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    Istanbul Bay

    3.0 (32 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 11:30 pm

    Order Istanbul Bay Takeout or Delivery

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    Sherry W.

    Order takeout as we were thinking more Middle Eastern / Mediterranean vibe for dinner. We had Instanbul once many years ago (when we first moved to the area) but wasn't experience or knowledge about the cuisine and didn't know what to order and probably didn't like it as much. Hence haven't been back since but decided to give them a try this time. We ordered for pickup and came within the time but it wasn't ready so I took a seat to wait. It looks like majority of the food is already there to scoop into boxes and only the protein is cooked to order. They were still grilling lamb chops and it was a smaller portion size than expected at that price. We ordered grilled lamb (small) and chicken rice. Came with side salad and bread. Bread was not wrapped and just toss into the bag. Would love it if they warm up the bread as that would make a difference. Chicken was abit dry.

    Doner gyro (lamb)
    Sarah A.

    They give a lot of meat for the doner gyro (lamb) and the chicken gyro. Pretty tasty especially with the white sauce. One container of the sauce isn't enough though, I usually need a 2nd one.

    The fresh baked bread
    Farah S.

    update: we love the food here whether it is from the take out section on 86st or the beautiful dining room on the bay parkway side. Today 5 of us sat in the dining room. we had the mixed grill which was huge! The salmon kabob, Adana shish, lamb chops, calamari, sigara borek, calf liver, and Coban salad... everything was perfect and delicious! Thank you Ismail & the great staff at Istanbul Bay on 86th street & bay parkway. We have been eating at Istanbul Bay for the past 10 years so can honestly say the bad reviews do not make any sense. If there is ever a problem they always show the utmost Professionalism in customer service, correct it & are polite about it. The food is always perfectly cooked & delicious. Staff is always very attentive and beautifully represented of Mediterranean restaurant hospitality & service in high standards. They are very clean and having checked the kitchen to say hello ourselves (because we've been coming for years) can tell you they are clean. Perhaps if it's very busy & they're dealing with a crazy amount of Uber eats orders yes any restaurant could get overwhelmed. But we have never witnessed this ourselves. Food is always delicious & staff is always accommodating, helpful & pleasant. Our experience with Istanbul Bay leads us to believe the negative reviews are written by their competition... which are many. Or unscrupulous people with devious intent..... Give Istanbul Bay a try & you'll love not only the food but their welcoming hospitality...We love Istanbul Bay!....

    Falafel appetizer and Mixed Appetizers large

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    6 months ago

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    4 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    16 days ago

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    8 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    Photo of Adam Y.
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    1 year ago

    Empty restaurant and they wanted reservations or to seat my family outside in the cold

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Great food. Ordered Branzini and tabouli. Amazing bread. Courteous service. Not a long wait for the food.

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    Wonderful food, great atmosphere and friendly staff. The desserts were amazing. Get the creme brulee.

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Amazing place to eat with friends and family. Food and ambiance is on point. Service is also very attentive and professional.

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    2 years ago

    Food was tasty. Service was fast and efficient. Ambiance was quiet pleasant. Me and my family enjoyed our dinner very much.

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    2 years ago

    Authentic Mediterranean and Turkish food. Quality ingredients and nice service. I really like this place.

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    3 years ago

    Food is good but Management sucks. Waited 45 minutes for a Gyro lamp on a Turkish bread very upset.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    That's the only restaurant I ever been too who charge you extra money when you pay by credit card, totally disappointed

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    3 years ago

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    Tava Turkish and Mediterranean - Yogurtlu Chicken Shish Kebab I think

    Tava Turkish and Mediterranean

    4.5(307 reviews)
    5.0 miPark Slope
    $$

    This gem in Brooklyn shouldn't be hidden. We had a group of 8 where a third of the party were…read moretoddlers and we were treated with so much care. The service was impeccable, understanding and kind. Now to the food,...chefs kiss. The bread Bastien was warm and soft. The grilled calamari is definitely an appetizer must. But the biggest surprise was the fried liver bites. I couldn't get enough of it. The seasoning, the juiciness, the joy it brought me was unexpected and highly appreciated. Not a fan of the fried calamari but the rest of the adult at my table liked it...to each is own. I didn't get a chance to enjoy my main course because the kids started getting rowdy but the rest of my party ate their meals and couldn't stop raving about the food. Was a little disappointment the almond pudding wasn't one that menu anymore. I really wanted to try it, but the tiramisu was delicious and the whipped cream with pistachio was light and delightful. I didn't get to take any pictures but I would definitely go back the next time I'm in Brooklyn.

    We stopped into Tava around 3 in the afternoon for a late lunch. The restaurant was nearly empty at…read morethat hour and we received lots of great attention from the staff. The ambience is comfortable. The tables are a comfortable distance apart, something you don't often find in places in Brooklyn. We sat down and our server promptly offered us water and menus. It was one of the really cold day in early February and I ordered Lentil soup. It really hit the spot-both nice and warm and tasty. My wife and I shared the other dishes that included a superb mixed appetizer plate with really delicious baba ghanoush, humus, labneh and other middle eastern delights. The grilled calamari was a really nice surprise. We typically order fried calamari, our server suggested the grilled. The calamari was tender, sweet and truly delicious. Finally, we shared the Mediterranean sea bass that was also excellent. The fish was very good with a wonderful light sauce. All around a wonderful experience at a reasonable price.

    Photos
    Tava Turkish and Mediterranean
    Tava Turkish and Mediterranean - Penne alla Vodka Pasta

    Penne alla Vodka Pasta

    Tava Turkish and Mediterranean - Turkish Tea

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    Turkish Tea

    Taci's Beyti - Chicken Adana Kebab Lunch with Rice

    Taci's Beyti

    4.2(935 reviews)
    1.8 miMidwood, Gravesend
    $$

    Great food and a local gem. If you crave meat off a skewer charred to perfection still juicy and…read morenot cooked to hell and back this is the place for you. Great service and in an upscale environment then this is the spot. Prices are a bit on the higher side but you're paying for quality.

    I have been coming to Taci's Beyti since 2013 and frequented it a lot when I lived in Brooklyn but…read morenow moving to Queens for the past few years I still make the trip over 2-3 times a year. The quality of their food has always been top notch and honestly is my favorite spot for a Turkish meal. Their hummus and basically all their skewers, kababs and grilled meats are simply amazing. Fast forward, I haven't gone to Taci's Beyti for over a year and I just recently went for our anniversary dinner over the weekend. Place still felt the same, so I ordered my hummus, mixed grill and the chicken kebab for the misses. When The entrees arrived, I was a bit disappointed. They seem to have changed what use to come with their main entrees. Gone is the bed of thinly sliced onions under your meats, so is the roasted pepper and also the roasted tomato. Three items I actually enjoyed having with my entree. They also changed the pita under the meats as well but they replaced it with a very sad salad instead, with no dressing or even a vinaigrette at that. Just plain dry leaves with some red onions. They also have two prices now, one for cash and one for credit, the cost has gone up (which I understand) but they've also cut the portions and what use to come with it. Yes the food is still good but after that last trip I am rethinking about ever going back. I am disappointed that either through choice, greed, or whatever they decided to cut back. Time to scout and try some other Turkish restaurants in the boroughs I suppose, and no I am not leaving a one star review, their food quality and taste hasn't changed. I am just very disappointed.

    Photos
    Taci's Beyti - Inside

    Inside

    Taci's Beyti - Chicken Adana Kebab Lunch and Chicken Kebab with Hummus and Eggplant Spread

    Chicken Adana Kebab Lunch and Chicken Kebab with Hummus and Eggplant Spread

    Taci's Beyti - Second dining room

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    Second dining room

    Bayridge Turkish Cafe - Katmer and Turkish tea

    Bayridge Turkish Cafe

    4.4(7 reviews)
    2.9 miBay Ridge

    I could make this restaurant a weekly habit. The employees provide excellent customer attention…read more The small footprint of Bayridge Turkish Cafe doesn't compromise cleanliness or comfort. Our minimal menu exploration was adequately rewarding. This restaurant delivers well.

    Have you ever seen the misadventures of Nedim Sahin, the guy who went viral with videos at his…read moreBaruthane Pilavcisi restaurants? He claimed to taste the first spoonful of each new batch of food to ensure that it meets his mom's standards. There is a well-known Turkish proverb he quotes from - "pilavdan dönenin kaşığı kırılsın". In literal translation it's "break the cooking spoon of the pilaf maker who falters in its task". It's understood as either "see it though come hell or high water" or "bring your A-game or don't bother showing up". Eh, I wonder if the guy who served me this kofte platter at BayRidge Turkish cafe has ever heard the quote? When it came to Turkish food, certain items are universally loved, like çorba (soup) and kofte (meatballs). Çorba has such an elevated status that a commander of the Ottoman elite military corps (Janassary) is known as a çorbaci (soup man). Even today, the term is used in modern Turkish slang as "boss". There's an old saying in Turkish that the best kofte is made by your mom, but the best çorba is from the local kebab joint. What makes for good Turkish kofte? It's supposed to be fluffy juicy pillows of meat the size of say, a mini Snickers bar, made with ground beef and sometimes lamb, with some diced lamb tail fat whipped into the mixture, seasoned with sweet and savory spices like cumin, mint, coriander, mace and such, then grilled over coals. In Turkey the usual service is with a bowl of buttery Turkish lentil soup (often accompanied by their bread), ice cold Ayran, piyaz (navy bean salad), then kofte fresh off the grill, and maybe some rice pilaf (buttery rice with bits of toasted orzo within) on the side. Who does a good version in Brooklyn? Kofte Piyaz in Sunset Park - it ain't cheap, though. So what is up with this 15 dollar kofte platter I got at Bayridge cafe? Well, the size of the kofte is odd, like breakfast sausages (my wife is much less charitable on the comparison and said it looked like something from a kitty litter box). It tasted dry and shriveled up, with no flavor at all, like it was air fried once too many. The iceberg lettuce and tomato salad that came on the side just bleeds off the mediocrity. The rice is just white rice and not pilaf. The inexplicable part is when they serve up lentil soup and gave us slices of American white bread. Not toasted, not buttered, and certainly not Turkish bread. Me and my wife bursted out laughing. The soup is...serviceable, but it certainly won't make any Ottoman Sultan dance for joy or fuel warriors into battle - it tasted flat (the version that I make has tomato and pepper paste, onions, garlic and dried mint...which this didn't have) and we didn't see the usual shaker of aleppo (pul) peppers for sprinkling onto the soup to give it a kick. The bean stew that we ordered (Kuru Fasulye) was watery and without much distinctive flavors. So, eh, is this place bad per-se? Not really. Despite the disappointing kofte, it comes with a small bit of eggplant salad that was honestly not too bad. The Turkish tea was on-point (well, they used Caykur Tomurcuk, which is a Turkish Earl Grey grade) and they used a double boiler to do the tea, which means that it's legitly brewed in the Turkish fashion with the right flavors. The Tulumba wasn't nearly as good as, say...Safa in Istanbul, but it isn't a disappointingly soggy mess like the ones at Djerdan Borek or coyingly sweet with salad oil stench like the ones at Artion bakery in Astoria. It was like how you imagine a good churro would be - warm, not too oily, sweet but not too much so. Crisp exterior, honeyed interior, goes well with a cup of hot tonic Turkish tea, served strong and fragrant. So yeah, it's not hopeless. But geez, guys, save your wonderbread for the American sandwiches and toss pitas or Turkish bread with your Turkish fares, and talk to your mom about serving up proper kofte. I can excuse the soup but that kofte is a travesty. Köftedan dönenin isgaralar kırılsın - either make something worthwhile or don't bother at all.

    Photos
    Bayridge Turkish Cafe - The dessert section.  The stuff on the bottom left are Tulumbas (also known as Bamia)...

    The dessert section. The stuff on the bottom left are Tulumbas (also known as Bamia)...

    Bayridge Turkish Cafe - The soup was...okay, the beans were...okay.  The rice...eeh, are you guys really Turkish?

    The soup was...okay, the beans were...okay. The rice...eeh, are you guys really Turkish?

    Bayridge Turkish Cafe - Lentil soup

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    Lentil soup

    Istanbul Bay - gourmet - Updated May 2026

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