Alhan "Zohan" K.'s Profile

It's one of these places where you walk in and feel immediately at ease. It's classy and romantic without being prétentieux.

And the food... delicieux. I had the crab cakes (the green salad will surprise you), the roasted salmon (melts in your mouth), and the chocolate love (just wait until you cut it open).

The owner is extremely hospitable and shows true care for the experience of his patrons. Overall, great location, and very good experience.

I will have to agree with Todd on this one that it's a lot good looking people with little regard to service. The only reason I really remember this place is because I saw Vin Diesel here once, picking up an order. He then got into this black Escalade and drove away. That's all I remember about Republic. If you are looking for fusion, just head down to Cafetasia on 8th street. It's much cheaper and service is better.

Meatloaf sandwich. RIDICULOUS. Will never forget the taste. I don't even need to go that often, I can just think of the taste and I feel good.

The only problem I have is that they sometimes take quite a while to prepare the sandwiches, but I guess it's a nice change from fast food.

Being Turkish, I can say with certainty that this place is truly authentic and a must if you are looking for Turkish food. It is a great place to go as a group, but can be a bit too noisy for a night out with a date. The service is attentive, as is the case in Turkey. (The female waitress seems to be quicker than the guys.)

Definitely try the Turkish wines - you will be pleasantly surprised.

The place got shut down for a week because their health permit expired. Then they tried to open during the probation period and got fined. They exterminated all of the roaches and bleached the place down and now are back in business.

It really doesn't matter anyway, since they are expecting to close the store at the end of this year and move to a new location uptown.

I like the classy look, the relaxed vibe, and quality wine. It's a good place to go when you are only 2 or 3, more difficult with larger groups as space is limited and the bar area is the coolest.

This was the single worst dining experience I have ever had in my life. By the end of the night my friends and I were laughing hysterically in disbelief at the terrible service.

I went there last night for dinner. We were a party of 8 and were obviously there to get a full course dinner and drinks. We were completely ignored all night long. Had to order the same thing over and over again. I got there late (about 1 hr late) and my friends had only just then received a plate of humus and bread.

The waiter did not even ask to take my order. He did not ask if I wanted a drink. They did not clear plates when bringing orders (they just moved stuff around the table that was completely filled with dirty plates.

Okay, so far it is a normal case of bad service. It gets worse.

We get through eating our main course. We want to leave, but may as well get coffee and dessert before we leave the place. We ask for dessert. The waiter says we have to wait because "they aren't serving it yet." Okay, so then we order coffee. (In the meantime we are given a new waitress - she is one of the girls from the door upstairs. We wait 15 minutes and are told there is no more coffee.

It gets better.

Then our new waitress comes with a beautiful plate of a variety of wonderful-looking delicious desserts. She places it on the table, explains what each one is and just as we go to grab one each, our previous waiter comes back to tell her that she just served the wrong table. She picks up the desserts and walks away. That is the point at which we just break out in laughter because it just went too far.

Then she comes back with another plate of dessert, this time just a plate full of fruit and random stuff but it's all on one plate and all 8 of us have to share right out of the plate since they did not bring small plates to go along with it, and we did not have the patience to ask.

After that we have to fight to get the check. As the check comes, the owner comes and wants us to all get free drinks. We list a bunch of drinks and some of us order coffee just for fun to see what happens. Those people who ordered the "free coffee" obviously don't get their coffee and we leave without really finishing our drinks.

And btw, they don't accept AmEx, just in case you try using it to pay as we did.

I go here at least once every week. It is obligatory for my good mental health. Service is fast (was faster in the summertime without all the NYU kids) and friendly.

I have never seen such an intriguing restroom. The first time I went in there I was at a loss as to where to go.

If you go there only once, try the Basil Udon w/ chicken.

So far I am halfway down the menu. The difference in meat quality is very striking. You really feel like you are eating a real burger that you might make yourself. The onion rings kick ass too, just be sure not to leave them in the container too long as they will get a bit soggy due to the humidity from the evaporation.

My favorite so far is the Philly Burger.