normal conversation. We had to flag them down when we needed something and to get the check. The fattoush salad was pretty good, but the rest of the food was just average. Parking is metered on the street and we didn't have trouble finding a space during lunchtime when we arrived.

The place was empty when we came in mid afternoon and it was a little daunting but so glad we…read morestayed !! We had delicious Beyti and crisp yummy salad . We were full and got Baklava to go. It was absolutely amazing!! Fresh and sublime! My husband wanted to drive back and get more.

Upon coming here, a current customer told us this is the best Turkish food in town. She was not…read morejoking! I ordered a doner bowl and my friend ordered the kebab skewers entree. We absolutely loved it: the buttery flavored rice, well seasoned meat, nice salad on side that comes with and a pita bread to top it off. Although we were so full, had to try the baklava: fresh and crispy, hands down the best I've ever had due to not being so sweet. Finally someone answered my prayers about not making them too sweet. This is a sweet family restaurant and the daughter is super helpful and friendly especially with interpreting my compliments to the chef for a delicious meal. Highly recommend this place!

What a fantastic meal we had here!…read more Felt like Mediterranean so decided to check out this place. First of all service was absolutely phenomenal. They want to ensure that you're having a great food experience. As for the food everything hit it out of the park! The Cretan Feta was potentially the most tasty appetizer I've ever had in all my life. The pita that came with it was freshly made when we ordered it and it was so soft and tasty. The feta itself was whipped perfection! They recommended drizzling their olive oil on it and what a game changer that was! Side note: they make their own olive oil! Apparently you can buy it on Amazon but we took some home direct from the restaurant. Back to the food - had their lamb chops (that came with perfectly cooked potatoes and veggies) and their meatballs. Both were outstanding. Finished it off with their baklava which was the perfect consistency and level of sweetness. The perfect end to our night. This is a small cute and perfect place to go with your girlfriends or on a date. Plenty of street parking (and we went at 6pm on a Wednesday). Will absolutely come back for their breakfast! Apparently they do brunch on Saturdays and Sundays!

Came here to snack and it's a nice gem in the area! We sat at the bar and tried the veggie platter…read moreand eggplant dip and it was such a great deal - perfect for sharing! The service here was wonderful allowing us to ask any questions we had and helping us with recs.

Delicious with a capital 'D'!…read more Executive Summary: Service: 5/5 Flavor: 5/5 Group accomodations: 4/5 Parking: 4/5 Drinks: 3/5 From the outside of this shopping square, there are number of choices but I hope you put this on your hitlist. The food was well prepared and deserving of a return visit. The place is clean, well decorated and the staff was very helpful. The dishes are big enough to feed two adults. We had the chicken skewers that comes with salad that is made to order and fresh. We followed up this dish with a dessert that was on the house, it was not too sweet but enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. They provide the standard drinks, we got the bottle water to wash this meal down. There is plenty of parking here and easy to find off this busy road. We can see us returning to this restaurant. Enjoy!

Came here during tis last Eid with the family, was my first time here…read more Service is really nice - the ambiance is cool, feels like a stepping into a middle eastern restaurant. The food is OK - it's not bad, but it's not great. Given that, there is no reason for it to be so expensive! I would totally come here more often if the prices matched the food level. Again, the food is not bad, it's just that the prices don't match the flavors.

If it's any indication of how good a spot is, the second the food was placed in front of me here, I…read moreswiftly ate it in such a manner that I make vacuum cleaners jealous. A new year always brings new opportunities with it, and I'm only shocked I hadn't thought to try this place sooner. The kindness and hospitality here felt pretty quickly apparent, as the person taking our order listened attentively and made some (very tasty) recommendations for both my partner and I. I settled on the Istanbul style Pita wrap with Beef Gyro meet and I don't think I've ever looked at something so lovingly before. The second I took a bite, the flavors told me a story that was whispered to my heart. I have fallen in love with new food for what seems the millionth time, but everytime I do, I find a new reason too. I think what I love most about this place, is that it never needs to tell you, that this is some of the tastiest food you will have today, it shows you through wonderful pairings and wonderful, human connection. I would give this place 6 stars if that was even possible. Cheers!

I'm going to go out on a limb and give 4 stars…read more I came here 2x. Overall the consensus is simple: The white meat chicken kabob, garlic sauce, fries and Gyros meat is top tier! - 5 stars Hummus and Pita bread- 3.5 stars Cucumber/Tomato salad - 2 stars Service: 1-3 stars. The food takes a really long time to receive once you have ordered. The first visit was 36 minutes. There was no warning from the girl. When I asked her what the reason was, she did the GenZ BS and gave me excuses, "oh it's cuz yours is the last order of the night" even though they are open until 2am and it was like 9pm. My second visit was much quicker and the gentleman behind the counter was much nicer. My food only took 19 mins that time which is much more acceptable. Overall, the Chicken kabob white meat and the gyros are worth the wait, even if the wait is too long and they piss you off. But don't go here when you're in a hurry or if you show up and there are a lot of people already waiting, maybe come back a different day.

It wasn't too busy inside when we arrived. The Phyllo pies came with two and are crispy on the…read moreoutside with lemony chicken & pine nuts inside. The Shrimp + shishitos are delicious soaked in the sage and dried rose butter. The Autonomy farms flatiron steak was juicy & tender and the salsa verde was a great combo. The Malawach flakey bread I could eat multiple plates of. I loved the Tahdig with its crispy, crunchy texture on the outside and soft inside. We ordered the Pistachio Pear Tart for dessert - it was sweet but not an overly sweet finish. Parking- street parking

I think about their Veggie Pita everyday. I dream about it…read more I love this little middle eastern place! My perfect afternoon consists of a Hailey Bieber smoothie from Erewhon (right across from here), and a Veggie Pita from Kismet. The sandwich is bursting so much at the seams that they give you a fork so you can eat the insides lol. The gummy egg on top is to die for. I love the tahini sauce inside, and the vegetables are seasoned to perfection that I can't believe something healthy could taste so good. Service is always very fast, and they have a small literal hole in the wall where you can sit and eat (but there are no tables). Plenty of tables and seating tho in the rest of the plaza! Free 90 min parking in the plaza!

I love Lebanese, Israeli, and Armenian cuisine, so seeing it elevated in a modern fine-dining way…read morewas a lot of fun. The duck hummus, shawarma neck, and tuna kibbeh were all standout dishes. Why overpay at places like Raffi's Place, where the food feels overpriced without showing where the extra money went? Here, you can actually see the quality, creativity, and presentation that justify the price, and the packed dining room proves it. The only downside was that the waitress pushed an appetizer on us twice when we really didn't need it. Two entrées are more than enough to fill you up. Also, because the restaurant stays so busy, don't expect much small talk with the staff. It's very efficient and businesslike, but your food arrives quickly and on time.

A very low value system is why I am giving them a ZERO STAR…read more I have NEVER encountered a restaurant in the last 20 years of my food allergies that said they will not accommodate - even simple things. - when sesame is sprinkled over carrots and you refuse to serve it without the sesame - it either says your food premade and is not fresh, OR your chefs are incompetent OR you don't care to accommodate. - when the sesame bread is part of the dish and you say you cannot substitute it with non-sesame bread - I have to buy it as additional and throw the sesame bread - that says a lot about your value system. Having the best ambience, great food and service mean nothing when your value system is ZERO EMPATHY.