Update of review. I am regular of Samdan. Our kids really like this restaurant. Quality of food is very good. Service is usually good but sometimes they make little mistakes when we order takeout. I recommend to double check with them. Prices also went up again. There is a new restaurant open with same menu and they are right near by. We just tried it and food's quality are similar and price was Samdan's old price. read more

Possibly the best doner kebab (Greeks call it gyro, Middle Easterners call it shawarma) in all NJ! All the appetizers are delicious, nicely garnished and generously sized. Friendly service and the personal touch from the owner himself makes a very pleasant experience. I'm sure you'll be asking for extra pita bread! Will be going back soon! read more

Samdan Restaurant - Lamb shank and doner kebab - Turkish Near Me - Cresskill, New Jersey

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Beyond disappointed in the service here... Made reservations last Saturday night for my father's birthday for a group of ten. Some of us showed early and so they sat us at our table right away....and then completely disappeared. No menus. No water. Eventually bussers brought bread for the table. The rest of the party came in and still no menus or water. It took another 20 minutes to finally see the waitress and ask for the menus (STILL no drinks) ...and then when she finally came back again to take our orders, she had an attitude as if it was an inconvenience to her to take the orders - mind you, there were maybe 6 other filled tables in the restaurant.. and other staff waiting those tables. As for the food: such small portions. We go to Turkish restaurants quite often and we ordered a large chopped salad and it barely was enough for the ten of us (and waitress suggested it'd be enough). We also ordered calamari which was maybe 10pcs.. again, not enough for ten people. I personally ordered İskender, and there was barely any meat and so much bread under it.. so the portion looked big but really it was just an illusion. I also brought in a cake for my father's birthday and asked them to bring it out after dinner. They took half of our plates, and again, disappeared lol. My sister went to the front and asked if they can bring the cake out because my father has an injured leg and he was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to leave soon, and they told us once they clear all the plates, they'll bring the cake. Okay, great... That could've been done when they took half the plates earlier ... So I patiently waited another 15 minutes until I went up myself and told them to take the plates and bring the cake asap. The reason I got so annoyed is because there was a musician in the other room and all the staff are literally standing outside that room, looking in and dancing to the music. I get you want to have fun, but it's super unprofessional if you're not waiting your tables. They still didn't clear the plates, but they brought the cake out. Very poor and slow service. Food was good, small portions but still good - only reason I'm even giving two stars. I was going to come here with another group this week, but from that experience, we won't be returning. read more

Samdan has been my go to for large family dinners for years, and now it's taking a new route with large co-worker gatherings. The food here is excellent, everything from their mezze options to their main dishes, and desserts. To be particular my favorite meal from Samdan is the Adana (it's basically spicy ground meat that's been grilled on skewers) it's delicious. The staff here are very caring and attentive, they treat you like you were part of their family. They have their own parking lot which is fairly large, so you don't have to worry about driving around searching for a spot. read more

Excellent food, very nice well established restaurant. That has withstood the test of time. A go to place for middle eastern food

Delicious Turkish food and a really friendly staff! The food is really good! Everything looks amazing on the table ! read more

Samdan Restaurant - Turkish bread, Turkish food, Has Has Kebab Turkish bread Pita Bread Falafel Imam bayildi S.Pellegrino Sparkling Water (33.8 OZ) - Turkish Near Me - Cresskill, New Jersey

Shepherds salad with cheese is my go to for both in house and take out. Food is fresh and delicious. A little pricey

Where do I start....the guys that run this joint are straight up Turkish. The decor is great b/c whether u come here dressed to the nine or come here casually wearing jeans and a T-shirt you will not feel overdressed not underdressed. The ambiance is very chill and they have some light music playing in the background, slightly elevatorish. My wife and I had dinner here for her birthday tonight. I made reservations over the phone and I had specifically asked that they prepare a bday cake of baklava & candle on top for the proverbial bday cake presentation. I'll tell you about the birthday cake later. Let's start with the food, Holy Moses! It was fantastic! We started with some cabernet wine which was tasty, then had some babaganoush- smoked eggplant w/ garlic and sesame oil. But to me it didn't have a super strong garlicy taste, which I enjoyed thoroughly, and sliced pieces of Turkish football bread to go with it. This was also served with shepherds salad, a small plate, which to me wasn't small at all. The shepherd salad was so fresh and tasty, diced cucumber, tomatoes, dill and i don't remember what else b/c I ate it too fast, it was that good. For entrees my wife had Adana Doner which is skewered ground beef meat charcoal patties marinated in the chefs sauce. This plate also came with gyro meat. The gyro meat was tender and perfectly seasoned. It was juicy & delish. My entree was the broiled lamb shank which was soo freagin delicious! It was tender falling off the bone with delicious rice on the side and huge slices of carrots, celery, eggplant mixed into the lamb meat. The server was great and attentive to our needs. Now this is what bugs the shit out of me... How can a Turkish restaurant like this not serve TURKISH TEA!!!!!!! It's bordering on criminal. We asked fo tea and she said, we have Lipton tea bags. Wtf! That was a big con for my wife and I. And also I had to ask the waitress in front of my wife to specifically bring the bakala with a candle in it. I had already told them on the phone while I was making the original reservation earlier in the day to do this secretly, but they fudged up! I was going to give 5 stars but no Turkish style tea being served was a big NO NO. The food is on point here and even if you have never tried Turkish food you should first try it at this restaurant. It's THAT good. read more

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My wife and I had dinner here and despite having an enjoyable meal would probably not eat here again. Samdan is pretty expensive relative to what you are served. I mean the food was well prepared, portions were okay and tasty but I've had comparable dishes at restaurants in the area for a lot less. I grew up in New York so I don't mind paying good money for good food but we weren't impressed overall. The restaurant is nice, service was a little slow because there wasn't enough waiters on the floor and there is abundant, convenient parking in the rear. read more

Went to Samdan for Mothers Day with my wife. Big Big mistake. Ordered Grilled salmon. Came with over cooked string beans. But then all hell broke loose. Middle age children running all over the place, playing tag between tables. I complained to the management 3 times. They spoke to the parents but not forceful enough to be effective. We had to pack up our food so as not to be knocked off our chairs by out of control children. I will never take my wife to a restaurant on Mother's Day again. Spent $120 just to have my day ruined by the romper room mob. Never again. read more

Sam dam good food as we say in the south! Waiter was excellent and the food perfectly cooked and seasoned. We don't live nearby or we would be regulars. read more

Love coming here. It's in a good location in Cresskill with a convenient parking lot right behind it. I've been here for both lunch and dinner and have had really good experiences for both. It can get a bit crowded during dinner times while it's usually pretty empty for lunch. TIP: you should go for lunch because they have a bangin lunch special deal! You get an appetizer, entree, and a drink for about $10. I've tried a lot of Turkish restaurants and this is easily one of the best! Great clean atmosphere with very friendly waiters. read more

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Delicious food , great ambiance, clean and friendly staff. The lentil soup is delicious. Actually everything I ever ordered was delicious and good quality food. Please save some room for dessert and Turkish coffee read more

I recently ordered the lamb on the lunch menu ($13 +). I declined the soup or salad since I don't like them. I also don't eat rice and the waiter was very happy to offer green beans. He never mentioned any upcharge for the beans. The check was $2.50 more for the beans. Now, I didn't have soup or salad, and they still charged me $2.50 more for the beans. The lamb was tasty but a very small lunch portion. (4 tiny pieces of lamb) My wife had dinner there a couple weeks ago and can't eat rice since it's made with butter (not oil). They were very happy to sub. salad for the rice. They ended up charging her $4.95 extra for the salad. I don't think this is right and bad business. Again, the waiter never mentioned that any substitution would cost more. read more

We have been going to this restaurant for last 25 years as a family. Most family bday parties were held in the side room. The upgrades to the restaurant make it look fancy. The food is good but some recopies have changed and we miss the originals. The food is still good! . The service is very good. Catering turned out fine too. The prices have increased substantially but those are post Covid times. . read more

Went to Yelp and clicked on menu. Then ordered from the menu and paid via Apple Pay. The order hit my card but the restaurant doesn't show the order. They told me to order snd pay again which I will not do out of principle. Don't order through Yelp. read more

This restaurant was absolutely wonderful. I cannot wait to come back!!! The waiters and hosts were so helpful and checked on us frequently, we didn't have to even call anyone over. They were always ready! The ambiance was so fantastic for a date night. It was so romantic and calming. All around a beautiful, open concept modern classy restaurant (for great prices!) The food was AMAZING. For appetizers, we got the borek (sooo yum!), lebni (so refreshing!) and the zucchini pancake (it was okay, 6/10). For dinner, we got the Samdan Combo, which is your standard mixed grill platter with rice and grilled veggies. There were not a lot of veggies, but the meat and chicken were OUTSTANDING. So juicy and flavorful!! We took the dessert to go, but will update when we try them! read more

The restaurant is so pretty and elegant! The food was so so delicious especially the sample platter with the different dips! I would def go again soon read more

Local staple, great for groups of any size. Staff is super friendly and the food is consistently great.

Love this place. The food is great. The prices are fair. The service is friendly. A must try if you haven't tried it yet. read more

I received a door dash order and I must commend the freshness of the food as well as the seasoning. It brought me right back to a trip I took to turkey 10 years ago. Amazing food! read more

I stumbled upon Samdan a long time ago when I was on the cross country team in high school. One day, it was really hot outside and we stopped in here to go to the bathroom. The staff was very nice and even gave us water so we could continue on our run. ...,and I've came here ever since. The restaurant is super nice inside and makes you feel like you are in a fancy catering hall. The staff is very welcoming & friendly. The food is absolutely excellent. I usually come here for the lunch special ($12.95) which is a great deal. You get an entree which is very filling (vegan options available) and a shepherd salad or lentil soup option that comes with it. The entree list is very extensive and everything is $12.95 you couldnt find anything you didnt like. I usually get the chicken tavuk which is perfectly grilled and seasoned every time on top of their buttery but not too buttery rice. We had some extra requests like more lemon with tea & red onion, and regular peppers instead of spicy peppers and he seemed to get really annoyed. whatever. For dessert we had baklava, which sometimes tastes stale but that's not what we come here for. Excellent restaurant, I definitely recommend this place for any person that loves Turkish cuisine. read more

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This restaurant is amazing! great food , ambiance and price ... I totally recommend trying it!!

Love the food and service . Liver is particularly good. Ordered several times. Highly recommend

Wonderful lunch! I had some of the best lamb kebabs and a dynamite lentil soup for lunch. I was there for a meeting with colleagues, and we all loved it. If you're vegetarian, they have a huge selection of vegetarian items on the luncheon menu. For 11.95 a person, it was great. Three of us had the lamb, one had falafel, and one had hummus and grape leaves. You start with a salad or soup - I think three of us had the soup and two had the salad, and we were all happy with our choices. The lamb was juicy and perfectly seasoned. Great place to go if you're in the neighborhood. read more

Lunch special was good deal for $14 a person. Unfortunately, it is mostly rice and bread. Only 1 skewer of meat. Labne and hummus for $8 a piece was really good. I also recommend the baklava. read more

Large meat portion incoming! We came to this place on a Sunday for lunch. We ordered Adana Kebab and Iskender. It was a lot of meat even for two persons. The combination of meat, tomato sauce and yoghurt in Iskender is kind of unique. The flavor is pretty awesome. Another plus is that the service speed is pretty fast. read more

I ordered takeout, the hummus and pita bread. Pita bread arrived n grocery store packaging. Really?!?

Always delicious! Have been going to this restaurant for a long time now and it never fails! The owner is always there and making sure that all is well. The staff are extremely friendly and quick. Also, they just opened an outdoor seating area for the summer. Great idea! Chicken in yogurt - amazing! Lamb gyro is great Babaganush is always perfect Rice is delicious Cacik - Turkish yogurt dip is a must for the shepherds salad with cheese! Cigar rolls are delicious fried cheese rolls Don't forget the Turkish coffee and baklava! Get the chefs spicy sauce if you like fire. Go! You won't regret it! read more

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My first impression was how beautiful the restaurant was. The food was also excellent. I had the lamb kebabs, lentil soup, and almond pudding all of which was very good. I even got a second order of almond pudding to bring home read more

The food is good, however the service takes forever! The ambiance is nice. Huge portions of food.

My favorite local restaurant, the food is always delicious & service is great! The shepherd salad is fresh & crunchy, tavuk kebab is juicy, and adana kebab is flavorful. Their yogurt sauce is light & tasty. I have also tried the lamb which was cooked perfectly, and I love the grilled vegetables & sumac onions they serve on the side. Takeout from here is quick & food is still good. This place is extremely consistent with their quality which I love. Support local business! read more

Very very expensive. Basically a non fine dining, non Michelin restaurant , for fine dining prices. But the food was superb. I remember thinking how can they achieve such rich tastes when the food doesn't seem to have much seasoning? but again, very expensive so maybe just go for very special occasions read more

My favorite restaurant!!! Always ALWAYS yummy! The food is always fresh. Love Samdan !

This is one of the best Turkish restaurants in the New York Metropolitan area, and you don't need to cross the GW Bridge to get there from NJ. It is delicious, authentic Turkish cuisine at reasonable prices and good sized portions, and the ambiance and decor is romantic and lovely. Their Iskendar kebab is to die for anda portion big enough for two people. It rivals the Iskendar Kebapci of Bursa, Turkey. The chicken and lamb kebabs are cooked perfectly - moist yet well-done. Their rice is fluffy and buttery, and their vegetarian dishes are healthy yet filling. read more

I've been coming here since it opened. Always good, consistent quality food. The staff and owner are courteous and friendly. When I come back to visit my family I look forward to family dinners here. We've tried many different dishes on recommendations from the staff. My favorites are the Samdan special, stuffed cabbage, the fresh fish, and milk pudding. Try the desserts! They are quite tasty. read more

This was my first time trying Turkish food, and I loved it! The food came out almost immediately and was light yet satisfying. The calamari was soft and the sauce that came with it was SO GOOD. I had the Adana kebab and loved the flavor combinations with the meat, rice, and grilled vegetables. Overall the portions were large and the food was delicious. I'd like to try some of their other dishes soon! read more

Samdan Restaurant - The Adana Kebab. Seasoned beef, on a bed of flavorful rice, with grilled vegetables. - Turkish Near Me - Cresskill, New Jersey

The food was ok , service was very good , but we almost got a heart attack when we got the bill . Very very expensive. read more

Samdan has delicious food and great service. Everything we ate tasted fresh. My family and I have been going to this restaurant for year. Always consistent with a wonderful atmosphere. read more

The food is so much better now that the original owner sold it to his nephew. I started eating here when it was in Cliffside Park and got to new the two owners. When the one passed away the other took over and for a while the food was excellent. But then he would travel and the food went downhill. Now it is up to par. The Shepherd Salad is terrific. The chicken shish is excellent. Service is now very slow because they only have one hard working young man (excellent) and remodeling the main dining room. So glad to see it back up to par. read more