Perhaps one of the best underrated Turkish restaurants in the city! 🔸🔸 Atmosphere 🔸🔸 Has a great selection of wine which they boast proudly on the dinning room wall. Was very tempted but opted to stay sober for the experience. Every table comes with an Aesop hand sanitizer bottle. A nice touch that I wished more places had. The waiting staff was courteous and paid attention to detail. It's a rare find to see reviews that mentions the restaurant's bathroom, and personally wished this was more prevalent. It can really throw off the experience when you find disappointment after a delicious meal. But I got to say, they made the bathroom as an enjoyable experience as the dinning room. Candle lit with a lovely fragrance. 🔸🔸 Food 🔸🔸 The lamb skewers were cooked perfect. A nice charred exterior with a juicy tender interior. It begged a second bite. 😋 The braised beef was very tender. That with the dollop of cream, and the pureed eggplant was a tasty combination. We also had the Haydari with fresh pita bread. Gosh, the pita came steaming right out of the kitchen and that Haydari dip put a smile on my face. Was so fixated on eating this that the thought of taking a photo slipped my mind. 😅 The icing on the cake was the Turkish Coffee. My Turkish friend mentioned that the quality of the brew is judged by the amount of foam on top. Glad to say this was indeed the case! The little sweets on the side paired very well with the coffee. I devoured this with delight. Indeed, this was a perfect pallet cleanser, and close to the experience. 🔸🔸Tweak Suggestions 🔸🔸 The only tweak I would make would be the portion size. Each was a hefty meal. Especially the braised beef, that's easily a portion for two. But there wasn't enough cream to eggplant and beef ratio. Our appetizer came with a large portion of dip with but only 2 snack sized pieces of pita. So we asked for more pieces of pita 🫓 and it came just as fresh. 🔸🔸TLDR 🔸🔸 That evening was a wonderful experience. And if you're new to Turkish food, this is a great introduction. Taste and quality was top notch, a solid 4.5. Adjust the portion sizes and keep everything else the way it is and this place easily gets a 5 ⭐. I hope they'll have specials the next time I come back!

This place was absolutely amazing! Dined here for the first time with my girlfriend and we shared the following... Lentil Soup Roasted Cauliflower Arugula Salad Pan fried Shrimp with Shishito Peppers Salmon Kabobs Chocolate pot dé creme Kunefe Turkish Coffee Everything was wonderful, and the big standouts for me were...the arugula salad with Turkish apricots dusted sumac and a pomegranate glaze... the flavors were so unique and delicious! The pan fried shrimp had a little kick but was cooked perfectly and served with shishito peppers on the side in a chili oil. The salmon kebabs were so moist and again so flavorful...one of the better kabobs I've had in a very long time! I love this little neighborhood restaurant. They have a nice selection of wines, and the staff are super friendly and accommodating. Francesca was our server, and she was so pleasant! She was even mindful of our time when we mentioned that we were on our way to see a show in the neighborhood. I'll definitely be back!

Fantastic dinner!! Dishes are excellent! The menu is constantly updated. Braised beef with Smoked Eggplant Puree it was so tender it melted in mouth. Chicken in almond sauce was incredible. And of course Mega healthy lentil soup. Thank you so much!!!

Stylish small restaurant with tasty Turkish food. The dishes are beautiful, neatly presented, but unfussy. Our favorite dish was the feta cigars.

We are regulars at this fantastic restaurant. We went here specifically for the vegetarian Moussaka, which was simply divine and beyond compare. Sadly, they took this off the menu and the ability for pescetarians and vegetarians is somewhat limited now. We still go here, but I wrote this to encourage this business to bring back the vegetarian moussaka! It was a delight and there are so many plant based seekers out there. Please bring it back!

This place was absolutely amazing! Dined here for the first time with my girlfriend and we shared the following... Lentil Soup Roasted Cauliflower Arugula Salad Pan fried Shrimp with Shishito Peppers Salmon Kabobs Chocolate pot dé creme Kunefe Turkish Coffee Everything was wonderful, and the big standouts for me were...the arugula salad with Turkish apricots dusted sumac and a pomegranate glaze... the flavors were so unique and delicious! The pan fried shrimp had a little kick but was cooked perfectly and served with shishito peppers on the side in a chili oil. The salmon kebabs were so moist and again so flavorful...one of the better kabobs I've had in a very long time!

This place is very unassuming - I’ve walked by many times and hardly noticed it. But we had the best experience dining here! It’s surprisingly very elegant without being pretentious or overpriced. The staff is thoughtful and attentive. They have an extensive wine selection and a staff member who will help you pick the right one for your meal. The food is delicious, especially the mezzes! Even the simple things like hummus and muhamara were so high quality. We also loved the cauliflower. Highly recommend this for a date, but it’s also best for a group so you can try as many dishes as possible!

Superbly authentic Turkish meal. #delish The service was outstanding and attentive (Nihat was our server and he was wonda’ful). The owner kindly stopped by the table and chatted with us. I had lamb chops which were perfect. We shared a mix of appetizers and each one was simply delicious. I can’t recommend this gem enough.

Awesome appetizers! Hummus is thick and flavorful, pita bread was so fresh and steaming. Appetizers definitely beat entrees. Great selection of wine as well. While this place does cary Turkish flavors it is California influenced, and I like that a lot.

Cute venue and music with quality service. For appetizer, we ordered feta cheese cigars (very delicious) and zucchini fritters (very flavorful)--both pictured. We ordered 2 moussaka veggie and beef (not pictured), braised beef, and lamb loin kebabs. From the moussaka's the veggie was slightly more flavorful and more cheesey. Comparing the braised beef vs lamb loin kebab...could not decide as both are great in their own way, so order both and share. Kunefe is also fantastic--soft, cheesey, and sweet. Definitely would come back again.

Great food and beautiful place. I recommend the Lentil soup, roasted cauliflower and kunefe

Very flavorful food with insanely generous portions and a super creative selection of wines. The staff is friendly and attentive and it's got a warm and welcoming vibe. Unpretentious, and while not totally "casual" it's a chill spot.

Cozy rustic elegant space serving delicious elevated Turkish dishes. Warm and attentive staff. Stellar wine selection. The sommelier is a gem. Their knowledge and passion for wine is beyond impressive. Always selects the perfect bottle/glass! I highly recommend! This is a wonderful Inner-Richmond establishment that is also worthy of being a destination restaurant as well.

$12 for carrots and cucumbers. My main issue is the lack of transparency of pricing of "offers" and refills. My friends and I had ordered their spread of dips with pita bread. I had mentioned I was gluten-free and the server asked if I would like carrots and cucumbers for the dips, which I agreed to. Later in the meal she asked if I wanted more cucumbers and asked my friends if they wanted more pita. At no point did she clarify these would cost extra, phrasing it as if it was complimentary. It wasn't until the bill did we learn these were extra. Food was good, but that kind of service is deceitful.

The service is great here. The staff is very friendly and attentive. The food was generally pretty good. Definitely highlights were the spread, the feta cheese cigars and the kunefe. The meatballs were tasty but a bit firm. While overall the food was fine, the portions were definitely on the small side. The moussaka was listed as an Entrée but the size is what you would expect as an appetizer. If I ordered that as my Entrée I would not have been full. In general even the apps weren't particularly big. So ends up being quite pricey for the amount of food you get. Had a good experience here and food was tasty but for me it was a bit overpriced for the amount of food.