I absolutely loved getting my kettle of hot tea. And the small mezze sampler plate. Absolutely so delicious and so plentiful and so fresh.. I really enjoyed the eggplant varieties . I absolutely had a wonderful time. The service is magnificent and it's just nice and relaxing . DELICIOUS FOOD. I'm very grateful to the hard-working people who take care of us so wonderfully. The servers, dishwashers , chefs, the farmers , the farm hands , people who pick up the phones and give service / care over the Internet. Their account list folks who did their job so well! Thank you . read more

Little Istanbul - Turkish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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We decided to go all in on the menu, and honestly, that's the reason I'd come back. We started with the cheese borek and lahmacun. The borek came out hot and flaky, with that perfect balance of crispy outside and soft, cheesy inside. The lahmacun was thin, slightly crispy, and packed with flavor the mix of lamb and spices hit without feeling heavy. Then came the Istanbul Mix Grill, and this is where they really stand out. You get a full spread lamb chops, Adana, chicken, kofta, gyro and everything actually tasted amazing. The lamb chops were juicy, the Adana had a nice kick, and the chicken was tender and well seasoned. Portions are generous easily enough for two. We finished with baklava, kunefe, and Turkish coffee. The baklava was solid, but the kunefe is the one you don't skip warm, cheesy, slightly sweet, and fresh. Paired with the Turkish coffee, it was the perfect way to end the meal. Service was fast, and everyone was genuinely friendly. They didn't just take orders they actually helped guide us on what pairs well together, which made the experience better overall. Price wise it's worth it. Not overpriced for the amount and quality of food you're getting. The vibe is casual and family friendly, but still flexible you can come here with friends to hang out and talk, or even make it a solid date night spot. What stood out most is that there were no weak links across everything we ordered and that's rare when you try this many dishes. If you're coming here, don't play it safe. Get the mix grill, try a couple appetizers, and finish with kunefe especially with the ice cream on top! read more

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A place with the worst service (from today). We had been there many times for, specially for the lentil soup and kebabs, we loved their foods and recommended to people. But today, the person who came to take our order, misbehaved with us. He claimed to be the manager, when we asked to meet the manager. He was shouting at us in front of other customers, making racist remarks, disrespecting my country and my country people. When we protested, he said they were busy, that's why he couldn't control his temper. When we wanted details about a dish, he asked if we couldn't read (not all the dishes had pictures). Still he told us to check again, everything was written alphabetically. I would never recommend this place to any one (first few visits would be great, but you don't know when they lose control over their temper and disrespect you and your race/country). read more

Amazing restaurant located in the Somerton neighborhood in the Far Northeast. Simple decor with beautiful mosaic glass light fixtures hanging over the tables. We got the Istanbul Kebab Mixer which includes season chicken, lamb chop, lamb kebab, and beef slices with fries and seasoned rice. The kebabs were so tender and juicy and full of flavor. The lamb does taste a bit gamy so don't order if you don't like that. Dessert was great! You got up to the counter to order. Then they will bring it to your table. The Istanbul tea was a regular black tea. They don't have tap water so be prepared to order a drink or bottle water. Tip: if you're paying by card, they don't have a tipping by card option. So bring cash tip! read more

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Loved, loved, loved this restaurant. Food was delicious!!! The atmosphere was wonderful!! Our waiter was very attentive. We started off with the Hummus and Haydari and they both were very tasty. I had the Yogurtlu Chicken Adana, so very yummy!! For dessert I had the Baklava it was the best I ever had. So moist and full of flavor. I enjoyed my pot of Turkish Tea. I definitely recommend this restaurant. I will be back for sure!! I will try their Levittown location next. read more

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Most of the food tastes the same covered in the red sauce with yogurt. It is not bad but i desired more variety from my dish and not just a singular taste profile throughout 3 different dishes we had. read more

Wow! Boy, do I love other cultures' food ha ha. This place does not disappoint with the variety of selection and the fair pricing for large portions. Extremely kind staff. They have you covered from appetizers to entrées to drinks to desserts. Do not pass up baklava. Or rice pudding. I would choose the rice pudding over the baklava. Check out the photos and you'll see a liver appetizer, a pide, and an entrée of what I think is lamb. I've made multiple visits here, and I plan to be a regular. read more

Food was amazing!!! Staff was helpful and catered to all customers. The restaurant is very clean. My favorite thing we ordered was the Pan Liver Cubes. The Turkish tea was also divine! read more

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Located in a tightly designed old commercial strip on Bustleton Avenue in the far Northeast, Philadelphia, Little Istanbul is a small Turkish restaurant with pleasant atmosphere, good service, and a fairly broad menu of Mediterranean and Ottoman style cuisine. With about a dozen tables, it pays to know what you want to order coming in because the room turns over quickly. This part of the city has a strong East European, Silk Road community, and this place fits right in. We ordered Red Lentil Soup, Sauced Eggplant, Ground Beef/Lamb Pide and the Baked Salmon dinner. Based on our experience we would stick with the gyros and appetizers next visit, and shy away from the more elaborate dinners and Pide. Here's why: The soup and eggplant were excellent, with fresh flavor, plenty of spice and wonderful bread and pita to help it down the gullet. The lentil soup was creamy and steaming hot, and more yellow than red. Apparently, it had a chicken broth base, which surprised my companion. The eggplant came in a tomato and olive oil base, and was served cold. Loved it. However, the salmon, while a thick steak, was delivered past its peak from the oven. It was a little dry and the sauce it came in was not able to revive it. Otherwise, the taste was okay, but it could have been so much more. The Pide is very similar to a dish found in Georgian bakeries. The shape of a boat, it is basically thin dough with cheese and ground beef and lamb spread thinly across parts of the dish, much like pizza in taste, but with more interesting crust. It would have been great with more meat topping, but as it was it was a simple pleasure. The lamb and chicken gyros we saw served nearby looked like absolute winners, and we would definitely try them next time. Too, enjoyed sitting across the dining room from the large photo mural of the Bosporus waterway that transects the city of Istanbul (not Constantinople), and separates eastern Europe from western Asia. A fantastic old fortress city now part of a modern Turkey. 3.5 STARS read more

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Yesterday in the early evening I stopped by this little wonder in Philadelphia. It's not the first time I've been there but each time I'm greeted with a smile and the smell of the food is enough to make anyone salivate. The young woman at the register took my order and her boss with a smile came in and said hello. In very short order I received my order to go. I ordered the lamb gyro on Turkish bread and for an appetizer I ordered the cheese borek. Honestly, I couldn't choose which one was better because they were both delicious. I will come back again because the hospitality and the food are spectacular. I recommend this place highly. P. S. You have to love a place that's loaded with locals. They know good when they see it and certainly when they taste it read more

Little Istanbul - Turkish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Our seating was a little tight. The server was pleasant and helpful. We shared an appetizer plate that was tasty. The entree portions were generous. My salmon was moist. My wife and friend however found their chicken kebabs to be on the dry side. No alcohol allowed in this Halal restaurant. It's worth a try, but not a stand out. read more

This is an excellent little restaurant. I only do takeout but the dine in ambience is decent for being in a strip center. The staff is friendly (the owner is even on site and when he is he says hi to me). Nice, varied menu and truly excellent, fresh, made to order, high-quality food. I've been coming to this place for years and it is always consistently good. The parking lot can get a bit crowded/hectic at times, but that's genuinely the only negative I can think of. I frequently need to tweak my orders (like no onions) and the staff is always careful to make sure my order is correct. Love this place and will continue to patronize. read more

Wonderful welcoming family style restaurant. Great selection of food. Highly recommended.

Ordered a couple dishes from here for my girlfriend. She enjoyed the food but said they could've included a bit more rice with the meal. Overall, I recommend it. read more

The best restaurant ever, I love little Istanbul restaurant, the staff are amazing the place is great read more

Little Istanbul - Turkish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The food is amazing, the flavor of food is amazing could use a little more in salt but that is personal preference. The supervisor SAFAk is Outstanding they should duplicate this guy he is a rockstar. The service with him is great. The restaurant has an amazing ambiance and atmosphere to it middle eastern feel is there. read more

I've been looking for a good, reasonably priced Turkish place around the area, and this place was great. It was PACKED on a Saturday night, and we waited a little bit because we didn't have a reservation. The food took a little while to be ready, but it was worth it. Everything we ordered was pretty good, and service was pleasant. There seemed to be some miscommunication with who had what table and what items we ordered at one point, but the servers were still pleasant to deal with. Would definitely come again. read more

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Good food, little English and understanding, so order carefully. There is no alcohol allowed despite what other reviewers have said. items tend to be well done and takes time. The desserts are fantastic, but a little pricey. read more

Delicious food. It was my first time trying Turkish food and I enjoyed everything. The staff are very friendly here. Highly recommend.

Great spot . Good food Only thing I would say is that when I walked in there was a table of folks not wearing masks. I almost walked out. But I placed my order and waited in my car for my order read more

I ordered lahmacun, and the meat came out almost raw. It was the worst lahmacun I've ever had. They didn't even bother to slice the tomatoes. Theese foods can be called anything but definitely not Turkish. read more

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I came here tonight because of all the rave reviews online on UberEats, Yelp, and Google. I hate to say that I am so disappointed and I was actually deciding between 2 or 3 stars, but the baklava saved the day and made it 3 stars. I enjoyed trying the food at this place, but probably wouldn't come back. (And it isn't too much worth the hassle of the busy Philly traffic. It took a while just to get into and out of the parking lot because so many cars were going in and out of parking spaces. Of note, this is in a shopping strip with a LOT of other stores.) Tonight I tasted the lamb gyro sandwich, adana kebab, and the baklava. First and foremost, the packaging was sloppy for a pickup order. Everything seemed to be just tossed into the bag hastily. In both meat dishes, there was the same issue. The meat was way too salty and overseasoned. Salt just took over the flavor of everything. And in the lamb gyro sandwich particularly, the overly salty meat flavor was combined with a tough and overcooked meat texture. The shining star of dinner tonight was the baklava. It isn't the best baklava I've ever had, but it was better than both of the other things I bought tonight. The baklava on its own is a 4.5/5. I'm a little saddened that I couldn't love this place as much as so many other people did. I'd like to believe that it was a one-off and some things were overlooked on this busy Friday night. I would hope this isn't the regular. read more

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We were refused service. On vacation in Philadelphia and after sitting down we were not given menus. We were ignored. Other patrons entered after us and were welcomed and given menus. We left. read more

Delicious! The Lamacun was exactly how I remembered them when I went to Istanbul. The Lamb Shawarma was fantastic as well! I'll be going back and trying everything on the menu! read more

Basic, although the meat is cooked it is missing flavours and condiments to compliment

The food is delicious. They make a point of checking for that you are happy with your meal. The portions are large.

I finally tried this new restaurant in northeast Philadelphia. It was really good dining experience. I tried eggplant sauce, Russian salad, cheese rolls, mix grill and spinach feta Turkish pie. All of them was so good and tasteful. I would highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. The place was also very clean and I liked their open kitchen. Congrats and good luck for your business. Definitely I will go back there. read more

Ordered lamb shawarma there many times! The best in the NE Philly !!! Service is great!

Great service I also love the taste of Turkish food I'll give it a five star review. I will highly encourage other people to go there too.

I had the pleasure of eating at Little Istanbul yesterday to celebrate a coworker; the food was AMAZING!! The meats were seasoned perfectly! The customer service was impeccable as well. I never thought that I would dine at a restaurant like this because I assumed that all of the food would be spicy or made with curry- I couldn't have been more wrong! I had the Yogurtlu Lamb Shish- DELECTABLE! My son had Mixed Kebabs Entree- there was so much food; he hadn't even finished all of his food before saying that he was full. I would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant; I will be taking my family there real soon! read more

I go here every weekend for take out, they have a nice mix grill platter that comes with everything perfect for 2 hungry people and you can squeeze in a toddler too. Over all great food served fresh and seasoned to perfection. read more

I first heard about Little Istanbul from my mom. They just opened it and are still trying to figure everything out in my opinion - overall running management of the restaurant , remembering orders , etc. We got the iskander, lamb chops, and hummus, I wanted to get the falafel but they ran out when I came. I was super sad but I will try it next time. The hummus is very creamy and comes with warm bread. This was super good I would recommend it! Also I would definitely get the iskander- it is meat in tomato sauce and comes with a side of white creamy sauce. These are two dishes I would try The lamb chops were okay. They came with a salad and rice. They also have dessert like baklava - a must try at any Turkish restaraunt . Overall the food was pretty good but don't be too disappointed by the way they run it. I think they're new and in the process of figuring things out. Hopefully it will get better soon. Still a nice place to try though ! read more

So much flavor and wonderful and friendly service. Don't let the exterior or strip mall feel scare you away.

Heard about it from restaurant.com where I purchased a certificate I used on my visit. The menu in the store is longer than the menu listed on restaurant.com and offered more choices. Kebab sandwiches were pretty good. Piyaz (bean salad) is delicious. Some things are a bit on the expensive side for the portion. Sigara Borek (thin cigar shape boreks) are very small @ $6.50 for 5 pc, but they were tasty. Also ordered Lachmacum (a sort of pizza if you will - very sparse ground meat on thin tortilla kind of pastry). It was about $13 and would not recommend - it was bland/tasteless and very little filling. Overall this is one of those places that I would visit again -with a restaurant.com certificate - just to try other things on their menu along with a kebab sandwich (I did like the kebab sandwiches and the Piyaz salad ). read more

Little Istanbul - Apetizers: Sigar Borek($6.50) and Piyaz salad($6.50) - Turkish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Service is terrible, took very long time Food is ok ! Not worth to go . I wouldn't comeback . . read more

Best place to spend tome with family and friends. Affordable prices big portions and fast service. Come again soon. I highly recommended

The service here is not friendly. They really need to learn how to make people feel welcome. The food is average and the portions are average size. Maybe take out the service part and make it completely self serve to make it more fast food style? I just think that when a server takes your order, they might want to deliver the drinks instead of pointing at the fridge and telling me to get my own. Too many restaurants with similar cuisine in this area to not try to be better. Smiles, welcoming people, Thank you for coming, checking on the table to see if anything more is needed, delivering drinks ARE ALL THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO FOR FREE!!! NONE of those things were done during my visit here. Basic hospitality is free. I'll go elsewhere when looking for free smiles. I'm happy to pay extra for everything else. BTW, the high chairs are next to the fridge if you need one, go get it yourself though. read more

Best mediterranean/Turkish restaurant in the region. Everything on the menu is delicious and they never disappoint.

Attended the grand opening of this place and have to say, the food was delicious. I've tried an entrée & dessert and was left satisfied. Good luck to your business! read more

Little Istanbul - Turkish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Food is delicious but not always consistent. Our favorite is the kefte kebobs. When good, the kebobs are flavorful, juicy and delicious. The past several times(!) they were overcooked, rubbery and less flavorful, sadly. I was excited to discover this restaurant last year but my interest is waning. I'll give them another chance and hopefully they'll restore my faith. read more