Quiet place with good Turkish tea and slow service. Come here with your friends and enjoy ur time. read more

Masal Cafe - Turkish Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Been there several times, it's my spot for a premium Turkish breakfast on a Sunday, in summers I sit outside and enjoy the canal and the vibrant community. The only con is the service, while its very friendly, it's very slow. In summery, this is a very good place for a breakfast or evening coffee/tea with some desert. read more

Masal Cafe - Turkish Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Went there tonight to get a bite to eat should have gone to soup and burger instead but I figured I give this place a try..first thing the place is extremely dark had to use the flashlight on my phone to read the menu...I then ordered the turkish breakfast which was nothing to write home about the bread was stale the olives tasted rancid and the cheese wasn't that good..pretty much it all sucked...then comes the kicker they automatically charge your bill with 19 pct tip on your bill no wonder this place is always empty then I put the money in the bill holder bring it to the front expecting 8 dollars change and the idiot has the balls to ask if I want the change back..he already added 8 to the bill I guess he wanted another 8 dollars...this place is a joke they cannot complete with opera or soup and burger.or for that matter your mom and pop Pizzeria. This place truly sucks balls read more

Last time I was here was back in March but this place has never failed in the expectations of providing quality environment, timely service, friendly staff and delicious food. I came here with two of my friends who have never heard of this place but they left with full stomach and a big on their face. We ordered Chicken Toast which was very well cooked, the melted chesse was excellent and baked to perfection, chicken parmasean, meat pie, sausage pie. Plus tea pot, baklava and tresliche for dessert, mouth watering and satisfying . HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE for friends, groups, family and dates. read more

Masal Cafe - Turkish Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Unfortunately, my wife and I had a terrible experience here and we will never be back. The food we ordered was awful, the menu was misleading, and the prices were inconsistent with the product. My Wife's Order: Please refer to my uploaded image for the obvious problem. The menu was misleading and advertised what was essentially an entirely different product than what my wife ordered. She asked for the "Toast" that was pictured on the left, and got what you can see on the right. For $8.45. It was gross canned-spinach in a prepackaged, barely warm, limp spinach tortilla. It was disgusting, and when I challenged the manager on this, she tried to tell me it was the same as the in the picture--just with a green tortilla. Obviously, the picture features some kind of toasted pita bread (as it stands straight) as well as a tasty looking combination of garlic, red onion, and fresh cooked spinach. The monstrosity on my wife's plate was incomparable. I wanted to keep this short, but i'm fired up again so here I am getting carried away. The only saving grace here (and the only reason I'm giving more than 1 star) is because the manager relented and did not charge us for it. My Order: They say you can't judge a book by its cover. On the contrary, they should probably also say you can't judge a menu by its pictures. Next to the image of what my wife ordered (please check my uploads for this post) you will find a picture of avocado toast--they call it an avocado smash. It looks good--nice looking guacamole, flecks of red onion, and what looks like a nice, thick slice of a rustic bread. Now, please direct your eyes to what they served me. What I received was some underripe, green slices of tomato and some pulverized avocado on top of two pieces of generic grocery-store pre-sliced whole wheat bread. For $7.45. I won't waste anymore time here. It was terrible. It was totally different than the picture. It was so low-quality, I couldn't believe I was being served it in a restaurant. Our Appetizer: We ordered the Kumpir. They seemed to really be pushing it and I saw some others in the restaurant eating them. It was ok. At the very least, it looked much more like the picture than our entrees. I'm pretty sure it was canned peas/corn/olive and chopped up hot dog on top of a baked potato, but it tasted alright for what it was. You can check out my picture for that and come to your own conclusions. The Verdict: I hate wasting money, and I felt like every half-penny spent here was an utter waste. We ordered two featured menu items and neither one came close to what was marketed. Both of them were terrible, low-quality, and overpriced for what we got. If we were served what was advertised, I would have been totally fine with the price--even said it was very reasonable--but what we got looked and tasted like a dad who has no idea how to cook had to make lunch for his kids and threw together whatever he saw in the kitchen hoping to just make something edible. The only reason, and I mean the ONLY reason, this review isn't 1-star is because the manager gave us our money back. We will never return here. And I advise all of you out there in the Yelp-o-sphere to go anywhere else. read more

See all

I have been to Masal a few times. The place is something like a tea house. There is actually a menu, but as far as I know the food is mostly breakfast like. As many times as I was there sitting outside and inside, I haven't once seen somebody eating a meal. It is either breakfast, tea, coffee, or desserts. I should say desserts are usually nice and fresh. My favorites are Kunafa and Napoleon. Masal is an ok place to have tea with friends on a budget. Areas to improve: plastic furniture outside should be washed at least occasionally, service is ...oh, well. Advantages: very affordable (Turkish diner :) ) read more

Located near the water in Sheepshead Bay is an unexpected gem. I'm often wary of restaurants with gimmicks, and Masal does have an old fashioned car out front giving the place a somewhat circus like appearance from the outside. However, once you go in there are gorgeous mosaic tiles, beautiful lamps hanging from the ceilings and comfortable seats waiting to greet you. I was only there for dessert with my girlfriend and Win C. so this review will only focus on those portions of the menu. Our host was very nice and we were seated promptly. Our waiter came to us quickly. He seemed a bit tired and frazzled, but still was very courteous. Service was good during the evening though there were some oddities, nothing bad per se, but one thing that struck me as odd was when we asked for a water refill we got a whole new glass of water instead of having water poured from a pitcher. Again, nothing "bad" or worth complaining about, but it was idiosyncratic enough that I thought I'd mention it here. We couldn't just decide on one thing so we ordered several dishes. Here's what we had: DESSERT SAMPLER The small version of this came with six different items. I admit I didn't catch the name of every item, but I can say the Baklava with Pistachio was really tasty and had a nice chew. I also loved the Pistachio roll (notice a theme?). The other items were good, but not quite as sweet as I would have liked (including the fig, which surprised me). Still, this is a great way to try several different desserts to see what you would like to get more of in the future. 3 CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE Featuring white and dark chocolate mousse, this was a very light cake. You'd think it would be thick and almost like fudge from looking at it, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how soft it was, and how the sweetness was at just the right level. I've had better chocolate cake before, but it was a solid slice. KUNEFE This was the grand prize winner of the "best dessert" item during my visit. A crust made from long thin noodle threads is baked with cheese and simple syrup is added in to create one of the best desserts I've ever eaten. Both the outer edge and the top of this dessert are crispy, then the middle and cheese add some amazing soft chewiness. The result is a mash up of savory and sweet with crispy and chewy textures. This was my favorite of the evening. I also got to have the Turkish Coffee, which was nice and rich tasting. I had it without any milk or sugar to get the full flavor and it was great! I'd happily come back here for dessert any time and I look forward to trying their regular food in the future as well! read more

Place was good, loved the bubble tent, they told us there was a minimum to reserve the bubble tent but & I found that silly but we went past the minimum anyways, food was good nothing crazy. Service was great, view was even better! read more

Pretty good spot overall 3.5 They have nice indoor and outdoor seating, though the service is not the greatest, but hey its Emmons Ave so I don't expect much in this area for service. Coffee and tea is pretty good and the desserts are delicious. They have a nice selection of all types of food, no complaints about any of the food I ever ate here. The main things worth trying here is the stuffed potato, very filling, very delicious and very original. This is the only place I have ever seen serve this. It's basically olivie salad (cucumber, meat etc) stuffed over the potato. Addictive For dessert, don't miss out on the Kunefe, it's just about my favorite desert ever, and if you love cheese, sweet and crispy this will satiate all. If you want a nice chill place to have a coffee and a snack on Emmons, this is a good spot read more

I felt like a child here. The expansive walls are covered in wallpaper depicting urban landscape and there are no actual chairs, just big plush booths. The ultra high ceiling completely canopied with these ornate Turkish chandeliers. It was sort of comforting and i felt vaguely like I was in some sort of Disney-themed eatery. The focaccia bread they brought out first was still warm in its little basket, which was a nice plus. However, perhaps I just ordered the wrong thing but I found the Greek breakfast to be rather unimpressive -- it was scrambled egg, tomato, cucumbers and olives simply arranged on a plate side by side. Somewhat made me think of a bachelor who doesn't really know how to cook much beyond microwaving/pasta doin his best to plate a dish fancily. In general sort of reminds me of diner food, though granted neither of our orders were very adventurous. It's very enjoyable to walk along the little lake afterwards though! read more

It's awesome that you guys are open, that said the reason for two stars, its not nice to force customers to order minimum of 25 per person!! I understand the time limit and perfectly fine with it but really 25 minimum per person ? read more

Horrible service, they opened up a bunch of tables but not enough staff. Expect to wait for a awhile to get served.

Only giving a 2 stat because sometimes their Kumpir is good- sometimes. Aside from that... service is horrific every single time. Waitress has an attitude for no reason- getting charged for food that never came out- can't explain the brand of apple juice being used "it's just juice"... maybe I'll give another try in another year. I usually order kumpir for takeout but once a year I'll try to have a seat and it's always a fail. read more

Horrible food most of it is not even fresh. They cant cook, they barely know how to reheat smth in the microwave. Food came out almost inedible and half of it was cold. read more

Wow. What a great Turkish restaurant right by the bay, We ordered hummus, chicken burger, fruit salad and Turkish tea for lunch. Turned out to be an excellent choices, will be coming back soon! read more

See all

I use to enjoy Masal Cafe but today I was very disappointed. The service was horrible and than when I checked my bill they charged me double . Make sure you always check your bill before paying. read more

Love this place. One of the few chill and mostly unpretentious joints to get tea/coffee and linger for hours, in this part of Brooklyn. The somewhat shrill review(s) below note the slow service, so be prepared for that (the servers are Russian/Turkish teens so don't expect Four Seasons Istanbul-level ceremony). The baklava and kadayif are excellent, as is the assortment of non-Turkish pastries and desserts. Get yourself a double cup of Turkish tea and kick back, alternating your gaze between the bay waters outside and the Turkish carpets and furniture indoors. Also, at some point in the evening, one or more groups of Russia/Turkish teens will come in here and loudly discuss gossip/last night, etc. Fair warning. read more

Worst service eve. My husband and I ordered kofte and kumpir. Kumpir probably was cooked in the microwave. The kofte didn't taste anything like kofte. It was very disappointing. read more

Great place to hang out with the whole family. Spacious seating, they don't mind your laptop, the music is good, the Turkish tea and coffee are done right. Ok desserts and above average food all around. Service is variable, not always the fastest, but always courteous, hospitable, and ready to please. The large play area for kids on 2nd floor makes this a MUST for parents who need a break. read more

Service is bad and establishments is strict about drinks not purchase at the restaurant. We had coffee from walking along the water. Even after confirming we will not drink from it, management wanted us to hide it. Had to put on the floor or throw out. Food is not spectacular but it is different. Try but not repeat customer. read more

See all

I love the environment that this cafe has to offer. Personally, my all time favorite is their baked potato and their Turkish tea. read more

Masal Cafe - Turkish Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Gave this place a call because it said it was open on Yelp The lady that picked up the phone turned out to be the hostess horrible attitude but was left with no choice because everything else is closed we finally got there and we got lucky enough to be seated by this hostess what a disgusting attitude telling me their is a $20 minimum per person. And if it wasn't meet we have to leave. In a very nasty way. Never again and the food was horrible. Save your self the headache read more

Service was excellent food was ok ,forgot to put Avocado in salad then charge me 4 dollars for it ,but rat running out of the restaurant into outside green place spoil everything ( read more

This is the second time we ate at this restaurant the staff are nice, the food is amazing, the amount of food that you get in the plate is a good portion, the prices are decent, I will go back to this restaurant and I will highly recommended to my friends read more

Every menu was new for me. I could enjoy the restaurant inside interior. It's beautiful and cute. read more

See all

Came here with my in laws on Sunday and the food was wonderful. We had manti, special toast,kumpir, salmon and a kids meal. Service was terrible.... No water...... No bread until our food came.... Waiter seemed to be having trouble understanding our order.... Disappeared after our food was served.... Didn't come back to see if were needed anything or wanted dessert... My son-in-law had to hunt him down to get the check..... Improve your wait staff skills and we might return...... read more

A Sheepshead Bay mainstay, this is the most reasonably priced spot on Edmonds Ave. Places like this can get overlooked, I myself have been coming here for over 6 years, but they have an extensive menu and everything is tasty. Personally I prefer their manti and pide. Excellent teas and lemonade as well. Extra mention to Bera, a great guy/waiter who recommended me the previously mentioned lemonade read more

Terrible beef sauté. Ordered delivery and I got hard rice with some burned beef and some vegetables. No sauce but plenty of oil. Never again

All my stars for this place are mostly for the food these guys serve. To be more specific: their home made burgers, stuffed potatoes aka kumpir, fries and of course tea and deserts. If you had a very serious dinner and just a very small space left in your stomach and at the same moment you still want to have something sweet, I would recommend to try their Tres Leches cake. It's light and it literally melts before it leaves your mouth don the way. I would say chocolate mouse is not as light as Tres Leches but it is worth to give it a try. REALY DELICIOUS. Especially with the combination with a Turkish tea. I would give this place 5 stars with no doubts however, the service needs improvement. Hopefully, the owner will figure out something about that and this place will get its full 5 star rating cause it has a full potential to achieve it, also considering the cool design and the cozy area the place is located at. read more

My friends and I come to Masal at least three times a week for tea and some food. We like the vibe of the restaurant. My favorite is the meat pie, turkish tea and avocado toast. The reason for my three star review is the service is terrible. The past few times we have been here the waiter is literally just standing around talking to his coworkers and then he disappears maybe into the back area when we are still sitting either waiting to be served or waiting to order more. The ONLY person who took time for us was the BUS BOY NIKITA. He told us many times that he wasn't a waiter but we were so frustrated so he grabbed a note pad and wrote down our order and served us. I saw him doing this many times for other people as well, meanwhile no other server was found. HE WAS ABSOLUTELY GREAT and really sweet. When no one was around or didnt pay attention to help he was really attentive. This probably wont be the last time this happens but its really annoying sitting around waiting until these workers get their shit together. Seems like i am not the only person to have complained about the service before. If it wasnt for the food or the comfort of Masal , you wouldnt see me in here ever again. read more

On a late night when you're really craving an amazing dessert this is the place to go! They have such an amazing variety of desserts both American and Turkish and it was so hard to choose. There's a beautiful outdoor seating area for the summertime but this time we decided to stay in. It felt like you were in a Turkish home and everyone was so polite while serving. This is definitely a place you want to go to just have a night to chill and enjoy some good dessert with your friends. I had the fruit tart cake with cream and it was delicious. Almost wanting to lick the plate when I was done. My girlfriend had the chocolate soufflé which was also fantastic. Everything in there was so good including their iced lattes. There are variety is out of this world what desserts you couldn't even think possible. read more

See all

Good food brunch overpriced and automatically charge a 20% tip. They don't put out enough food at one time for the buffet brunch.

Great outdoor seating at Masal. They're known for the loaded potato but the manti (Turkish ravioli) and lamb quesadilla are delicious.

Came here after dinner in Momo and my friends and I were absolutely stuffed but we wanted somewhere close by to sit and chat. My boyfriend and my friend ordered the Turkish coffee. It was really small and really strong. I ordered an earl grey and my other friend ordered regular coffee. We also ordered two crepes. It was good and we finished it even though we were extremely full. I was surprised that they also put blueberries in it but it was good. It had strawberries, bananas, blueberries and Nutella. read more

We had the burger with fries, spinach bread and the loaded potato with sausage and large cups of turkish tea. The food was good my partner really enjoyed everything. I felt the salt was lacking a bit. Maybe that was just my palate today. Fries were tasty but needed a little salt. The spinach was good but the yogurt dip was a bit plain. I added salt to it. The loaded potato was good add $2 for the sausage. We asked for ketchup and hot sauce. The Tabasco sauce was weak and weird for some reason. Maybe they just refill the bottles. Lastly the tea wasn't as strong you would expect. It felt a bit watered. Nonetheless. Good atmosphere. Service was great and food came without delay. read more

See all

if i were to tell about to place to a buddy of mine i'd just call it skunky. having worked there for a while the staff turnover rate is pretty funny. when i worked there the staff were unprofessional because the managers were too lazy to care about training employees. i seriously asked one of the managers "what am i doing wrong" and he told me "go and ask your friends". this review may look like i am some disgruntled employee that got fired and this is my hate review but on god this isn't that. the food is alright but the prices are a bit too high for the quality of the ingredients. the kitchen is on the unsanitary side where i have seen the chefs drop food, dust it off and chuck it back on the grill. the place was somewhat dirty when i worked (i don't know what about now). the boss also steals tips. if you tipped your waiter on the check or even gave it with the check it's not going to the waiter but rather to the boss' pocket. the boss did introduce some system where you do start getting your tips but it felt some of it went to his pocket before bouncing back to the employees. overall, i'd skip this place and go opera where most of this doesn't happen read more

This is not the first time we've been here, but it sure as hell is the last one. We came upstairs to let the kids play while we ordered food. Out of the 6 dishes we ordered 3 came out. Out of the drinks, after 30 minutes and 3 reminders they finally brought a couple of juices, and 30 minutes later they brought water. And HOUR later and after 4 reminders waiters walked by the table and ASKED if we got the other orders. We did not. A few minutes later a gentlemen came by to ask if we still want our order. Just as they brought it out. Restaurant is EMPTY at this point. He actually said "that's how it is sometimes". Are you f-ing kidding? read more

I heard a lot about this place but I was highly disappointed. The food is bland, not seasoned at all. Dessert is okay. Staff is attentive and nice. The best part about the place is it's ambience. The tables and the lamps are super cute. read more

The worst! Dried out and overcooked rubbery beef. Overpriced. They charged for water. Never, again!

It's places like this that will ensure I give up desserts. With no apologies to Long Island, I'm always suspicious of menus that have pictures describing the food. Now, I can understand their need to explain less popular (in the US) Turkish desserts like Tulumba, or a Kemal Pasha but not so much for chocolate or strawberry ice cream...... what's amusing is that the online menu lacks pictures for the Turkish desserts, but has those for "Italian" ones. Thankfully, the printed menus make no such omission. Conceptually, this seems like a great idea: water-front out door seating, Russian/Italian and Turkish desserts (and calorie bombs like the Kumpir: baked potato stuffed with cheese and x ,000 calories), large seating area... but the execution is completely gutted by excessive sugar in the Turkish desserts, and apathetic service. All of the desserts I tried: Pistachio Baklava, Fig dessert, Kemal Pasha (distant cousin of the Indian/Pakistani: Gulab Jamun) - were way way too sweet and drenched in syrup. I would instead recommend the Russian desserts like the Smetannik cake, or the gelato based desserts (Bombas, Coppas...) I'm not usually one to blast service, but it's featured in all the reviews for a reason. I had enough time available waiting for a server, on two separate occasions, to debate whether these folks were (a) under-compensated; (b) undergoing medical complications; (c) facing immigration process delays; (d) the inadequately trained cast of a foreign reality show: Swap my Career. The most redeeming aspect of my experience was the Cappuccino... yet, I waited 15 minutes to catch the eyes of any of the dozen odd servers for another one, only to give up and instead stand up to ask for the bill. I bear no malice to anyone (least of all towards a dessert focused cafe!!), but the owner(s) should worry that these clowns will drive away future business... read more