Alaturka next to Chip Shop

I had dinner at Alaturka two weeks ago and it was also great. They bake their own bread there which was amazing. Kebabs were great too.

wait, where is this joint? I hate adana kebab but I like most turkish food. esp. turkish breakfast.

This is not the old Comfort Zone. CZ has become Zilla or Zillia or something like that.

Alaturka was a total disappointment. We did an early dinner with my son, his wife and 15 month old baby. We ordered Zuchinni pancakes... came very fast.. and that was because they wee fried (like yesterday!) and served cold. We sent them back. The other app was a turkish sald.. tomatoes, cukes, feta cheese on top.. it was ok... that is a hard sald to destroy. We shared 2 entrees.. a lamb shishk that was no better than ok... what was on the plate with it was afew onions, 4 tablespoons of rise, 2 tabelspoons of carrots. Now that was "generous" because the stuffed cabbage leaves came with NOTHING on the plate. There were 4 of these.. wow.. picture a diameter of a nice chunky pen and each was 3 inches long! They tasted ok but this meager plate was $10. The service was slow, the waitress had difficulty bringing 3 glasses of water to the table without pouring them all over the place. There was only one other couple eating there at 7 on fri nite and when we left one other unlucky couple came in.

Look... truly cross this off your list. My son's comment after the meal said it all.. As we passed the Chip Sjoppe next dooor he said.."I could really go for an order of Mac and Cheese now!"

Don't bother!!
Prediction.. this will be out of business by the end of the summer if not sooner.

The Pita Hut on 9th Street bet 4th and 5th ave (it is the former deedee doughnut place) services terrific Turkish food. There are afew tables but you are best doing takeout. You will have a lovely , hearty meal at a fair price.

erikka wrote: it's in the space next to chip shop that used to be their curry shop.

unfortunately, I still have no clue where that is.

Subject: We know Turkish food and we like it!

My husband is Turkish and he swears Alaturka is well done, authentic Turkish food. He's picky, so I'd go by what he says! Plus based on my own limited experience of Turkish cuisine, both here and in Turkey, I agree with him Alaturka's food is some of the best I've had.

However I totally agree with others their space needs a re-design. It's too bright and exposed, not very comfortable, so it's more like an institutional cafeteria than a restaurant. The color palette of the interior is unsophisticated, and unfashionable. They need better lighting design, more stylish tables and chairs, plus they need drapes on the windows to partially block sunlight and make it so diners don't feel on display. Right now you feel like you're in a glass fishbowl with everyone walking by staring at you. Overall the interior design definitely looks amateur and like they did it themselves. The owners are really lovely people, a sister and brother, but they are new to owning restaurants, and they should have hired a professional to do the interior design. It's a lot to spend, but it pays off big time to have a well-designed interior.

Sorry, Veets, though we agree about the decor we completely disagree about the food. We served food from Alaturka to several friends who are sophisticated gourmandes, and they FLIPPED out over the food. They loved it.

Has Alaturka closed? I walked by over the weekend and the gates were down.

I passed by this afternoon. Eitherthey are doing a massive renovation (doubt that) or this place is over. The doors were open and it looked like they were taking out the kitchen which is in the back of the restaurant. Hey.. that isn't such a major job.. a very small kitchen!

See my post above from April..

Was I right again?(By the way I did eat there once after April and that gives me the right to discuss a restaurant..)

So what shall we say?

Good ridance to stale bread!!

I can't believe I posted that!!

Good luck to the new owners. This evening we had a culinary dilemna... and a life one as well.. lol!

We had invited some people over that turned out ate vegetarian.. with many limitations... allergic to gluton, wheat.. blah ,blah.. I really can cook for anyone at this point if they just tell me what they need but the problem was we had our grandkids today and overnight and I had no time to plan and cook around the limitations of these folks' diet.. SO.. we walked across the street to Pita Hut and bought food there.. It was terrific!! Hey not a place you would sit and eat but Middle Eastern.. and we wereable to put together a table of food that went along with the limitations and tasted great. ...thumbs up. Turkish cuisine to me is a little more sophisticated and intriguing . I so wish the new owners in Alturka well.. hey fast forward 2 months.. and they wee open I would have been on the phone ordering from there!! I don't think the concept they need is all that complicated.. Cook well, aim for a lot of take out and delivery and if someone decides to eat in the space maximize the fact that it is small and can be made inviting and cozy.