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    Masal Cafe

    3.2 (395 reviews)
    ModerateTurkish, Russian, Halal
    Open 9:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    Order Masal Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Masal Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    MASAL CAFE ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - Masal Cafe

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    Outside
    Ange C.

    Had a wonderful dinner with friends at Masal! I didn't take a picture, but there was a children's play place on the second floor. What a helpful concept- have the adults chit chat and making boring conversation while the kids go off to play! I've never had Manti before- small lamb dumplings with yogurt sauce. I don't know much about it, but it looked like the dumplings are hand made- good texture, flavorful lamb. I really tried not to eat it so quickly because I knew I would be :( once my dining experience ended. Dessert - warm kunefe with pistachios on top. It's a baked cheese pastry in syrup.

    Kumpir
    Sabrina H.

    The place has a massive amount of seating both indoors and outdoors on the street with shade. However the food is pricy and the quality isn't amazing. Ordered a large Turkish tea the potato special with is a huge baked potato stuffed with cheese, tomato, cheese, corn, pickle, olives, sour cream ketchup and sausage. They also have meat entrees such as kebab, gyro and chicken but are on the pricier side. Food is mediocre and service could use improvement, it was difficult to get server's attention to pay bill. Might go back for dessert and tea only next time.

    Haydari (Lebni)
    Israt A.

    The Lachman and lebni were good especially together. I'm not sure if the lachman is supposed to be cold traditionally. The manti I did not like at all. The dough was nice and soft but I did not not like the yogurt sauce ATALL. And it isn't that I don't like yogurt clearly because of love lebni. I also don't like these bite size manto because the more you eat it the more tired you get of eating it. We went to masal plus which apparently has a more extensive menu. But I found the menu to be confused- having everything from pastas to tacos. It definitely makes it feel like you're NOT going to get authentic Turkish food. Nothing was terrible but nothing stood out so I probably wouldn't come back. The service was okay, I didn't have this terrible experience everyone else seemed to have had. Although, there was this weird, horrible smell that kept wafting through the outdoor tables that really made me want to leave.

    Manti
    Alper T.

    Today we felt like having some manti. Went to Opera Cafe a couple of blocks away, they took manti off their menu. Came to Masal, they said they have it. Mind you they have mostly wraps, sandwiches and 4 main courses on the menu. You expect that they would do their best, i was wrong, won't come back here again. Manti was undercooked and it was still doughy!!! At least our server was smiling thats all

    "Ribeye" which appears to be more of a strip steak.
    Albert E.

    This place has a few decent items. Mostly the dessert. Gelato is great. My friend really likes the creme brulee. The service is great as well. Their espresso-based drinks are quite bad. I usually order gelato with an americano and the drink is just god awful (Yes, I gave them a few chances on different visits). You can usually make most bad coffee drinks drinkable with milk. Does not help. Liver was cooked well except the pieces are cut small and therefore are slightly dryer than they could have been. Chicken parm was ok. However, what really prompted this review is the "RIbeye" I ordered. Which magically turned into what appears to be a strip steak. Oh, and while I believe it is quite difficult to mess up mashed potatoes unless it comes out of a box... These mashed potatoes got really close to tasting like they were out of a box.

    Flooded peeling stained ceiling The lights were flickering
    Lainie J.

    Food was mediocre. Service sucked we went to the part where the kids play area was and it was filthy and definitely wouldn't pass health inspections the waitress messed up the order and didn't come over at all had to hunt Her to get the check i wanted to love this place but it was not at all what i expected from the pics online

    Strawberry cheesecake, profiteroles, salep, Macchiato
    Kseniya K.

    Raised their prices on every menu item amidst COVID. Many businesses are doing the same to stay afloat. Follow all social distancing and safety measure procedures. Friendly staff, quick service. Salep is delicious, as always. It's milk, orchid flour, and cinnamon, served hot, which is perfect for chilly weather and for soothing you before bedtime. Desserts are tasty, but now, on the overpriced side given the fast causal nature of this establishment. Strawberry cheesecake $9 was creamy and smooth. On the sweeter side, so I felt my glucose levels shoot up from that happy sugar rush in my blood. Profiteroles (two per portion, for $8, which is expensive for such tiny dessert) were not very fresh (you can tell by the stale dough and stiff/dry cream filling). Tiramisu $9 portions are usually very generous.

    My peach sorbet awesome
    Heather R.

    We truly wanted to try the desserts from this establishment as it was recommended from our friend. I was truly happy with my Desert frozen peach with sorbet how creative and tasty. I also loved my delicious ice cappuccino real coffee for this connoisseur. We also ordered some desserts to take away rice pudding and Napoleon, true heaven to share with family yessssssss. My main Criticism is the service at the establishment. Our Server was very polite and nice however he was not diligent in following up how we were doing with our desserts and taking a very long time to give us our check. It appeared a lot of the Staff were chatting away. I can over look this matter on account the food was was great.

    Manti
    Sara A.

    The ambiance here is fantastic, but the food itself is nothing to write home about. It's maybe slightly above average flavored Turkish food. The restaraunt is right in front of the bay, so you can eat and then go for a nice stroll. They also have very nice outdoor seating.

    Jason C.

    Went here for my sister's birthday dinner. The restaurant is pretty big and packed on friday. We made a reservation at 7pm. We got a booth which was very spacious. The staff and service is very good. I gave it a four star because they almost gave my wife a kid's menu. The food was good. Ordered different types of foods. It came pretty fast. Would probably go next time let's see if they offer a kid menu again.

    LMFAOO didn't even eat first time There & customer service is trash but I shouldn't b surprised probably treated me like that Because the color of my skin I would never recommend 0/10 Workers hav disgusting attitude soup n burger WAY BETTER ‼

    Small Turkish Coffee

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    5 years ago

    Horrible service, they opened up a bunch of tables but not enough staff. Expect to wait for a awhile to get served.

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    6 years ago

    Terrible beef sauté. Ordered delivery and I got hard rice with some burned beef and some vegetables. No sauce but plenty of oil. Never again

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    9 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Good food brunch overpriced and automatically charge a 20% tip. They don't put out enough food at one time for the buffet brunch.

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Great outdoor seating at Masal. They're known for the loaded potato but the manti (Turkish ravioli) and lamb quesadilla are delicious.

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    6 years ago

    The worst! Dried out and overcooked rubbery beef. Overpriced. They charged for water. Never, again!

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    8 years ago

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    Page 3 of 10

    Masal Cafe Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Masal Cafe

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    Skovorodka

    Skovorodka

    3.9(280 reviews)
    0.8 miBrighton Beach
    $$

    My last time to Brighton beach was well over 20 years ago. I remember it well. All of the…read morestorefronts with. Cyrillic writing, clothes, food with wonderful smells, trays and trays of caviar, just bursting out the door. And, a Starbucks. Today, not too many Eastern European businesses are left. Now, it's banks, cellular, provider, stores urgent care, a 7-11, even a Popeyes freaking fried chicken. Oh, and the Starbucks is still there. After walking out of a very bad experience at imereti Georgian cafe down the street (see separate review) I found this place. Boy, am I glad I did. I was seated in the front. The restaurant was gorgeous. ! I could hear a beautiful voice singing, Eastern European songs in the back of the restaurant and at one point,, he switched to Elvis's "I can't help falling in love with you" in English. That made me a little emotional, because that was my late partner's and my song... Anyway, I decided to go for the crêpes with red caviar (salmon roe), and the Ukrainian borscht. Bread and butter is brought to my table. The white bread was OK, but the brown bread had a deep rich flavor. The crêpes come first, and they were amazing. The crêpes were very warm, soft and delicious. I loved the "red caviar". A little bit salty, more briny than fishy, and a wonderful explosion of flavor when the eggs "pop." in the mouth. I was very happy. Next came the borscht. It had cabbage, beets, potatoes, and either beef or pork. I'm not sure which one. The meat , beets and potatoes was very tender, and the soup was delicious and not too rich. A very satisfying flavor., the beets gave it a little bit of an earthy flavor. The sour cream that came with it, just added a creamy richness to it without overtaking the flavor of the borscht. 1000% a home run. Dinner wasn't cheap. Two dishes, two iced teas (I found out they charge for refills), and tax, and it came out to about $48 before tip, .I didn't care. I don't mind paying extra if the food is that good, and this food was absolutely beyond awesome. I would be glad to come back and try other items on the menu. Thank you!

    Stopped by as we wanted to try some authentic Russian food, and this did not disappoint! We ordered…read morethe classic Ukrainian Borsch, along with the green borsch with chicken meatballs, and the blintzes with meat to start. The classic borsch is very dill heavy, but that was my favorite! The blintzes were also delicious and came with a tangy yogurt/cream sauce. For entrees, we shared the chicken stroganoff with buckwheat and Cornish hen with mashed potatoes. The hen was incredibly tender with a dill gravy, and the buckwheat was perfect with the stroganoff. Overall really delicious dishes and a beautiful indoor environment! Also the service was incredible and the owner was very kind in explaining to us the dishes.

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    Skovorodka
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    Sheep by Barashka - Kutab/Qutab with veggies. Outstanding.

    Sheep by Barashka

    4.3(23 reviews)
    1.2 miSheepshead Bay, Midwood

    The space is great! Often empty, looks like an event space for the most of the time. Closed Mon and…read moreTuesday. First time I came, I wanted to try potato kebab, which I didnt see anywhere else, they were out. I ordered small pies, they were out. Waiter said they are never out of kebabs. So I ordered kebabs. 10 min later he came again and said they are out of it as well. Like how the waiter can not know what they have?!! Ended up with grilled sturgeon, which came bare on a plate, not even a leaf of green or anything. Wanted to give 3 stars or even 2, but gave it a second chance. Second visit they had everything and it was delicious. Apart from potato kebab, which ended up being just a puree on a stick. Nothing exciting. Food is really good but quite pricey. Especially for the area.

    My husband had a birthday and we decided to have dinner at this restaurant. It has a very beautiful…read moreinterior, comfortable chairs. I would especially like to draw your attention to the menu. In addition to our favorite dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine, there are many delicious and unusual dishes. We ordered crispy eggplants, kutabs and a signature salad as an appetizer. For the main course: sturgeon shashlik, lula kebab, lamb shashlik, vegetables and grilled potatoes. Everything was very fresh and tasty, especially the crispy eggplants - amazing! In honor of the birthday, we were served free tea, 3 types of jam and Baku baklava. The waiter serving us was called Anar. Thank you for the excellent service! I would also like to note that the prices were reasonable, which is also important.

    Photos
    Sheep by Barashka - Interior

    Interior

    Sheep by Barashka - Lulya Kabob. Very good.

    Lulya Kabob. Very good.

    Sheep by Barashka - More interior

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    More interior

    Mari Vanna - Tomato Salad

    Mari Vanna

    4.0(839 reviews)
    10.9 miFlatiron
    $$$

    My husband and I visited this restaurant on June5, 2026. We ordered the herring appetizer and the…read morehome made dumplings appetizer. We also had the chicken Kiev and the duck leg and breast entrees. The Napoleon was our dessert. Absolutely delicious! The ambiance is cozy and romantic. Our table service was amazing. Irina did a wonderful job taking care of us, especially when we joked around when I accidentally spilled my cocktail all over the table. Irina came back with a new table cloth and in a split minute everything was changed and cleaned up. Great job and service. Ask for Irina, she is amazing. Hope this post helps with everyone's decision to visit this restaurant.

    I had read about this place a while ago and was happy that a friend suggested it for dinner…read more Charming atmosphere. The staff were lovely. Great cocktails. Learned that Beluga vodka is made in Montenegro (who knew?). Pet peeve- bread service as a menu item. The bread was good, but really? Just charge 50 cents more for everything. The food was excellent. We shared the eggplant salad, the blini with smoked salmon and the artichoke salad to start. I had beef stroganoff for the first time. It was excellent. Really rich, couldn't finish it. My wife had the Kamchatka, same thing. I had a bite of a friend's chicken Kiev (is it transgressive to eat this in a Russian restaurant?) and it was delicious. We were too full for dessert. Unique atmosphere. Excellent, but very rich food. Worth checking out.

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    Mari Vanna - Bar seating

    Bar seating

    Mari Vanna - Honey Cake

    Honey Cake

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    Gurman Restaurant - Salmon tartare

    Gurman Restaurant

    4.3(33 reviews)
    1.2 miGravesend, Midwood
    $$$

    Attending a friends birthday with about 60 or so was a very nice event and the food was good as…read morewell. The service in this long and narrow space was really top notch. All of the staff were able to speak both Russian and English which made things easier for those who don't and they were quick to clear a plate or replace a napkin or utensil. There was a DJ who also sings and another singer as well to keep us all entertained. A smaller sized dance floor is available for those of us who wanted to cut a rug, so to speak. Another room in the back was setup for the children and a menu for them was set up as well. Parking is street side so you might have to walk a couple of blocks in a nicer Brooklyn neighborhood. Great night out with good food served in at least seven or eight courses. The lamb chops and the potato and mushrooms dish were particularly delicious. Also you can't go wrong with any of the pickled dishes available. This is a BYOB spot so bring your favorite bottles and servers will supply water and soft drinks for you and your guests.

    Son a prize bottle wine, and promised to pick it up any day, when I came to pick it up, manager…read moreMikhail said come next week Wednesday-Friday. Because They cannot give prizes. So, how much bottle wine will cost me, if I should come one more time, I am not living on that neighborhood.

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    Gurman Restaurant - Grilled Seabass. & Salmon

    Grilled Seabass. & Salmon

    Gurman Restaurant - Grilled vegetables with feta

    Grilled vegetables with feta

    Gurman Restaurant

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    Varenyk House - Ukrainian flag colored Varenyky

    Varenyk House

    4.7(37 reviews)
    8.8 miRidgewood

    The people who work at Varenyk House are nice and not chatty. There isn't seating available. I was…read morejust in the other day and it looks like they got a bunch of new freezers and offer hot food to go now, too, not just fresh frozen! I bought a bag of frozen potato and cheese varenyk (pirogies), and they were delicious. Attaching a photo of what they looked like after I cooked them at home (boiled and then sautéed in butter with diced onion and spices).

    Came on a Thursday night a few minutes before closing and they had such a large selection of…read moreUkrainian goodies! the staff were still hard away making dumplings in the back. Once stepping into the store, you are met with large freezers and fridges stuffed to the brim with all things Ukrainian. Many of their dumpling items are in large packages (2-3lbs a pack) and range from $8-$15 per lb depending on the filling. $15 a pound for their lamb and short rib Pierogis. Price-wise, it's very fair! And you can taste to quality and heart they put into these Pierogis. Can't go wrong with any flavor. I got the lamb and it was stuffed with tender lamb pieces, no filler. And they make for great quick meals! I also snagged a box of cabbage rolls stuffed with a pork and rice filling. Simple home-y flavor and better than rolls I've gotten from restaurants. Just reheat and it's ready to go! $15 for 5 large cabbage rolls was a great deal as well! Would get again. The only thing I wouldn't get again is their soup dumplings, as it was a bit difficult to cook and was a little too doughy near the top of the dumpling. Flavor wise, it was delicious and had a nice broth (assuming you didn't pop them. Only 1 didn't pop). But it was a difficult item to cook right in boiling water, like the instructions mention. Perhaps, user error. Every item is sold by weight and labeled after selecting your items. But they're happy to check the weight/explain price before purchasing.

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    Varenyk House - Homemade pierogies

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    Oceanview Cafe - Olivier salad and Smoked Mackerel with Potatoes

    Oceanview Cafe

    4.3(201 reviews)
    0.9 miBrighton Beach
    $$

    Behind a retro blue awning sits a restaurant dear to Brighton beach and to me! Ive been coming here…read morewith my family since I was a child so the food, vibes, and TVs playing endless Russian music are so nostalgic for me. Recently, I took a friend here who is not familiar at all with Eastern European food and she loved all of the dishes. The cutlets were perfectly seasoned, and the buckwheat was buttery and warm. It tasted just like what I eat at home. We also had the sweet cheese vareniki which tasted desert-like and were so decadent with the sour cream. The Compot had a refreshing fruit flavor and paired so well with our meal. The service was quick, and we were able to request extra plates to share our order.

    A friend who grew up in the Bronx had never gone to Brighton Beach. 'C'mon,' I said. 'Let's go!'…read more We didn't start off with a bang. Delicious elsewhere, their Ukrainian borscht -- one of my favorites -- fell a bit short. G ordered lobster bisque. Compared to a restaurant in Florida, Oceanview's soup had minimal lobster. Her rating, a measly '2 stars.' G's chicken kebob with grilled vegetables was as good as what I had here before. This time I ordered cutlets, fried with chopped chicken. It was okay, jazzed up with G's hot sauce. I won't get it again. With a glass of wine and a table outside, we enjoyed taking everything in: a heated argument between two Russian men cursing each other over parking. (It was like a skit from 'Saturday Night Live.') A table of locals chain-smoking ... I didn't think anyone smoked anymore. And of course, the rumble of the Q train above which is practically a signature of Brighton Beach. Lunch was actually pricey which is why we avoided both cafes on the boardwalk. In retrospect, we should've splurged on a scenic view for a few dollars more. 3.5 stars.

    Photos
    Oceanview Cafe - Inside

    Inside

    Oceanview Cafe - This is the sandwich they make which is really delicious and I Ecco lend it to everyone.

    This is the sandwich they make which is really delicious and I Ecco lend it to everyone.

    Oceanview Cafe - Outside

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    Outside

    Karczma - Rosół aka chicken soup

    Karczma

    4.4(789 reviews)
    10.1 miGreenpoint
    $$

    Well, it has been 11 years since I first reviewed this place. Time flies! I have not been here in…read moremaybe 6 years and I can tell you the food is very sad now. I got the schnitzel (breaded chicken cutlet) and it came with a side of coleslaw and mashed potatoes. You used to be able to pick two sides, but anyway... There was zero seasoning in the whole dish. The coleslaw tasty like nothing. It was full of mayo but tasted like nothing. The chicken was super dry and tasted like it had been fried yesterday and then heated in the microwave. The mashed potatoes had an annoying amount of chopped dill on top, but no salt. The biggest sadness came when I tasted the pickle soup. It is a shadow of its former self. It is light on pickles and full of under-cooked potato cubes. It was badder than bad. What is going on here? SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED CASH!

    We were walking around in Greenpoint and suddenly the neighborhood turned Polish, which is super…read morebecause I love Polish things...especially stuffed cabbage. I saw a couple pointing and nodding, so I asked, is this place amazing? They said yes. We were sold. We were wanting a drink and conveniently, they had a bar. Polish beer and incredible Polish cabbage on the way to meet friends for dinner at another restaurant? Duh!! Im Jewish - not religious - but it's important because beef/rice is the norm in my world. Karczma makes a pork version which was so so good. Big fat pieces. Thick, perfectly wrapped cabbage. Juicy, flavorful filling. The sauce was bright with tomato flavor. The wagon wheel decor was a curveball, but the warm and comfy vibe in the restaurant is what mattered most. We loved it.

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    Karczma - Carrot Salad

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    Masal Cafe - turkish - Updated September 2026

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