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    Istanbul Grill

    4.1 (717 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    ISTANBUL GRILL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Istanbul Grill

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    Reviews With Photos

    Fantastic Lamb Adana Meal (# 74) !!!
    Michael C.

    I ordered one of my favorites here on Saturday night being the # 74, which is the Lamb Adana with rice n salad. Very delicious, very well-seasoned, definitely not too gamy and juicy with a little outer crisp, but mostly softness. The charbroiled, oniony and peppery notes stand out so well with such balance in the meat. The rice was moist, doughy and mild but tasty pairing very well with any meat here. The salad was tart and refreshing with nice, cool, red tomatoes. Plain bread is so boring imo, but the thick, toasty pita bread here is great with meals. Great, welcoming service. Along with both forms of the Adana kabobs here; the Doner, Manti and Turkish pizzas are other awesome dishes to heavily consider as well. I also need to check out a couple of their desserts I read on the menu, but haven't tried yet for future visits. Excellent Turkish Cuisine every time at I G.

    Mixed appetizers
    Nida H.

    Love this place! It's delicious and flavorful every time! Had the mixed appetizers with their fresh bread and it's more than enough for two to share. The service was 10/10 with a very attentive waiter. Can't wait to go back!

    63. Falafel Plate
    Devangi D.

    Istanbul Grill is one of our go-to spots for a casual, satisfying weeknight meal. The falafel is always crispy and flavorful, and the fresh bread (not pictured!) is a highlight -- warm, soft, and perfectly seasoned with za'atar and olive oil. It disappears the moment it hits the table! We also had the cheese pide, which was rich, melty, and delicious. The chicken kabob is consistently juicy and well-seasoned. My only wish is that they offered a falafel rice platter -- that combo would be perfect. Still, it's a great spot with reliable flavors and friendly service.

    50. Kymal Pide -Meat Pide
    Robert Z.

    After all the times I've been to Rice Village, I don't know how I failed to notice this restaurant but I'm glad I came in and tried it. My partner and I came on a Saturday night and it was fairly quiet and empty, we were having a later dinner so we may have just gotten in late. Staff was friendly and our server in particular was super nice and checked in on us without being over bearing. He also let us know that the kitchen was baking fresh bread and asked if we'd want any (the obvious answer was yes). We ordered a couple appetizers along with a main each. All the appetizers were great and went so well with the bread. The bread was warm, fluffy, crisp from the oven, and delicious. I basically filled up on bread and zataar oil. The mezze we ordered was also excellent, with the eggplant soslu being my personal favorite. I got the meat pide and really liked the lamb filling, it was juicy and nicely spiced and the bread, again, was baked perfectly to hold it all. My partner got the lahmacun which had the same filling but wrapped in a lighter, thinner bread but still excellent all the same. Price wise, I'd say it was fair considering current inflation. We got quite a bit of food and had enough for a second meal, again, we did fill up quite a bit on bread as well so that helped. Overall, I'm glad to have found a Turkish spot that's not too far. Also great that its in Rice Village so there's the 2 hour free parking in the garage.

    Sophia S.

    The ambiance was better than I expected--definitely on the more casual side, but it still had that cool café vibe. The outdoor covered patio was a nice bonus! Also, shoutout to the staff--the service was genuinely great. Now, onto the food: Turkish bread: So fluffy, so yummy. You could absolutely tell it was fresh. Warm, soft, and perfect for dipping--I could've eaten a whole basket. Ayran (yogurt drink): 0/10. I really don't recommend this one--consider yourself warned! Super salty and bitter. I'm usually into trying new things, and I typically like yogurt drinks, but this one was not it. I managed maybe three sips before I tapped out. Thankfully, the waiter didn't even charge me--she knew. Yogurtlu Tavuk Adana (chicken kebab): 9/10. The kebab was full of flavor, perfectly cooked, and paired beautifully with the tangy yogurt sauce and grilled tomatoes. I usually lean more toward shaved meats, but this still hit the spot. The spice level was chef's kiss. Overall, it's a cute little lunch spot with very limited parking--but honestly, the food makes the hassle worth it.

    Yaprak Sarma (Dolma)
    Justin T.

    Istanbul Grill was so good that I had to write a review right away! Full disclosure, Mediterranean or food from that region isn't my go to. Don't get me wrong, I like the food, it's just not something I crave or seek out. I was invited on a little lunch date and happily obliged. I actually had this place bookmarked and have always wondered about it when I am out and about in Rice Village. I've had many a drinks next door. We came between lunch and dinner and the place was empty. They have just a few spots to park in front which we were able to snag. Otherwise, street or garage parking is the other option. We started off with one really nice young guy as our waiter and then it transitioned into two other young ladies. All of them did a great job and were super attentive and helpful. I stuck to what I know I like when it comes to this type of food. I got myself and iced tea to beat the summer heat, but my lunch date got Elma Cayi which is apple tea. I tried a sip and it tasted like I expected it to, hot apple juice. I actually liked it alot, but couldn't see myself getting it when it's hot out. For a starter, we went with the Yaprak Sarma or dolma as I know it as. Stuffed grape leaves is what it is and it was very good. I've had my fair share of this dish in my days and this was hands down the best I've had in Houston. It is served cold which again was nice on a hot day. It was stuffed with a very well seasoned rice mixture. It's a small dish but the grape leaves were stuffed solid and ate hearty. Other reviews mention their fresh out of a brick oven bread. This bread was addictive and so delicious. They bring it to you fresh out of the oven with olive oil. It goes with everything. Don't be shy to ask for more like we did. For mains, they have Turkish pizza, veggie entrees, grilled entrees and sandwiches. We decided to share the Mixed Grill. It came with an assortment of their kebabs and I believe some doner. It was served over a bed of rice and chick peas and salad. Everything about this dish was excellent. The meats were very well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Everything was tender and juicy. If I had to choose, I would say the chicken was my fave and it really stood out to me. When looking at the restaurant, I noticed they have the fresh meat displayed. Nothing is frozen. Love that! Usually the pilav (rice) is an afterthought at most places, but the rice too was delicious. We finished of our meal with their award winning rice pudding. It was a perfect way to end the meal. It was served cold. It had just the right amount of sweetness and had a good consistency to it. When it comes to this type of food, Istanbul Grill has moved to the top of my list. I will definitely be back!

    Lamb chop
    Sandra K.

    I've been coming here for over 20 years and they never fail to disappoint. The complimentary bread and dip is spot on and helps stave off the hunger before the delicious meal. My husband got lamb kebabs in a yogurt sauce and I got the kofte per usual. My meat was tender and well flavored and the salad had the right amount of dressing. Also the rice here was delicious. It had the right amount of butter and salt and I honestly could have eaten just that for dinner like a weirdo. Service was fast and fantastic and love the outdoor ish option where it's not too hot. They have designated parking spots in front of the restaurant too!

    Egg pide in the front, cheese pide in the back.   48. Yumurtal Pide -Egg Pide 45. Peynirli Pide -Cheese Pide
    Iris T.

    Still a solid place! We still can't have anything other than the Cheese/Egg Pide, bread, rice, dessert, and drinks so it is the only thing we get. Since my last review, we've added another member to the family... who has multiple food allergies. He can only have the rice, rice pudding dessert, and water/ayran (but he doesn't like the ayran). He's not as much of a fan, or perhaps it'll take multiple tries. However, my eldest LOVES the pide here. Positively in love with it. She goes through periods where she'll want it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - the carb fiend she is. The leftovers I used to get from my husband now go to her. We have dined in twice over the last few months as a result. The only new thing I have to report is I now find the egg pide superior to the regular cheese pide. It doesn't look too different at first glance but the cheese on top is a little fluffier/lighter and not as salty. They mix the egg into the cheese. I still wish each order of pide came with more slices of tomatoes (they only come with 2 each) and still order ayran to drink and şekerpare for dessert when I go. My eldest is also a fan of the şekerpare so I get to share that with her as well. We only get the complimentary bread and herbed dipping oil when we're in a larger group. I haven't stopped crossing my fingers that we'll be able to have more options on the menu that are healthier, but at this point, I'm sure it's just wishful thinking, haha.

    Interior
    Jess F.

    A cozy spot with authentic and delicious Turkish food, especially the lamb kebabs. One of my friends grew up eating Middle Eastern food and says this food reminds him of what he ate in his childhood. Servers are attentive and kind. A place that's unique in ambience and hard to beat in cuisine! Dolma - very good, one of the best I've had in Houston. Patlican (eggplant) - amazing, especially with the bread they provide. Kuzu lamb - their best lamb kebabs, much better meat texture than the Adana kebab. Flavor is always amazing, and the rice is incredible. Rice pudding and triangle baklava - the cold pudding and the sweet warm baklava are a perfect pair. Finish off your meal with a Turkish tea for the perfect touch! I'll come back to this restaurant again and again.

    Edwin R.

    Istanbul grill is a hit and if you're looking for good Turkish food this is the place, place has a nice atmosphere and real good tentative and friendly service. You get started with complementary warm bread and dipping oil, I would recommend ordering from the appetizer menu eggplant dip/spread for the flatbread it's delicious and healthy and lots of flavor. there are few entrees I would recommend If you have kids and they don't eat this type of food i suggest ordering a pide (Turkish pizza) always a hit for my kiddies side it with chickpea rice. The falafel is excellent cook to perfection and such healthy option that gets you full. The kebabs are delicious I recommend the chicken and or beef, the kebab plates come with a refreshing salad and side of chickpea rice. Everything that I've had on this menu so far has been amazing, see my photos for reference. They do have some imported drinks like sodas they have Turkish version of sprite and Turkish version of orange fanta, they also have teas regular and apple and the coffee I recommend trying if your a coffee drinker it's strong and grainy. Baklava was great but the rice pudding that was charred on top to give it a crystallized crunch was amazing I highly recommend this dessert. The only thing I dislike is that this place barely has no parking about 6 spots minimum everything else is all street parking which are metered so good luck on busy days you may have to park a block or two or maybe park at the parking garage across the street. I recommend this place if you're looking for some good Turkish food.

    80. skender Kebab
    Sara G.

    We went there on Friday night that wasn't that busy. The place was ok nothing crazy about the decorations. Since I have been in Turkey several times I knew the foods. So hobby and I ordered Skender kabab and Adena kebab. I liked mine it was really tasty just the yogurt was sour but hobby didn't like his Adena he says he had better Adena before. All in all, it was not bad experience but I don't think that I'll back.

    This was AMAZING I came here for an anniversary with my family and we all loved our food! 10 stars for the bald waiter with the good mustache I need to give a special mention to the blaklava, it was so so delicious and I HIGHLY recommend ordering. so yummm

    Hassan G.

    Went to @istanbulgrillhouston, and honestly the best Turkish Food I have had since I had it in Turkiye. nice restaurant, with a great atmosphere and service. And now for the food, we ordered the Iskendar Kabab, Adana Kabab (Chicken and Lamb), Hummus, Lentil Soup, and Pastrami Pide, and yes we were hungry lol. honestly I cannot say anything negative about any of the items we tried. first off one of my alltime favorite items is Iskender Kabab, the combination of Doner, butter, yogurt, bread and tomato sauce just goes so well together. also the Pide was really good especially with the Pastrami. Overall definitely enjoyed it, and will be back for more.

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    Page 1 of 18

    Istanbul Grill Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Istanbul Grill

    Are all of the meat items zabihah halal?

    Yes Mr. Ali, all of our meats are certified zabihah :)

    View All 2 Questions

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    4.0(2.4k reviews)
    2.5 miMontrose
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    Wheelchair accessible
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    My recent visits here consisted of a Gyros Plate with rice, Hamburger with uncut tomatoes n pickles…read more& lemon potatoes and Greek Spaghetti Meat Sauce on Sunday Special. All 3 meals were really flavorful, good quality, really well-seasoned, very juicy and so delicious. The gyros and burger are without question imo the best in TX. Ekko's and Nick The Greek are 2nd n 3rd for Greek food for me. I always got the gyros sandwich as opposed to the plate before which is odd bc I always prefer meat plates over sandwich form in other foods like bbq, steak, etc. The meat pieces were all really tasty and had some slight char to them too. The taziki sauce is always cold, creamy in feel and refreshing with a good yogurt aroma to it. It's a great bonus and the gyros didn't even need it tbh. The tomatoes were nicely refreshing and the exotic, cool center dolma is always a little treat with meals here. The rice and chunky lemon potatoes with my meals were always mild but still great in texture and prep. As I said before; from my experiences in every single Greek cafe, if the taziki sauce is good, the gyros will be too. It's a solid symptom and indicator imo. As for the burger, very rarely are burger places only in TX actually any good for the past 15 years. So many are just average or below lacking seasoning or a great overall flavor. Niko Niko's, Goode Company Hamburgers and TX Hamburger Palace are my top 3 in that order for it. Each different too. The brioche buns were just the right thickness and very soft to make the beef patty stick out well. The patty was so nice in charbroiled taste, saltiness, richness, beefiness and tender in every bite. A good burger doesn't need much in toppings, but cool, refreshing, tomatoes are a must for me and pickles add some tangy crunch too. For steak rare, but for a burger medium to medium rare. I had never seen or heard of their Greek Spaghetti n Meat Sauce before. This was like a Greek Bolognese with a lot of love in its flavor. The noodles were drained, very moist and so soft. I don't like too much cheese, so I took some off, but still like some. The meat sauce gravy itself was really flavorful, savory, fatty enough and had that subtle sweet, warm spice aroma you get in the Greek lasagna. I like to get dessert here sometimes when I have extra room, bc they have some great options like their galaktobourreko, chocolate ganache cake, etc. The service was very welcoming, friendly and efficient on these visits.

    Haven't been back for awhile and this place has consistency on food. It was good as usual…read more Service was nice too

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    Rumis Kitchen

    4.4(399 reviews)
    3.5 miGalleria/Uptown

    General Description: A high end Persian restaurant located…read morein the heart of Post Oak. Good: - The hospitality stands out. As busy as they were, we had 3 managers stop by to ask how we were doing. - Food was awesome. I don't even know what we ordered since we had a native Persian friend that ordered for us. All I can say that the kebab, soltani, lamb ribs, and Persian ice cream,were amazing. - Modern, clean ambiance. Bad: - Gets crowded during busy the weekends. Reservation is needed. - This place will get you fat. Other: Complimentary valet. Overall: I will be going back soon.

    Been meaning to try this place but it was not at the top of my list. I was finally able to visit…read morethis restaurant last Thursday. The place is new but not recently new, so I was impress that they were still attracting a crowd. The place was packed and busy but the host was still able to seat us immediately. With reservation, of course. Our seat was a banquet seating and when the host directed us to our table, we notice the party seated next to our table had placed all their personal belongings on our seats. We had to ask the host to ask them to remove their personals so that we can sit down. I felt that the host should have done that and not upon our request. Our server was Keamogetswe and she jumped right into explaining the menu since it was our first time. I am used to ordering drinks first and while waiting for our drinks, explore the food menu. That way, we can ask questions about any item we were unfamiliar with on the menu. Anyways, we ordered our food and they came out very fast. For starters, we had the grilled shrimp which was just two shrimps. They were not prawns so the size of the two shrimps for $18 was not worth it to me. We also tried the Rumi's wings. They were average to me. Nothing to brag about. For the main course, we wanted to try several dishes and settle for a family style meal. We had the braised lamb shank, chicken kabob and the Koobideh Kabob. Since all plates came with rice, Keamogetswe suggest we try different rice options which was a great suggestion. So for the rice, we had the Adas, the Baghali and the Shirin. I have to admit that the braised lamb was amazing. The stew it sat in was very flavorful and the meat melted off the bone it came with. The Koobideh was also another favorite of mine. Both, I highly recommend everyone to try. And my favorite rice was the Shirin. As we moved on to dessert, we had the burnt honey & pistachio cake and the persian ice cream sandwich. Both taste great but the persian ice cream sandwich itself was vanilla wafer. Different but it made it easier to eat with your fingers. The weird thing was when the dessert was served to us, so was the check. I am used to us eating dessert or just starting to enjoy dessert before being handed the check. And when they do hand me the check, they would mention that it was no rush and when I am ready to take care of it. But that didn't happen and I decided to get it out of the way so I can just enjoy the dessert. As we were conversing and finishing our drinks, they started to clear our table and even picked up the signed check or tab. It felt like they were hinting us to get up. I feel that if there was a time frame to dine with them, they should have made us aware of it before dinner or when we made reservation like how Toca Madera does. So that made me feel uncomfortable. But this could just be me.

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    Pasha - Kunafa

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    4.2(431 reviews)
    0.1 miWest University
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    Pasha is a real treasure! We stopped in for takeout and were warmly greeted by who we can only…read moreassume were the owners. They were so kind and insisted we sit while waiting for our food. The waitress poured us some water while we waited which was so thoughtful. You couldn't ask for better service. It's obvious they are happy to have you dine with them as evidenced by their warm welcome and hospitality. We had chicken pide which is one of my favorite things to eat. The ingredients tasted fresh and we enjoyed them very much. Thank you to Pasha's owner(s) and staff for a great meal and excellent service!

    I was famished coming off of a flight as I headed into this homey Turkish restaurant, tables all…read moredecked out in white tablecloths. Only one other table was occupied, and someone who seemed to be the owner warmly greeted my group of 5 with some menus and an offer for Turkish coffee and tea. The lunch special is quite generous, and includes a wide array of starters and entrees. With 5 people, we tried 5 different appetizers and 5 different entrees and got a good sampling of their menu. The chicken shish kebab, falafel, lamb kebab, and menemen were all well seasoned and paired nicely with the many dishes of rice, salad, and flatbread they all came with. The lentil soup was also delicious. I was with my parents, who really only have a desire to eat East and Southeast Asian food, but they still enjoyed our meal here, which is saying a lot.

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    Ali nazik with chicken, shawarma kebab, lamb shish kebab, and falafel plate

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