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Konak
Rating Details »
228 Vine St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 592-1212
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 592-1212
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
17 reviews for Konak
I just took a big group here, and had a really good experience. We had to schedule way ahead of time, and the staff was always helpful and responsive no matter how many times we called back to switch things around or ask questions. They were also thoughtful enough to provide us with vegetarian appetizers, and the main meal was made up of several large plates (beef/chicken kabob, yummy grilled veggies, couscous and rice) that we all shared from. Most everyone agreed that the food was very tasty with the exception of one or two dissenters, and the meal had obviously been prepared with care.
Maybe I'm just speaking from a college student budgeting perspective, but the standard prices did seem pretty high to me (they were kind enough to give us a generous one-time discount), but I suggest looking at the menu and making your own assessment. The great service is what puts this place into the four star range IMO. I'm definitely interested in going back and seeing what other dishes they have to offer.
2.5 stars.
me and a few friends wanted to try something different for dinner. we went during winter, so parking was almost impossible to find (Snow storm that week, so all the cars stayed park---and their free parking lot was full).
it was pretty eventful that night. they had belly dancers (who was gorgeous) and some performers playing the drums/bongo/string instrument thing. that kept the diners in that festive mood. but at times, it was a bit "loud" for me.
the place was pretty packed but we were seated immediately (reservations for 6). the wait staff was a bit slow. drinks came in a decent time, but the server coming to take our order didn't have a welcoming tone--probably because we were a bit indecisive, but come on...it was our first time having Turkish! we ordered a few appetizers. hummus, ezme, babaganush, cacik, falafil---hummus was best out of all, but not the greatest.
one of my friends ordered the vegetarian platter--which is an ENTREE OF THE APPETIZERS that we ordered. so that was a bit of a disappointment. the kabobs were a bit dry and some bland--you needed a lot of the yogurt sauce to get some flavor...i went as far as to use hummus and other stuff to get some flavor out of the entrees.
Between all of this, the waiters and kitchen were terribly slow. we had reservations at 8pm but our dinner came around 9:45pm. this was definitely a LONG DINNER EVENT. i think it was over 3 hours!!!
overall, the food is nothing special (manhattan's turkish cart food is tastier IMO), the service isn't the greatest--slow and not that friendly (maybe just our server). be prepared for a long dinner! good for those that want to hang out and just bs for the night at one spot.
I am all for Turkish food and culture (my husband is Turkish) and this place has a great atmosphere, pretty good food, and kind of high prices. There are a few items on the menu with which you can't go wrong; the lamb shank (always SO tender), the Cigara Borek, the hummus and pastirma appetizer, etc. The great thing about this place is the ambiance. It really does feel like a restuarant in Turkey. The service is okay; nothing to either rave about or complain about in my opinion. This place does have great entertainment- live music, belly dancers. It's one of my favorite places for a group dinner party. Try out the $2 appetizer special on Tuesdays. A great way to get a taste of a variety of Turkish foods.
The food here seems hit or miss. One day the kabobs are dry, other days they are tender. The wait staff is hit or miss too! Especially when there are no more than 8 customers in the space, which is odd considering there isn't anything much to do but, WAIT ON YOUR CUSTOMERS!
I'm not asking for Mary Poppins to bring me my plate but maybe a smirk or two to let me know that your attentive and appreciate my business.
Came here with a friend during restaurant week 09. The restaurant was well decorated and had one of the cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen--sorry, it was pretty shocking how clean it was so I had to mention it.
Anyway, the restaurant week menu had a good selection of items to choose from. We ordered sigara boregi (rolled filo dough fried with feta filling), falafel, Iskender Kabob, (forget the other entree), Rice Pudding, Baklava, Apple Tea, and Turkish Coffee.
The service was good and the food was fantastic. Their Sigara Boregi is delicious. I would totally go back there for that. The baklava was the best baklava I've ever had. I know that this version did not have honey (which I believe is how Greek's make baklava). Not that I don't like honey, but there was something about this baklava that made it stand out beyond the rest I've had. The rice pudding however, ehh....I don't like my rice pudding's rice to still be kinda stiff, it should be soft, like pudding. The apple tea and Turkish coffee were perfect drinks to close the meal.
I definitely recommend checking out this place if you're in the area.
What a hidden gem! This place has great food, and some of the best Felafel I've ever had in my life! Some of their specials:
Tuesdays - Turkish Tapas ($2 plates of great foods). If you're not too familiar with Turkish food, this is a great night to go because you can sample a wide variety of foods - Hummus, Babaganush, Kabobs, Kafka, etc.
Wednesdays - 3 Course Meal for $25!
Fridays - Live Music and Belly Dancing!!
Walking from the bar area to the dining room, you pass through a shimmering veiled arch way. The dining room is immensely high and vaulted, the floor is decorated in a basic mosaic, and the appointments of the walls feature beautiful art, Islamic Proverbs, and other Turkish delights! At any moment you'd expect the wait staff to break out into a Whirling Dervish in the middle of the dining room floor! It's a great place to go for great food and atmosphere!
My boyfriend and I are always looking to try new places to eat, and we especially like to seek out non-American food. So we tried Konak, a charming Turkish restaurant tucked away at 2nd and Vine. It was a cold winter night, and Konak was warm and inviting. The dining area is large, with cathedral ceilings, which befits the place's name because Konak (pronounced co-naak) means "mansion" in Turkish.
My boyfriend and I cozied up at an intimate, candle-lit table across from a party of older folks who seemed to be celebrating someone's anniversary or retirement. They were a lively bunch, and they made us feel right at home, since they were regulars. Our server, too, was very friendly and on-the-ball.
The food was even better than the atmosphere. My boyfriend and I got a flight of Turkish wine samples, all of which were very very good. I especially liked the red wine because it is dry and smooth. Turkish food is similar to other Mediterranean cuisine and is just as tasty. We started off with the skewered mussels and the spicy ezme (a spicy onion, pepper, tomato, and garlic sauce) with flatbread. My boyfriend then got the Lamb Shish Kebab, which was so tender it was like eating filet mignon (I stole a bite of his dinner), while I dug into a stuffed eggplant. We ended our meal with Turkish coffee, which is bitter and sweet at the same time, and a dessert special of baked pear stuffed with walnuts and cinnamon. The dinner was truly worth venturing out into the cold, arctic night.
What made our experience even more delightful was that we happened to go on a night when they had a Turkish band and a belly dancer, which apparently is every Friday. I was a little embarrassed when the dancer tried to get me to dance with her, but the old men at the table next to us seemed to really enjoy her gyrations. All in all, this is a classy joint with a genuine Mediterranean flair that is difficult to find in the city.
They also have $2 dishes on Tuesday nights for people seeking to sample Turkish cuisine. Check out their website for more weekly specials.
There is parking at a lot halfway down the street, and we didn't need reservations the night we went because it was the dead of winter and hardly anyone else was crazy enough to venture outside. I'd recommend making a reservation if you plan on going at prime dinner hours on the weekend. I'd also recommend checking out the menu online beforehand, and remember to bring a couple of $1 bills in case the belly dancer is there...
Konak is a beautiful Turkish restaurant on Vine St. Between 2nd and 3rd. There is a lot down the street, but it can get full, so you may have to look for on street parking if you go at a busier time.
When we got there, from the outside and the neighborhood, all I could think was "O shit, where are they taking me now"... but once we walked inside, it's beautiful, big and open.
The service was so-so. One of the ladies was incredibly nice, but the rest of them spent the evening giving us evils. There was also live music. Which we wanted to stop so desperately. It was horrible. We sent him a piece of my friend's birthday cake hoping that he'd stop to eat it. But no, he just kept playing.
The food was alright. Nothing spectacular, but nothing horrible. I had chicken kebab and the chicken was kind of dry, but the tomatos were good. The hummus was pretty good also.
Basically, it could go either way. Konak wasn't good enough for me to go back - but not bad enough to say mean things. It's just there.
updated menu, fresh salads and seafood. it's tough to get away from the traditional items for me but konak remains healthy, classy and cheap option with parking. solid.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/31/2009
Tuesdays are "tapas" style, 2$ dishes. Tabuli Salad, Doner Kabob, Hummus, Falafel, the soups are all… Read more »
Konak claims it is located in a mansion-like environment. In reality, it is one of the worst restaurant environments I have seen in years. The room feels cavernous and lonely. It is freezing cold inside the restaurant in the winter.
The service was generally poor and the food was very good. As a fan of Turkish food, I was upset by the quality of the dishes they served us. I can understand that it may be worthwhile when they have special deals, but outside of those nights it is not worth the price.
Very tasty food for the price - at least on Tuesday nights when their tapas menu is $2 per tapa. Minimum order is $10 per person, which we found to provide plenty of food (there were five of us). Especially delicious were the feta cheese, the feta cheese cigars, the gyro meat and the hummus. Beware of the bread - it is good, but will fill you up quickly.
i thought konak was good - not great. a nice pick for a not-too-hungry vegetarian dinner with a few glasses of the -decent- house white wine. pretty standard fare i suppose - nothing mind-blowing, simple flavors, inexpensive enough, fairly 'safe.' had the vegetarian combo plate and a grilled veggie plate as well. since the price was right and i like the cavernous (albeit empty) dining room and comfy seats, i'll probably return now and then.
It was good, but not great. Konak was sort of underwhelming. My boyfriend I went here after having been in Turkey a few months ago, thinking it would take us back a little, but that didn't really happen. I read all these great reviews, but the food wasn't much more Turkish and less American than most Mediterranean restaurants in the city. The service was kind of lousy, too. I was definitely disappointed and would feel more inclined to try a different Turkish restaurant before I went back to Konak. Hard on the wallet, too, for what you get.
Food is generally good, probably the best Turkish food in Philly area. My favorites are Kulbasti and Adana Kebap. Interior design reflects an old Turkish mansion look, They enhanced it a lot lately. The only problem is restrooms don't match with this look. They either need to be modernized or totally renovated. They are clean etc, but they look like diner restrooms. I like the food a lot, I try to go there once every two three months.
Tapas Tuesdays! $2 a plate! Turkish Mousaka is the bomb!
I have been here three times and enjoyed every visit. The first was with a group, a going-away party for someone of Turkish background that wanted us to experience it so she ordered some of a lot of things, and made sure we were there for the belly-dancing. I enjoy their food, I like the decor, it can be loud if you go on a music night. If you are new to Turkish, I highly recommend the $2 Tuesdays, as you can try a lot of things to determine which you like. Parking on Friday night was difficult, we ended up 6 blocks away, but the other two visits there were spaces in their lot.
I'd never had Turkish food before stopping in here one night a few years ago for their $2 Tuesdays. It was great and I've been going back ever since. The tapa's sized dishes on $2 Tue really lets you try a little bit of everything so you can find out what you like and go back and order the full meal of it on another night. The appetizers are great. Really great hummus and bread. I also like their brek's which is a kind of pastry with filling like spinach or cheese. If you like a crowd and loud fun entertainment, go on a Friday night for the belly dancing and music. If not, go on a weeknight. It's usually much quieter then and easier to converse. They're also good at handling larger parties like family dinners. The staff are all very friendly, especially if you are a repeat customer. My favorite dishes: Adana Kebob, Dner Kebob, either of the fish dishes, and the aforementioned appetizers.
