Next time you go to Ankara, please ask for Ali. He was absolutely phenomenal and made our experience at the restaurant quite memorable. The menu was extensive but he made great recommendations about the dishes and they came out one at time. The food was flavorful and paired well with the wine we chose. The atmosphere and service were exceptional. I will definitely be back. read more

The worst red lentil soup ever! And it's not beef doner despite the waitress said it is!

Bottomless brunch for $37.90? Yes, please! Unlimited food and beverages. Beverages include everything (besides shots) too, not just your typical bottomless mimosa or bloody menu. If you're looking for typical brunch foods, this is not your spot. There are some omelettes but it's mostly Mediterranean faire. Comfortable seats with lovely tables for two people. There are a bunch of large tables for big brunch parties too. The grape leaves and the Brussel sprouts were amazing. If you don't like them, grab something else on the bottomless brunch menu. You really can't go wrong, they're all delicious!! Small plate sizes so if you have a large group definitely order two. The staff is beyond friendly and efficient so you can order in multiple rounds and your glass will never be empty. read more

The food here is delicious and the staff is very attentive. Ali S was our server. He was awesome with a great sense of humor. We had the mixed grill. It was plenty of food for two people. I would definitely recommend this place. read more

"Hairy "pizza and Terrible service. Just got here for happy hour with friends. We have to beg the server to come to our table. When we asked other sever to grab our server, she gestured us that she was not our server and she didn't want to come. Also, our drinks never came. Also, they have US A PIZZA With a HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!Come to Ankara for hairy pizza ! read more

See all

My daughter and I had a great meal here last night. We ordered several small plates and enjoyed all. We had great service. Ali was very helpful and attentive. We loved the baklava! read more

Awesome restaurant! Loved it. Very nice food and service. Our server Ali was the best!! Highly recommended.

This place is great for happy hour and made better by bartender Leslie, who was experimenting with new craft cocktails on the night we were there, and sharing tastes of her creations as she invented. If they were any indicator, this isn't just a place to try for delicious Turkish food, it's a sure bet for drinks in Dupont Circle area as well. read more

We had an amazing meal. Our server Ali S. was prompt, friendly, and helpful. He made excellent recommendations. I highly recommend the baked hummus, the salmon entree, and the beet salad. Baklava is great too! Also, who can complain about half priced wine on Mondays? A+ read more

Best best best brunch place in DC Pudont Circle. The food was delicious and a lot of options for everyone. The drinks were also great, they give you many choices to choose from including well drinks. Todd our waiter was more than kind and super attentive. Thank you Todd for the great recommendation. If I could rate him he would get 10. read more

I loved this place. They bread is amazing. The soup was also super delicious. My parents enjoyed their meet plates. I enjoyed the cheese bread, the mezzaa and hummus. I was not very impressed with their cheese platter at all but the rest was amazing! read more

See all

Stopped in here while visiting DC - wish I lived in DC so I could go back more often. Food is authentic and delicious. The service is fantastic and the staff are very kind. Wine from Turkey was great and very reasonably priced. Definitely try the Turkish tea as well! read more

Food was delicious and service first rate! Thank you, Ali! We recommend the baked hummus and the shrimp dish with rice. Wonderful!

My waiter G was fantastic. Food and drinks are great. Good for a group. Kalamata spread and chicken kabob mix together was on point!

My very first review, and I'm glad it's such a positive one. Went to Ankara for the Saturday brunch buffet with my partner. We were told this was a concept introduced in this restaurant less than a month ago, and we're both glad they started it. Being huge fans of Turkish and Mediterranean food, we had a good idea of what to expect. And Ankara definitely did not disappoint. The food is lacto-ovo-vegetarian-friendly. While my partner gorged on the cheese samplers, red lentil soup, and spinach and cheese pide (cheesy flatbread), I found myself returning for the shakshuka (made of eggplant instead of the usual poached eggs), baba ganoush , and kisir (bulgur wheat salad). But our favorite dish, hands down, was the eggplant in yogurt sauce - a perfect mix of sweet, salty, and umami. The only let-down was the dessert spread. Although very tasty - with the pistachio cake being a highlight (must must try) - we felt the dessert menu was too generic. We are both huge fans of baklava and kunefe, and were sorely disappointed not to see either being included in the brunch buffet. Maybe next time? The ambiance is perfect for a laid-back brunch, and the service was spot on. Even the music was a perfect fit for the atmosphere and food. At $22 per head (bottomless mimosas and bloody Marys come for an extra $12 per head), this was a very economical and tasty experience, that we cannot wait to try again. read more

FANTASTIC Turkish food!! I lived in Ankara, Turkey for several months about 10 years ago, and this food reminds me exactly of the food I had there. It's also crazy delicious. We had the cold mezze platter with hummus, ezme, and dolma. I would highly recommend all three, particularly the ezme--very Turkish and yummy. The real star, though, was the Iskender. It was flavorful and perfect. For dessert, we had baklava with some chai (Turkish tea). It was all incredible. The service was also excellent. Our server was Ali, and he was wonderful, friendly, and attentive. read more

Love Ankara! The service and food are wonderful. The spinach pide, sucuklu pide, chicken kabobs and shepherd salad are delicious. I wouldn't order the lentil hummus again and wish there was a plain hummus on the menu. read more

Great brunch! It's great service, wonderful food, you do NOT leave hungry. Must go if you're in D.C.!

I had a great experience at Ala! The food selection was very diverse and the servers were incredibly accommodating. Definitely a redo!

I just went for dinner at Ankara, and it was excellent. The staff were attentive, kind, and hospitable--as is the Turkish way! The chef (who used to work at some of my previous favorite Turkish spots in DC) even came to give us a warm welcome. What a difference a chef makes! The food was great; we had hot and cold mezzes to start, particularly enjoying the red lentil soup, shepherd salad, babaganus, and tzatziki. For our main course we had the mixed grilled meats, and it was excellent. All perfectly cooked and a proper Turk-sized portion. We tried a few of the desserts to sample, and they were all good--especially the kayisi tatlisi. We will definitely come back! read more

It was the most delicious Turkish food that we ever had. The dishes are delicious. The portions are generous and the prices are cheaper compare to Agora and other Turkish restaurant in the area. The host was fantastic and the service was fast. Our waiter, Bora, was polite, kind, fast and professional. When our desert came a few minutes late, not only they added some ice cream on the side, but also, they took them off from our bill. The printed receipt shows %20 off of our next visit for brunch. I am a very good cook and I recommend this place to everyone that can cook and knows the value of taste and deliciousness. We will go back again for sure! read more

I had food poisoning after I ate dinner here. While the wait staff was decent and attentive, the food was a disaster. Avoid!

AMAZING!!! such good food, great service! I got the small plates and shared a bottle of wine with some friends. The waiter suggested great dishes to us. The restaurant has outdoor seating which was adorable. I highly recommend this place. I'm from out of town and I felt like a local here cute restaurant and seating too. The entire experience was perfect and you can't go wrong with Turkish food!! read more

Definitely one of the better dinging options for brunch in the city. Love the diversity of food options, adult beverages and overall ambiance. Proximity to the Metro is also a plus because parking in the DuPont area can be such a pain. read more

Ankara is a Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant with a bar and lots of seating. It has just been redone so everything feels pretty clean. I came here with two friends for happy hour and dinner recently and we sat at the bar. Pretty standard HH menu: $6 for house wines and $8 for rail drinks. HH appetizers ranged from $5-$7. We ordered the Htipiti to start - a spread with red peppers and feta cheese, which came with pita bread ($5). Next, we each decided to order two starters as our main courses. I ordered the Shepherd's Salad ($7) and the garlic shrimp ($11), and my friends ordered the orange salad ($8) and the zucchini and herb cakes ($8). I think the portions were a little small for the price. My shrimp dish only had four shrimps in it and I was hardly full. The salad was also pretty plain. With tax and tip, I ended up spending upwards of $40. Pretty standard in DC when you are ordering mezze/tapas style food. I would come back but maybe just for HH. read more

Great service, phenomenal desserts and good drinks. Definitely going back for dinner sometime.

Brunch is amaze! Can't wait to come back. Bottomless food and drinks. Leaving stuffed and satisfied. The head Chef Serap came to our table to ensure everything went well. Love this place read more

Today was my first time visiting ANKARA, and it was decent. The menu and the ambiance is very nice. Our server Hasuse gave us great service. He was very polite and gave us a lot of recommendations. Me and my boyfriend both tried the flatbreads, which were OKAY. Decent but wayyyyyyyyy too cheesy. In conclusion, I will definitely try this place again! I'll just try something else and not the flatbread. read more

Service and food were excellent! We'll be back again soon and sit outside again, weather permitting!

This place is excellent!!! Great food, great vibes, and above all, very affordable. The Waiter was incredible. Todd was attentive and very kind. His friendly and enthusiastic energetic made my dining experience very memorable. I am definitely coming back! read more

Amazing food, drinks, and service! Would highly recommend their bottomless dinners. The meatballs were delish and so was Jésus (the server)! Only minor suggestions is that I would recommend that the restaurant consider serving spoons with each of the dishes as a pandemic safety precaution. Otherwise it was five stars in my book! read more

Went for brunch with my good friends and really enjoyed the food. The waiter Bora was amazing. He really took care of us, gave great customer service, and was very attentive. We will for sure come back again. read more

Ankara brunch was amazing! The entire staff was so friendly. Especially our server, Borat!! We never had an empty mimosa, cup of coffee, and all of our food that he chose for us was delicious. We had a large group so his tip was already built in but he still gave us fantastic service. I've never had better service at a DC brunch before. Come to Ankara for brunch and ask for Borat as your server! Try the baklava and the shashuka! read more

First time trying Turkish food here! Got the veggie Pide and was a fan. I'm a huge advocate of anything that tastes like pizza, but has much less oil and grease. This tasted like a thick flatbread with plenty of cheese and spinach. Great alternative for pizza cravings. I'd come again! read more

Delicious food and friendly service. I have been in Turkey and know how they serve you like a special guests. Beautiful atmosphere nice music. Amazing place read more

Good Turkish food in DuPont circle. Had the grill sampler. Lamb chops, chicken kabob and meat balls. Served with rice. It was good. The meat was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. read more

Amazing service! Food amazing. My waitress AMAZING ! First time in DC and I can say everything was amazing and I will always return !

We got the bottomless brunch and we really enjoyed it. Hamoon was our waiter and he provided phenomenal service :)

This is based solely on the Ispanaklı Börek. They have real Borek. It was delicious! Like, 'I will be going back to get this again' delicious, and 'I reheated it in the microwave and it was still great' delicious. I think they make it in house because, when I ordered it, I was told that it had just been made. As a bonus, i walked in when they were trying to close up, but they still let me get a Borek to go and were super friendly about it. read more

Went here twice with friends and enjoyed our time. Food is good but what gives Ankara five stars for me is service. The staff was very accommodating even though I made the mistake of reserving a table not knowing that happy hour was served at a different section of the restaurant. The manager (or owner, not sure) was apologetic but honest and explained why they did that. Instead of having snobby staff looking down on you for these kinds of mistake, at Ankara, they chose to be honest and provided options. read more