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Istanbul Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
Addison (Red)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- None
17 reviews for Istanbul Restaurant
waiter's accent = 5 stars
food = 4 stars
ambiance = 3.5 (especially good for a turkish spot)
the sampler platter, yogurt lamb kebabs, chicken couscous and dessert cookie thing with with an almond on top pleased every girl at my table. and we get around. the restaurants.
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"Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night."
Borrowed words-- 'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)' by They Might Be Giants-- but the sentiment is all mine.
I had firm intentions of dropping by Jewel to pick up some groceries and whipping something up before the 'Top Chef' premiere tonight. Best laid plans, right? However... I rationalized that by taking a journey across the green line, then up the red line, it was Christmas. But without presents. And not a chimney in sight.
But then Istanbul appeared in my weary path. After a quick survey of the menu, I decided on the combo platter, consisting of hummus, baba ganoush, dolmas, falafel and Turkish pide bread. 7 minutes later (as promised), my order was ready to go. Not only was the presentation picture-perfect, but their falafel is probably the most moist version of fried chickpeas I've ever had.
But the show must go on-- the hummus is slick as Rick and the ganoush is chunky with a healthy garlicky-lemon kick. The dolmas are so flavorful with their push/pull of mint and citrus zest, and the bread is not to be missed! Housemade, pillowy, almost resembling a thick pizza crust texture, and topped with sesame seeds.
BYO without corkage fees, delivery is available and the staff couldn't be nicer or more knowledgeable. And, everything is made in house (including the sticky sweet baklava) except for the cheesecake. Afiyet olsun!
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First of all, I think the review by the guy who talked about the gay section sounds a little crazy. I had dinner there last night with my boyfriend and they were very nice to us. I had the lentil soup, which was all right but Zad's is better. We had the falafel appetizer and this other vegetarian hot appetizer called mujver, a sort of fried vegetable dumpling. The falafel seemed a little off. The mujver was good but I probably wouldn't order it again. We split an entree: Vegetarian Moussakka. It was a lot better than I had expected. We had baklava for dessert, which isn't exactly novel but it was well executed and I enjoyed it.
I had expected to find the sort of pita bread they had at Turkish restaurants when I lived in Germany. I crave that often and never find anything like it here. What I found was more like rustic french bread and it was freaking amazing. I'm tempted to give this place four stars because I loved the bread so much. Instead I'm giving it three stars for the moment and hoping to be impressed by future visits.
Edit- After typing this I felt compelled to call and order one of their lunch specials. I got this vegetarian manti, which is sort of like tortellini or ravioli in a garlic yogurt sauce. It was light and delicious.
I see myself working though the menu of vegetarian entrees as my lunchtime pangs descend upon me in the coming weeks.
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Went to Istanbul Restaurant tonight. Excellent attentive service and great Turkish tea. Ordered Shepherd Salad -- which was good, but it's a dish that's hard to mess up -- it's a chopped tomato-onion-parsley-cuke mixture. Also ordered mucver -- Turkish version of zucchini pancakes, they were delicious but the portion was small. Another favorite of ours -- arnavut cigeri, fried calf liver -- was good but the portion was EXTREMELY small compared to Cafe Orchid or Turkish Cuisine and Bakery where we normally go, and contained a lot of fried potatoes where normally it should be way more meat and just a sprinkling of potatoes. So overall nice but nothing was extremely compelling to make us want to go there again.
Okay, my husband and I rarely go out to eat (maybe 2-3 times a month) and we hardly ever go back to the same place twice. If we do it's only the cheap take-out places, or we let a month go by between visits.
Well less than a week after out initial visit, we both found outselves craving the kabobs from Istanbul, and we went back for more. Again, we ended up stuffed on less than $30. Again, the chef came out to every single table and asked how things were. Again, the service was without fault.
This time we got the mozzarella stuffed bread (delicious, and enough to eat the next day) and the beef kabobs (so tender and tasty again) on excellent rice with a size of that awesome yogurt sauce. Yep, we'll probably be back next week, too.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/17/2009
I've been dreaming of making a trip to Istanbul (the city) for a long time, so when I saw Istanbul… Read more »
I liked this place a lot. I thought service was very good. The hummus was great! I also got the bread and meat thing baked in their homemade dough, with feta put in as well. It was awesome, but HUGE! I ate it for two more meals. It was a little bit greasy, but I guess that's what happens when you get that dish. I would have liked to have known how much of an extra charge the cheese was going to be, rather than just seeing it pop up on the bill. But overall, it was great, and I'll definitely be back!
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Mouth-watering hummus and dolma? Check
Warm bread and tasty entree? Check
Friendly Mediterranean men waiting on your every need? Priceless!
went there a few weeks ago, it was very good and cheap!
their bread is insanely good
we all loved the hummus, the baba was so so, but the hummus rocked
we had a bunch of various veggie dishes and enjoyed all of them!
BYOB is a nice plus
Any Turkish restaurant in the States is going to pale in comparison to the homestyle cooking of an authentic kitchen in Istanbul. That being said, Istanbul Restaurant's Iskender kebab is one of the better versions of the dish I've had this side of the Atlantic. Not amazing, but good compared to the rest of the Turkish fare you'll find here. I was disappointed by the lack of sütlaç (rice pudding) when I went, but the kazandibi (caramelized milk pudding) more than made up for it. The dozens of BYOB signs plastering the window are a little trashy but otherwise the decor is very tasteful and subdued. I hope that by the next time I go someone has taken care of the huge pothole in front of this restaurant that's filled with rotting sewage.
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Well... stopped back Saturday AM for the Royal Omelets. Big change here. Now that they're Muslim owned and operated they follow Halal evidently. No pork. The Canadian bacon in my beloved Mona Lisa has been replaced with turkey bacon (now that's blasphemy.) While the menu included "homemade muffin" with the Royal Omelets, we received toast; no apologies; no explanations; no choices.
The service was very attentive. They're clearly trying. Given their Turkish motif and no-pork policy I could easily see them gaining a star or two by adapting these dishes instead of simply swapping for an inferior ingredient. I'll keep an eye out for changes in the breakfast/brunch menu but we'll not rush back until then.
We'll be back for dinner though.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/7/2009
Partner and I visited Thursday for a late lunch. We each had one of their Turkish sandwiches. I… Read more »
I joined some good friends to visit Istanbul Restaurant for dinner this Saturday evening - this was our first visit there. I was very pleased with the food and service and will definitely be back.
The food is Mediterranean and very tasty. I personally had the Salmon but the others had Whitefish. The portions were generous and the overall quality of the food was very good. We started with the Lentil soup and it was great; it has a slight hint of mint in the taste and it was just wonderful.
The bread that they serve is very good, too. I am a bread lover and this bread is not only fresh, but warm and delicious. They serve it with a little Olive oil to make it easy to dip.
We all agreed this is a good restaurant well worth the visit and we look forward to going back soon for more. The menu is a large one and there are several items that have my attention.
They are BYOB.
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i will never return back to this restaurant. We were sat at a table away from everyone else, ( as if the gays were segregated from the straights) and waitress took our drink order, brought us our cokes and took our order. we ordered the sampler plate with hummas, babaganoosh, ect ect...now when you eat hummas and babaganoosh you eat it with pita bread am i right? NO they gave us toasted wonder bread. no freaking lie WHITE BREAD! I was like um isnt this suppose to come with pita bread? They then told us that their oven was broken ( everything was being microwaved that day ) and they couldnt make their pita so they went to jewel to get bread, I would think that if your going through the trouble of going to jewel to get bread you would at least buy PITA BREAD from jewel.
we never did get a water refill nor did we get a coke refill and even the other couple at the table next to us were astonished that they didnt get pita bread either and mentioned the poor service.
bad bad bad. the food wasnt even that good. I cant wait to see this one shut down and have something good come along finally!
BEWARE THIS IS A BAD ESTABLISHMENT WITH POOR FOOD AND POOR SERVICE!
I have been many times to all Turkish restaurants in Chicago and other places and I have to say that Istanbul Restaurant might become MY FAVORITE. Food is delicious, huge choice, servers are very nice and efficient. All ingredients are fresh and tasty. Don't remember when I had such good calamari. Decor of this place is simple but lovely. They also serve breakfast! Great choice of Turkish, American and fusion cuisine. It is BYOB! No corkage fee! And FINALLY very VERY reasonable prices!
BTW, Obviously we won't find any pork in there simply because it is Turkish restaurant and nobody should expect to find pork in the Turkish restaurant...;-) ;-) just like no beef in authentic Indian restaurant:-)
Went here with a pal for a pre-theatre meal. We were very impressed (and her family has Turkish origins!) The hummus was creamy and had an almost nutty flavor - best I've ever had. We went veg and were not disappointed in the subtle blend of sweet and savory flavors. The eggplant was perfect: firm but not chewy. Yummy waiters too! They're hard to catch but once we got their attention, we were treated very nicely. Sigh...
Not the best in town, not the worst. They make amazing bread. I had my husband move it to the other side of the table because i couldn't stop eating it. But I thought the Baba ganoush really lacked a smokey flavor and had a funny tang to it, that I couldn't quite place nor did I like. Also, I like olive oil and it is healthy and belongs on baba ganoush but please don't drown my food in it. The rest of our food was good--nothing special though, and lunch for two (with appetizer and tip) worked out to be about $23. Pretty good if you ask me. The service is attentive and parking was incredibly easy. But I just did not think it was all that great. While I would not object if someone else wanted to go here, I would not go out of my way to come back.
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I was so looking forward to trying this restaurant, on their grand opening June 25th. Definately a step up from the owner's last place, Cafe Demir. BUT, they were having issues with their oven. They were OUT of bread, we could not order lahmacun or pide, or any of the oven specials, and they were also out of manti (Turkish style ravioli). Basically, if we go out for Turkish food, we either want pide, lahmacun, or manti- so we almost walked out. But, we were there and we were both hungry, so we gave it a shot. They were really busy for a Thursday, and with only two waiters. The owner, Yasar Demir, came out of the kitchen and greeted guests at every table. We both ortdered kebabs, I had yogurt kebab, and my husband had Kofte kebab. They were just okay, but maybe we were just in the mood for pide. We probably won't be going back, instead we will order pide/lahmacun To Go. It's also a BYOB, and with NO CORKAGE FEES!
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I ate here with a few friends about a month ago, shortly after they opened.
The pros: Large portions, great tasting free bread, byob (no corkage), very reasonable prices.
For appetizer we had baba ganoush which had a wonderful smoky flavor and grilled calamari. The calamari was not great but not bad. I ordered the Lamb Mediterranean which was tasty, but not outstanding, although the lamb was very tender. My vegetarian friend ordered the moussaka and loved it.
Cons: The waitress was not very knowledgeable about the food she was serving, and she could have been more attentive given that there were not many people eating the night we were there (Thursday), they ran out of couscous (what?) for one of my friend's dish, and their credit card system was not working properly.
Another customer of the restaurant complained about black pepper in his dish which he specifically asked not for.
On the other hand, the chef came out and greeted everyone and asked how the food was which was a nice touch, and they gave my friends and I free dessert. We never complained about anything, so that was a nice touch too.
Conclusion, I would go back to try more of the dishes. I wish them the best of luck and I am sure everything will only get better.