Çka Ka Qëllu has been on my radar for a while now. I first heard about it several years ago when…read morethey first opened in the Arthur Ave neighborhood - standing out as a traditional Albanian restaurant amongst the sea of Italian eateries. Fast forward to the present day, and they have gained considerable attention. The restaurant has made the NYT's Top 100 Restaurants in NYC list for the past 4 years, they have expanded to two (soon three) other locations, and is a favorite among the social media and celeb crowd (this is allegedly one of Dua Lipa's favorite restaurants in the city). That being said, we thought it would be a great spot to celebrate a family member's birthday - so I booked a table and off we went. Çka Ka Qëllu is located on Hughes adjacent to the back entrance of the Arthur Ave Retail Market. The restaurant is gorgeous - it's pretty spacious with three main dining rooms. The decor is a showstopper in itself - the exposed stone walls coupled with the abundance of artwork and old world accents placed throughout the dining area make this seem more like a museum than a restaurant. The ethnic music that is piped throughout the restaurant completes the feel. I honestly couldn't stop looking around. There menu is pretty expansive - most of the items I had not heard of before, but it's also approachable as they spell it out for you in the description what each dish is. We were a party of seven, so to make things easy we aligned to share everything. My brother and I decided to take lead and order items from each section. We decided to start with the ajvar, sausage dip, and tarator. These were all delicious; essentially dips, they all had great flavor and were paired with hot crusty bread mmmm. We then got a bunch of other dishes: leçenik, burek, fili, fasule with smoked meat, mantia, mazë e zier, and a shop salad. As with the dips, everything here was delicious. It's hard to pick the standouts because everything was so good - honest food, full of flavor and depth. Okay you twisted my arm - if I had to choose, my favorites were the burek and the mazë e zier. I love a good burek, and this one was top drawer. The pull on the mazë e zier was out of this world, yet it was easy to maneuver with great flavor. We ended the meal with one of their grilled dishes - namely the mixed meat combo. We chose five meats and they paired them with some vegetables and potato. At risk of sounding like a broken record - this was delicious as well. Service was awesome - everyone was welcoming and the food came out at a good pace. Overall, Çka Ka Qëllu is an absolute yes - the food, the decor, and the service were all aces. The hype is real and they deserve all the accolades they have received. Goes without saying, but I would definitely return for another meal - take me back now!

we liked the leçenik. the menu called it cornbread but it's different from american cornbread, w…read moreless corn flavor & an eggier texture. it reminded me of greek batsaria bc of the spinach & feta. the menu also said it came w a pepper sauce - it was like a cream sauce that had the 'green' flavor of green peppers, no spice. there was also a red olive garnish, which had a milder fruitier taste than green olives fresh complimentary bread came out w the entree, hot from the oven. they had a nice crust on the bottom & were rly soft on top. i tried them w the olive oil that was at the table, you could rly taste the olives our group got a mixed meat combo for the table. my fav was the suxhuk / sausage, it was flavorful w spices. we also liked the roasted potatoes, which tasted like they were seasoned w mustard(?), as well as the bit of cabbage slaw. i will say tho that this plate was a bit too salty for my taste the ambience is nice & rustic, w brick walls, traditional music, & even leather-bound menus. however they were understaffed so service was slow

Fantastic coffee and sweet treats in Jackson Heights!…read more My best friend lives a few blocks from here, and we stopped on a visit up to see him. Coffee was fresh and potent and the cake - OH the cake! It looks plain enough until you take the first bite. Like butter and sugar in a sponge. Freakin' delicious! When in need of coffee or a sweet treat next time I'm in Queens I'm DEFINITELY coming here again!

Had a very reasonably priced ($10), well-cooked, grilled chicken sandwich for lunch. Large sandwich…read morefor the price and on bread that tasted freshly baked. Friendly employees and pleasant interior.

ATIK was an amazing choice to celebrate my husband's birthday! The food was absolutely phenomenal,…read morethe entertainment was excellent, and the drinks were just as impressive. Our server checked on us throughout the evening to make sure we had everything we needed and that we were enjoying our experience, which made us feel truly taken care of. Overall, it was a fantastic night from start to finish. We will definitely be back!

I came here for a birthday dinner which is a pretty popular thing to do at this restaurant. The…read morestaff sang happy birthday several times throughout the night. I was a little concerned due to the mixed reviews but was pleasantly surprised and had a good time. The restaurant is beautiful. The decor is really nice and the outdoor seating is perfect for day or night. We originally sat at the bar to wait for the rest of the party. We had some drinks and some apps. We had the ceviche which was I was not a fan of and the calamari which was pretty good. I think the portion could have been a little more for the calamari and the ceviche was not a traditional one and it lacked flavor. It also could have used some bread, chips or plantains to go with it. For drinks we had the Cielo Blanco which was made really well. The cocktail menu was pretty decent and extensive. At the bar we noticed that they automatically put on a 20% gratuity which does not sit well with me when restaurants do that on all parties. While I can see a larger party but we were just two people sitting at the bar. We then sat for our actual dinner with a larger party. I had the special that was going on which was a whole red snapper which I loved. It was a good portion with sides and worth the price. It was flavorful as well. My friend had the steak which was cooked to perfection and was also very flavorful and worth the price. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals. The highlight was around 9/10pm when the entertainment started. While there were dancers periodically throughout the night there was a much more elaborate performance outside. If you are seated outside at that time, you have front row view otherwise the whole restaurant got up and went outside to see it. The performance was amazing and hyped up the restaurant. Overall this place a good place to come to have a special dinner at. The staff were very friendly and there was a lot of attention to detail here. The prices, to me were no different than any other restaurant in Manhattan. The place is more of a performative restaurant so that is what you are paying for: ambiance, performance, and elegance. The food is secondary and while mine was delicious I can see how it might not seem worth it to others. Oh two things to consider, 1. the place has a small bathroom for such a large restaurant. Two stalls., 2. They have valet but it's not guaranteed. It was full when we came so we had to find street parking.

The lamb gyro was very flavorful and well prepared. The baklava was good as well, however I wish it…read morewas bigger. The service was very good, kind and quick.

Ordered takeout from Avenue Gyro, and it did not disappoint. The pork was flavorful. The tzatziki…read morewas really great as well! Will need to stop in to try this while it's fresh!

Service was very accommodating since we did not have reservations. Food was great. Seemed to have…read morelot of regulars.

If you're looking for a great place for lunch I recommend checking out this restaurant. The food…read morewas great and well seasoned. The portion sizes are adequate for the money. We had good service and look forward to going back.

Tried this spot and really enjoyed it. The chicken souvlaki was delicious and full of flavor, and…read morethe pita was delicious as well. Everything tasted fresh and well prepared. They also accommodated me when I showed up 30 minutes before closing, which was really kind and appreciated. Wonderful service overall and I would definitely go again when I'm back in the Bronx.

Fast and delicious. Love everything they make and their soup, salads, grape leaves and chicken…read moresticks are my favorite!

We came on a Friday night, and around dinner time, we were one of three parties at the restaurant…read more I thought that was a little weird. The space is very bright and is playing traditional music and dance on multiple large TV screens. The music that was playing at the restaurant, did not appear to be the same thing that was on the TVs. We liked our food overall, but I'd say the atmosphere lived a little bit to be desired. Plus, it definitely smelled of smoke for most of our meal. If you're going to stick around, get the Cakor sampler and the calamari.

What a lovely surprise [last Thurs 7/10/25 - after a visit to the NY Botanical Garden VanGough…read moreexhibit my friend and I walked over to Arthur Ave area to look for a good dinner & drinks place. Çakor had a cute outdoor area with night lights so we gave it a try. - We had a lovely rosé (healthy pour) - My friend had the shrimp al Fredo and I tried the chicken Parmigiano with a side gatden salad The food was great. It was made to order & perfect for a summer night. The service was lovely and they had a buzzer on outside tables if you needed something. Healthy portions (we both had leftovers). I will definitely return to try some other dishes!

My person rating is two stars. My husband brought home some take out from Tasty Choice. We used to…read moreorder from here regularly. I can tell you that will never happen again because they seem to short patrons. We all ordered rice platters and everyone got decent-sized portions. My lamb kofta was abysmal. They gave me three small, dry ass pieces. Everyone else's platters were full of proteins. If they ran out of kofta they should have given something else or let my husband know. My daughter had a full piece of salmon filet, my husband received lamb and chicken mixed grill and it covered his rice portion, and my son had a full serving of lamb kebab. What they served for my order was obviously missing meat. They don't even give the actual "white" sauce - it's like a low-budget ranch and the hot sauce is probably bottled Red Hot brand. The rice was decent and there was a lot of red onion, cole slaw and tomato salad - much more than there was meat. If they're sending food to the same home, they should do a better job of ensuring that the meals are comparable. This was a terrible thing to come home to, after a long day working with patients. Never again.

This place makes amazing shawarma. The chicken shawarma wrap is my favorite, but I have tried other…read moredishes here, and I must say the quality is excellent. BTW, the wrap makes the shawarma less hefty and helps you taste the meat and sauces rather than get overwhelmed by the bread. So much more interesting a sandwich. Less hefty. More of a delicacy. Their sauces are just great. The side dishes (Hummus, Yogurt, Baba Ghanouj, etc.) are also of high quality and taste great. The baklava is also excellent. I wholeheartedly recommend this place. The place looks like a fast-food restaurant, but the friendly staff and good food make it worthwhile.