anatolia turkish mediterranean grill

their baklava is absolute heaven. my 3 friends and i met here for dinner tonight. none of us had been there before, but i had read good things about it here on urbanspoon, so that's what urged us to try it.
the location is basically 6th and central (with the store facing 6th), since it shares building space with a few other small businesses, so it was easy to find. (the menu urged us to ask about their free parking. we didn't need to, since it was after the time that the parking meters were running. the menu also boasted that they have free delivery for around the downtown area, which is wonderful.)
the food is turkish. 2 of my friends had the spicy chicken, i believe, while i split the meat grill with my other friend. the price for most dinner entrees was 8.50. our "meat grill" was 14.95. i figured since this item cost so much more, there would be more food, which is why my friend and i decided to split it.
the twochickenmeals came with a small container of hummus (choice of hummus or cacik, which basically tzaziki). the meat grill came with both. all entrees come with rice and some kind of tomato/onion salad.
for those not in the know about what a 'doner' is (as we all were before it was explained), it is spicy ground meat cooked on a kebab. the meat grill came with one, and it was pretty spicy for my gringo mouth. i would not have been able to eat more than the tiny bite i had. the plate also came with somechickenand 4 small beef chunks. for a 15 $ menu item grouped with 8.50 $ items, one would expect a lot of food. unfortuantely, this wasn't the case. in fact, thechickenentrees that my friends had had more food on the plate (definitely more meat) than the 'meat grill' had at almost twice the price.
that said, the food itself was very good. one of my friends said she couldn't wait to come back. after we had finished our meals, the waitress (slightly inattentive but friendly) brought us complimentary bites of baklava. this was unexpected, and highly appreciated. it was fantastic. it was the best baklava i have ever had, and i have had more than my fair share of baklava over the years. it was light, it was amazing... we begged for some more. if you ever want an angel to take a nap on your tongue, try their baklava. i was unable to keep myself from looking ridiculous by licking the plate. my friends loved it. in fact, i joked with one of them that we could just buy a whole sheet and have that for dinner, along with some milk. seriously, it was a golden explosion of love.
i know that i will come back here, to eat dinner or lunch, sure (they have weekday lunch specials for 6.50) but definitely to get some of that baklava.

homestyle turkish food, personable owner, and authentic taste. anatolia was one of our first ventures into turkish cuisine and they were rated as one of the top restaurants on both urbanspoon and tripadvisor receiving a certificate of excellence in 2015 you can really see why as soon as you walk in. your are greeted right away by the owner a very friendly and involved turkish gentleman who is proud to talk about his food and how it is made. he also passes along great knowledge with tales of his homeland. the food assures everything is homemade with the spices and hard work evident in both the donerchickenand beef plate. the onion salad complements the meats with its bright salad dressing that brings the rice to life with a punch of lemon juice. the creamy cacik with fresh baked pita bread is unbeatable with your meal. its a creamy cucumber sauce that will pair well with your rice as well. all in all i know we will be back to anatolia in the near future to try the rest of the menu.

friendly. the food here had my husband and i talking about it all the way back to colorado. i got thechickendoner plate, hummus and baklavah. we ordered falafel for our kids and my husband got the combo platter. we had a wide selection and nothing was so-so. superb.

can't miss this one. i've always thought i enjoyed mediterranean food...turns out i hadn't truly experienced it until i went to anatolia. i was in town on business and just wandering around looking for a place to eat when i decided turkish sounded good and went for it. i honestly did not expect to come across one of the finest dining experiences i've ever had. the restaurant had a wonderful vibe to it, from the decor to the turkish music playing in the background, and i was extremely happy to see the price range as well.

for dinner, i ordered the spicychickenplate. it was simply amazing. as someone who loves spicy food, it was that perfect level of hot but not overpowering. a rich explosion of flavor and the rice it was served with really complimented the dish, which is usually the only thing i find lacking in mediterranean dishes. the chef also made great use of the kinds of peppers new mexico is famous for to give the meal a perfect blend of turkey and albuquerque, and with how big the portions were, i was too stuffed to enjoy more than one bite of an excellent baklava for dessert.

if you're ever in albuquerque, definitely do not miss the opportunity to eat here. the staff was amazingly friendly, the food was easily the best of it's kind i've had, and the serving size was excellent for the price.

great food!!!!. imagine that you are strolling along the banks of the bosphorus and you decide to forsake the more touristy restaurants with their more touristy prices and go inland to where the turks eat. grandma is there, wearing her scarf, making the entrees and marinade spices as she tells the grandkids to stop shouting and running around. then she kisses them on top of their heads. her sons are busy over the grill spearing the lamb orchickenchunks onto the spit and slow cooking the kebabs until they are at the exact moment of deliciousness. you watch them grill the meat, joking and teasing each other in turkish. you ordered a simple kebab meal but it comes with rice, salad, and pita bread. smell it before you dive in. that's the aroma of ortakoy or arnavutkoy or any of the myriad smaller villages that make up istanbul or adana, where the owners are from. they have brought with them turkish food and make it with as much love as they did back home. the lamb kebabs are especially delicious. now please don't think that the restaurant limits itself to just these items. they have doner (the turkish equivalent of a burrito) and lots of turkish entrees. so come in, order, sit back and smell, hear, taste the life of turkey.


-----01 aug, 2012-----

great food and fantastic people. food was just amazingly delicious! you should try the adana kebab andchickendoner kebab.
they are just so good!!! chef mehmet's salad is the best salad i have ever had.
everything fresh and made right in front of your eyes.
appetizers and desserts were yummy!!!
i tried the turkish coffee- better than espresso i assure you.
once you eat there, you will be going back. guaranteed!!!
i highly recommend it.

you just can't beat it. anatolia's has become my favorite restaurant. and really, it's all about the food. not only is it fresh, but all meals are made from scratch and you can tell. the spinach and tomatoes are from their garden. you have never had a spinach roll like this. and did i mention theirchickendoner and spicy beef sandwich wraps? i am an addict. also, just like in new mexico, the turks have a tradition of grilling green chile to perfection! and my mouth is watering just thinking about it: they have the best babaganush! and to top it all off, they give you a free piece of the absolute best "bak-love-ah" to send your taste buds dancing home with dripping goodness. hands down, they make some of the best all around food in new mexico. writing this just made me crave more...

poor. one night we decided to hop in here for some dinner. i do not recommend this place for the price . you get served food worth $5 not $15!! it was a small plate minute rice with some minimalchickenand lamb over. it tasted mediocre. the waitress was not very friendly and came by once.

delicious! highly recommended. i tried this place for the very first time 2 days ago and went right back for more today. this place is amazing! i had the spicychickenand beef. i highly recommend this place to anyone! it's very well worth it...

great food, good prices. this place is a hidden gem, with delicious food at very reasonable prices for downtown. although their address is listed as being on central, it's actually about a half block north of central on 6th st. i like the adana shish kebab, which is spicy ground beef. often when you hear ground beef, you think boring, but this is delicious, with a really spicy kick. get a roasted green chile with it, and it's even better. thechickenkebab is really good as well. most meals come with rice, salad and pita bread with cacik (similar to tzatziki) and a bite sized piece of bakalava, all for around $6.50-8.50. service is ok, sometimes really good and sometimes rather lackluster. my main complaint is that their menu doesn't really describe many of the kebabs, so you are left wondering exactly what are the ingredients in the kofte kebab or the adana kebab or the muhammara appetizer.

we had an amazing lunch at anatolia’s today. i had never tried turkish food, but the waitress was very helpful.
appetizers of baba ganoush and falafel were excellent and my plate ofchickendoner kebab was to die for. i love how they presented the plate with a freshly roasted green chile! thechickenis perfectly grilled and seasoned. my brother tried the lamb kebab and it was also delicious, highly seasoned and grilled to perfection.

the food was great, but so is the management. i was sitting where i could see where i parked. they have a few parking spots in the pay lot across the street, but i was unaware of how it worked. the parking attendant left a ‘ticket’ on my car as i watched. so, the manager walked across in the rain to straighten it out for me. now, that’s commitment to service! i was thankful for the help, but then he also brought us a free dessert, two heavenly bite size pieces of baklava.
i can’t praise this establishment enough. with so many places giving just so-so service (or worse) it is indeed refreshing to see the opposite. and did i mention the prices are reasonable as well? if i could give additional stars, i would.

keeps getting better!. today i tried anatolia's spiceychickenover rice, and nibbled from a friend's plate to try a new version of the baba ganoush and some of the falafel on her vegetarian combo platter. anatolia has a way with baba ganoush that makes it the perfect foil for anything on the plate. the spiceychickenhad just enough heat to keep it interesting without spice overload. as usual, mehmet and umut make sure you're happy with your meal. their friendly banter makes you feel like you're visiting at their home table rather than a restaurant. we'll be back to try more menu items and to keep them busy making baba ganoush!

great food and friendly staff! had the spicychickenand it was very tasty. my partner had the vegetarian plate and enjoyed it as well. we will be coming back.

hits the kebab spot!. this hidden delight of a restaurant is wonderfully delish! in the mood for turkish food or just something different, don't hesitate to stop here to eat in, take out or have delivered! their food is amazingly fresh, yummy, and reliably delicious. i have had the spicy lamb kebab several times now and it rocks! my hubs loves thechickendoner kebab just as much. make this place a regular selection on your "where to eat out in abq" list, you'll never be disappointed :)

excellent food. we have eaten at anatolia's many times. the food has always been superior and the service friendly. the restaurant location is unassuming and prices for the meals are low. i enjoy my food spicy my favorite meals are the spicychickenand the recently added spicy salmon. the salmon is perfectly grilled and moist; the portions are generous and come with freshly grilled pita bread, rice, salad and a complementary dessert. when spicy falafel is available i order is as an appetizer with humus.

the food was delicious!! we had the daily specialchickendoner kebab- tasty and juicy! highly recommend!!