Debisree Ray
We stopped by for dinner during our SD trip. The location is super nice and the place was packed when we visited. The environment is pretty relaxed and informal. The server was nice and helping. They asked us to change the table after we started to eat the appetiser! We didn’t mind tho. We drank ayran, a buttermilk drink very authentic to Turkish cuisine. We started with falafel and babaganoush as appetiser. The falafel was great, and the babaganoush was decent. It came with some flatbreads, exactly like store brought flour tortila. We expected hot and fresh, house made pita instead. Me and my husband both shared a single main entree, the platter with some rice, kebab and salad. The rice was just okay, but the kebab ( made with ground/ minced meat) was terrific. The hot and juicy kebab was marinated well, and cooked to the perfection. We ordered a kunafeh as dessert which was terrible, a true disaster. I have had this one many times before in many places, so I had a specific standard. The kunafeh was greasy and chewy! Inside the cheese was almost like mozzarella. When the server was asking about it, we couldn’t resist, but told her the truth. Knowing our heartbreak, she gave us a complementary baklava, which was super. Overall, the food was decent, but the service was super slow and careless.
Mazen Aladwan
Very nice and clean place. The food is good. I like most of it except one order, which seems to be not fresh and oily. The service is really nice and the restaurant has lots and lots of room for seating.
The restaurant is located in a very busy area. The prices are in the average, except for the Kunafa, I think it’s a bit over priced. The small dish is too small and it’s for $10, while the larger size is kind of medium or normal size and that’s for $14.
Take a look at the dishes I ordered and the menus they have.
Sina Sadeghlou
Food is excellent. However, service is slow. We came here for our anniversary which was on a monday so it was not busy. When I say busy I mean only one table was taken. After we were done eating we waited about 15 minutes and still the waiter was not acknowledging us even though he made eye contact three times. Finally I had to go up and ask for desert. If you go to this restaurant be ready to wait before the servers acknowledge you.
Rohit Sharma
We ordered Tavuk Sis and Walnut pistachio baklava. The chicken in Tavuk sis was so soft and juicy. It was cooked to perfection and the overall taste of the dish was also superb. Baklava was a bit hard to cut, harder than what I have usually had but its taste was quite good. It wasn’t too sugary which is what I like. The service was also good. They were really sweet and respectful.
Ari
One of the best authentic Turkish restaurant that I have ever been to. Everything was fabulous honestly the food and the desserts were incredible compared to the other Turkish restaurants. Plus the customer service was outstanding so well done 👏🏼
Andrew Dabydeen
Some of the best Turkish food that I’ve had in a while. The waitstaff here is very friendly and looking to make your meal more enjoyable. Everything that were tried was great and I’d highly recommend the shared plates if you’re in a group of people. Try out their tea/coffee which goes well before or after dinner. Looking forward to coming back soon.
Reha Abbasi
This is the best Turkish Cuisine I have visited in the USA. Prices are very affordable and taste of the food is amazing. Everything tastes exactly like how its supposes to taste in Turkey. They are not trying to “Americanize” their meals. Which I really appreciate. Also server was really polite and helpful.
Must visit place if you are in the downtown area
10/10
waqas pashah
First time visit, good customer service. Fast. Staff was friendly, prices are reasonable. Quality of the food is good. Good selection on the menu. Rustam helped us out. Amazing service. Very helpful.
Thank you
Mimmoon C
This was one of the fancier places we went to in San Diego. With Turkish cuisine being our favorite, this didn’t disappoint. The kitchen is in the middle as soon as you walk in, with seating areas to your right and left. We had to wait to be seated on the left side, as there was only one waiter, and social distancing protocols were in effect. The interior was historically decorative, with a dim ambience.
There was only one waiter who was running around serving multiple tables. As we wanted to try all their meats, we opted in for the Sultan Kebab and Prizola (lamb chops). I usually only like to order house drinks, sowe decided to try the Ayran (yogurt drink). The Sultan Kebab plate had a skewer of chicken tikka (pieces), lamb tikka (pieces), beef kufta (ground), and donar (shawarma) slices. The Prizola plate came with 4 pieces of lamb chops. Both entrees came with salad (side of feta) and yogurt sauce (tzatziki).
All the meats on both entrees were cooked to perfection, and delicious. However, the meat portions were on the smaller side, and the lamb chops were on the thinner side. The salad and feta cheese were fresh and an excellent addition to the plate. The Ayran was more salty and watery than my liking; I’d like it to be more thicker and tart.
Nevertheless, everything was delicious. I’d definitely recommend the Sultan Kebab entree. The prices are a little higher for the portion size and service, but the food quality makes up for it. I recommend it!
Muhammad Azzalarab
I've been looking everywhere for a turkish restaurant since I've visited Turkey a couple years back. They are actually hard to find. This spot in the gaslamp district of San Diego delivers the Authentic experience straight from Instanbul.
The lamb kebab was delicious and had the seasoning that took me back to Instanbul with each bite. The salmon was even better. Perfectly cooked, with a nice glazed finish and flavoring. Both plates paired with fresh salad and basmati rice.
The turkish tea and coffee were both Authentic and delicious. I enjoyed a coffee with a desert. The kunafi is a rare specialty, baked in the oven prior to reaching your table, its a crispy, cheesy, syrupy and perfect desert to pair with coffee.
I was very satisfied with the food and quality of ingredients. If you are craving a taste of Turkey, then you have to check this restaurant out!!
On my out, I noticed they even had fresh turkish delights!! Which I will have to come back for
Samed Salkic
What an amazing place, it makes me feel like I was in one of the restaurants in Istanbul, beautifully decorated inside, very clean and spacious, stuff is very friendly and makes you feel comfortable and welcomed, food is simply amazing and done just right, I highly recommend this restaurant to others, come and try for you self.
Mohammed Aljaroudi
Authentic Turkish Kebab!
— Update: November 2017
This restaurant is one of my favorite Turkish places in the area, honestly, but, they have almost always ignored my notes when I ordered for pickup. It’s just annoying when they don’t listen to what their customers want when they know most of them are not going to bother going back to the restaurant to complain about it.
Plus, when I ate at the restaurant, I was kind of ignored, too. I had to wait a little for them to come and assign me to a seat. Then I had to wait for about 5 minutes to get my check. I asked one of the waiters, and he said okay but never came back.
Mohammad Rahiminejat
One of the best thing about turkish culture is their food. I have always been a fan of their food especially Iskender Kabab as the main course and Konefewith tea as the dessert. Today i went to this place. The employees were really friendly and welcoming. It was obvious they have the best service and would take care of us. We all had Iskender Kebab as the maiN course with Yogurt drink. It was so delicious and I cannot compare iit with all Iskender kebab that i had before. It was not full of fat. The portion was so big and it was like you are in turkey and having the orginal meal. However, from my point of view the best part was the dessert. Konefe is among the best desserts in the world and it had itt in Sultan Baklava. I can’t imagine something can be this much tasty. I recommend to have it as dessert or even main course because it is so heavy and rich that can be as a main course. All together this restaurant was one of my best experiences in this vacation. I hope you enjoy it.
Taniyyus Syed
Very good and authentic Turkish kebab in San Diego. The restaurant is located in the heart of San Diego and conveniently located in Horton Plaza. Since this is in downtown San Diego, parking can be an issue, so suggest that you park in Horton Plaza parking building.
The restaurant was not too crowded when we visited for Lunch on a Saturday. The staff and servers were very pleasant. The service can be slow since there is only one person working in the front but not a big issue - just be patient, food is worth the wait.
Tried the Sultan kebab - it has the chicken skewers, koobideh, gyros and lamb. Absolutely delish!
Customer Service
I had a vegetarian plate, it was pretty good. My husband is Turkish, he said his food was good too.. he had Turkish pizza, but because a few people said portions were small he ordered 2. My advice don't order 2! Unless you like super portions, you will be happy with their portions. It was clean and the waitress was friendly and helpful.
Yuri Grozenok
Absolutely fantastic place to eat. Food come out quickly and it's fabulous. Iskander kebab was very filling and tender. Baclava was very sweet and tasty. Great tea. Service is outstanding and very polite yet prompt. Atmosphere is peaceful. I'm from out of town otherwise I'd eat there again and again. Thank you for delicious lunch!
Polina Dorosinskaya
Great and wonderful place to visit! The staff is very pleasant, professional and welcoming; the food tastes just awesome and fresh; the atmosphere takes your breath away!!! I could not stop going to this place while in San Diego. Highly recommend this place.
Noor Maqbool
We had Sultan 2 nights in a row as we loved it...Had Sultan platter and the meat ball platter for appetizer....loved the baklavas and tea...Told our server to open a location in Chicago...bread is amazing..fresh and yummy food with big portions...Customer service was excellent...Even their salad was good..
Ayșen Erbil-Belardes
We had a buffet, but they ran out of food and didn't allow us to get more than one Baklava, which is not the point of a buffet. Owner was rude, unappreciative and obviously stingy not having endless food at a buffet. Food was ok for San Diego circumstances, but not worth the drive.
Sergey Ivannikov
Great place for lunch or dinner. I Recommend you to try their Baba Ghanouj with hot non-bread for an appetizer, Lamb Shank or Sultan Kebab (plate with lamb, chicken and beef kebab) as a meal �
Irem Kurt
My favorite one is chocolate baklava!!the best baklava & turkish food you can ever have in downtown SD
D.L. Shearer
Always full of Turks so that is a very good sign to me that the place serves great food.
Rafael Rosas
love this spot. food and dessert and most of all i loved their turkish coffee. staff is awesome as well. i work in the gaslamp so this is my go to Turkish/meditereanean spot. <3
Jeff Ziolkowski
1st customers of the day. Waiter delivered a ketchup bottle with dried ketchup all over the outside of the flip top lid. Mousakka had bitter eggplant and was oily. Meat sauce had no allspice or cinnamon seasoning. It tasted like tomato paste. Just ground beef with eggplant cubes and a sauce made of V8 & tomato paste. Yuck
Rukiye Mutlu Deniz
When we were in SD last month we tried doner and several kebabs. Kebabs were fine but the doner is definitely not authentic Turkish doner. Also the rice was very dry. This time we tried lahmacun and I loved it. If you want authentic Turkish food try their Lahmacun. The pistachio baklava was good I was expecting better baklavas because of their name. Overall nice restaurant.
Rebecca Guler
The food was delicious! The staff were friendly and attentive. Beautiful place, very relaxing. We'll be sure to return before leaving San Diego!
Joana Quijada
I have eaten here a few times with my friends and I have to say I keep coming back for the Iskender Kabob, one of my favs! Keep making amazing meals! :)
Aylin Miray
Delicious and always a treat to eat! My family always comes here for Turkish food. The most authentic!
Jennifer Quinton
Truly the best meal I've ever eaten! The service was phenomenal.
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