Where do I begin...the venue. The lamb and turkey presentation. The rich desserts. That creamy tomato soup was to die for. Imagine I've never had tomato soup and was not expecting to even try it. What a pleasant surprise! Delicious. Both drinks offered were tasty also. The portion sizes were filling. All the servers were very pleasant and helpful. The added tour of the market was a great addition to the pleasant meal. The room was very spacious and quite adequate for the amount of people who attended. I must mention the delightfully Turkish delights. Yummy Great family owned business. read more

See all

The grocery offers different ethnic, central asian faire. They are cooked foods that are delicious. I love trying different kinds. They have dubai chocolate. They also make their own yogurt. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

very expensive. pretzel sticks were stale. "fresh" phyllo dough had mold on it. we got spice, cookies, tea and they were in good shape.

This market has everything you need for Turk yemek (food) the owner is kind hard working patient and dedicated to spreading happiness. Kolay Gelsin. Allah Kolaylik Versin read more

Very expensive and the meat dishes don't even have 50 g of meat in a portion. Don't be so greedy and opportunistic. You do not provide adequate service despite the exorbitant price read more

They had a rich product range in terms of fresh meat and organic products. Thank you to the relevant personnel. *homemade kadeifi* read more

First time I went (around 7:30 PM on a Wednesday), I was told that their kitchen closed at 7:30, which was NOT advertised on their website. All the website said was "open 7 days a week, 9AM-9PM". I wish their website specified when their kitchen closed, as the vagueness can be misleading for patrons. So I left and returned 2 days later. I am taking off one star for the hummus, and another for the kelle paca. First off, the hummus looked and tasted as if it was dumped straight out of a Sabra or Tribe container from Jewel. No olive oil or any kinds of seasoning added to it!! This was an absolute disgrace, as I expected better. What a waste of $5! Would've never ordered if I knew this was the "hummus" they served here. They obviously weren't even trying to make their hummus at the very least presentable, even if it didn't taste good. Second, the kelle paca was really salty and lacked flavor. Might as well have licked a salt lamp... that's literally how salty the soup was! The lamb itself (in the soup) tasted alright, was tender yet flavorless. The iskender, which I ordered for my entree, was the only saving grace for my entire meal. Loved everything about it, from the tender beef shawarma and cubed Turkish bread smothered in tomato sauce to the pistachio-dusted yogurt sauce surrounded by grilled bell peppers and tomatoes. Beautiful in presentation and excellent in flavor! The tomato and yogurt sauces blended really well together. Peppers were slightly burnt, but I don't mind that at all. I ordered a side of rice pilaf and mixed it in with my iskender, which made it even better! Would totally order this again!! Service was friendly, well-organized and efficient. I would recommend this place for those who want to try something new and interesting, like iskender. But avoid their hummus like the plague!!! All in all, this wouldn't be the first place in the area I would return to, but was good enough (only referring to the iskender) for me to be pleased that I came here. read more

See all

Was craving something delicious today and was reading great reviews about this market and cafe. I was welcomed by big smiles, great conversations and an amazing menu for carryout meals. The gentleman behind the counter was so helpful and really had a passion for his food there...he described as the "Best Street Food Style Meals" I ordered Lamb Soup Wedding Soup Kofta Sandwiches Beef Shish Sandwiches Bulgar Kofta Meat filled Pide....WOWOWOWOW Many delicious recommended desserts All were amazing choices...I will definitely make the 30 mile drive to come try more. I highly recommend this place read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Meat Pide - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

See all

Decided to have breakfast here on the way to the airport and no complaints. The simit was yummy and fresh and hot. I'm going to apologize as I don't remember the names but we also ordered the honey plate that we dipped the simit into. Definitely do that lol. The Turkish pizza things (again, I'm sorry, I will do better to remember the names) is not bad also. Also had the manamem which was amazing! Simple and yummy! Also the place to sit was very cute. I recommend. Ohhhh and lastly the person who was out server, huge help! Thank you! You made our last meal in chicago great! read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Simit - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

See all

Food was expensive, bland and had no eye appeal. No sauce or condiments of any type. The take out containers were cheap. read more

Combo kabap was delicious. First time been to there and felt like hometown. The market has various stuff that you can buy. You can even find tarhana. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Inside the cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

Went back after more than a year and discovered they now have a tent set up for the cafe. That allows for more seating. Unfortunately the food wasn't as good this time. The ground beef pide was pretty good, but the kabob platter was mediocre. The cig kofte (basically mashed bulgur) was something totally new for us; it's a cold appetizer, and my wife didn't like the taste after trying a bite. I ate two full pieces and ended up with a stomach ache half hour later. read more

See all

Went for a quick peek at this place and loved it. Love the bakery and the products they offer read more

I wish I could give zero stars, I was hungry and wanted to have a good shawarma. To start lets talk about shawarma. Its a traditional Arabic dish which was supposed to be cheap and easily available so that everyone could enjoy it on the go or if someone wanted to have a quick bite. So coming back to the review the place is clean and employees were responsive but man $10 dollars for a shawarma, are you kidding me and I dont mind paying for my food if its good but damn man uncooked chicken one piece of lettuce and nothing else and I waited almost 20 mins for my shawarma and there was no line. Not going back to this place, highly disappointed. read more

This place was very good, fresh and fair prices. I came from Skokie all the way to shop there but last week I went there, they remodeled and everything was so expensive. I thought it's new management but they said no we just remodeled. I didn't shop much there and went 5 minutes away from there to another Turkish market. Çok yazık oldu. read more

The market is a mess. The floors are torn up and things really are in a disarray the "restaurant" is a tent around the corner from the market and the food was mediocre. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Lamb soup - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

Visited here for the first time for some takeout from the cafe/restaurant. I was a little confused at first when I entered because it looks entirely like a small market and in no area like the restaurant photos I saw here on Yelp. I noticed someone mention that the seating was in a tent "around the corner," so maybe I just didn't see that space. But I still have to wonder if those photos aren't entirely misplaced (there is also a place called Cafe Istanbul in Chicago). In any case, we found the bakery/deli-looking counter and were able to place our orders there. I ordered the Lamb Tandir from the specials menu and my husband got a Beef Doner wrap. We waited around for our food to be prepared and so I perused some of the market's offerings, which looked interesting. A couple of house flies fluttered about on this chilly November day, which is not too uncommon where there's food, I suppose, but not appetizing. I picked up a Turkish soda and before long our food was ready to go. My Lamb Tandir had the flavor profile and texture of a lamb biryani, which probably makes sense. It was not Frenched like in the photos on their website, but still pretty tender and tasty. It came with some rice and roasted vegetables. I stole a bite of Beef Doner, and if you haven't had that it tastes sort of like a gyros with a different spice profile. I thought our food was pretty good, but also pretty pricey for what it was, compared to alternatives available in the area. I might come back here again to try something else, like maybe a drink or pastry, but probably not too urgently. read more

This is the place for Turkish grocery shopping and getting an authentic Turkish meal at the attached cafe! Food is fresh, delicious and portions are really good. The grocery side has all your staples and more. We bought fresh bread, kaymak (creme), piynar (cheese), Lokum (Turkish delight), coffee and bulgur for Pilav all imported from Turkey except for the fresh baked bread of course! We ordered food for a party too- pide (Turkish pizza), meat and cheese borek's and simit's fresh baked! Everything was delicious! Definite great place to come for everything Turkish! read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Cafe and store front - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

See all

It's seems look good this cafe first time but when you order something completely awful and selling expired groceries,foods are cold( Lahmajun, Samsy....) Service read more

See all

It was Thanksgiving Day and I needed something awesome to bring to family dinner. Hurray! They were open! Almond and Pistachio Baklava, freshly made. It was a hit at dinner, must've been freshly made that day, very sweet, very soft, worth the price. I can almost say, it was better than whats found on Kedzie, but, maybe it was just this batch. Will definitely go back for more. Given the name it is an ethnic market, specializing in Turkish, Greek goods. Check out their website, but if you have a chance, stop in and sample some baklava and look around. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

See all

It was fantastic, I will come here again. Grocery is also beautiful! There is Russian food too. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

See all

So happy I found a place for authentic Turkish cuisine! The simit and samsa are AMAZING read more

See all

I stop by this place for lunch... ordered the lamb soup... and a kabob wrap... omg y'all... that lamb soup was .. I would definitely go back and order it again... the staff was super friendly too... y'all got to try it.. read more

I really liked this place, first off this place is divided into 2 sections, the cafe and the market. The market was interesting, lots of Turkish products that I haven't seen before. And the other side which is the cafe was a simple set up, decent amount of seats, it was clean. The staff overall was very friendly. We ordered the Iskender entry and the chicken Shish Kabob plate. Overall the Iskender was amazing, the bread was fresh, the gyros were flavorful. The Shish Kabob was good, but the Iskender stood out. Another plus was the free Turkish tea. Overall a great experience. read more

See all

Worst place for Turkish food . Staff is unwelcoming, food came out cold , I have to send back the lahmacun to heat it, no plates no knives offered after bringing the food . Unorganized with the food coming out with different order, the hungry kids had to wait for their food as our food came first , but again the beyti kebab was sent back to heat. They bring one dish and wait for the other. It was a very bad experience for a place that used to serve good food. read more

Restaurant was awesome! We went for groceries then we saw the restaurant was open so decided on a quick date night dinner there. The Iskender and the lamb kebab I had was amazing soft tender and tasty. And the bread rolls were extremely fresh and delicious. The hummus needs more tahin. The dessert was light and sweet. Little pricey but I see the quality. So, overall it was lovely. We will definitely be back! read more

Very nice and clean place, love it and will definitely recommend to all my friends. If you like coffee they do have one of the best coffee I ever had and of course so many different varieties of desserts , love this place. read more

We have looked forever for a restaurant that serves lahmacun! And Istanbul market & cafe didn't disappoint!!! The lahmacun was delish !! As was the baba ghanoush and the bread !! I got the beef Kebob sandwich. Very flavorful and fresh veggies. Fiancé has the meatball sandwich and he also liked it. After we went to the market area and got a few treats. All in all a very good experience and we will Definitely be back !! Grateful to yelp for the $15 for $30 worth of food. A good deal ! read more

Ifter starter for Ramadan 2018 Great place for break fast for those busy during Ramadan. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

Incredible. Love it. I can't say enough about how amazing the food is over here. The lentil soup with cream is my favorite! Bread is amazing as well read more

Terrible experience. I had combo kabob for 23 dollars . Meat was dry no flavor . It was top of the rice very dry . Rice has no taste . Their salad pre made no matter what you get they give you that . Very low quality bunch of cucumber and onions . Cashier told me that it doesn't come with bread . How can you serve kabob with no bread ???? I had to ask 3 times for it she gave just one small piece . Service sucks it took them around 45 mins to get my food to go . Terrible experience. Never ever going there again . read more

I love coming here. It's a restaurant and grocery store combined. This place was traditionally Turkish and just recently they added Uzbek food as well. I tried the Uzbek beef Samsa and it was delicious and so juicy! Some of the traditional Turkish items that they carry and serve in the restaurant are Simit, Pide with sausage and a breakfast spread with tea. They have more lunch and dinner items but those are some of my favorite go-to's. read more

If you are looking for authentic Turkish food this is the place. The best thing here at the attaches store is their variety of breads that are freshly baked. I have tried a lot of Tukish delights from here that you don't find from anywhere that easily. The food on the restaurant side is excellent as well. read more

See all

I don't know what happened to The Istanbul cafe. Food is well overpriced: Laghman(An Uzbek noodle soup) nothing extraordinarily is 14$. Samsa almost 5$ for a piece.bs. Too much grease and didn't even have proper ingredients in a soup. Also,soup wasn't a full portion,1/2 portion for $14. Are you f'kn kidding me! They had some good people used to work in the kitchen and probably they all long gone. I'll never comeback and won't recommend this place to anyone! I'm Ulugbek, From Kansas City read more

This place has a wide variety of authentic Turkish food at a very reasonable prices. It is really a market with a restaurant on the side but the food is wonderful. You must try the lamb stew, and the chicken sheesh kabob platter was absolute heaven. For breakfast options their eggs with sausage is my favorite. In Chicagoland I can only compare one of my other favorite restaurants in terms of halal chicken kabobs, and that is Kabul house in Evanston...nothing else comes close. If you don't believe what I have to say, take a look at the pictures, they speak for themselves! read more

See all

Over priced and little quantity very small combination plate for 23$ , xtra small soup bowl for 8.99 $ , pictures dose not match what u get, Bad service , no face mask or gloves while pandemic , very bad experience dont waste your money read more

This place is a joke! One tbsp of honey and kaymak for $4.50.. if you're going to offer kids-size plates with kids-size portions, you're prices should reflect that. EXTREMELY small portions that looks more like samples and less like actual meals for ridiculous prices and keep in mind the taste isn't even there. Save your money and go somewhere else. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - a plate of food on a table - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

This place is incredibly good!! The food is too good! Love their menu options Variations are good Owner is very courteous read more

I had the lahmacun tonight, we called the order in and then ate in, because we know it can get very busy on Friday. Food was fresh and delicious and reminded me of Istanbul. read more

Istanbul Market and Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

As a Turk, it's hard to imagine this many dishes on the menu that are all home cooked. Even some of the biggest busiest restaurants can't manage this selection. With such a small seating area, I had to try it myself. Once I got there and realized it was also a grocery store, I realized most of the food is pre made and frozen. This place just heats most of it up. I wasn't in love with that concept. I'm sure they work hard. I just wish there was a real Turkish place around Chicago that was authentic. Not a fusion. Not Americanized. Just true to the culture. Maybe someday. read more