cafe istanbul

pricey and not worth it. i am a huge fan of any type of middle eastern food, so i will say i'm easy to please when it comes to this category.
and i'm also a long time fan of the old cafe istanbul location on lower greenville avenue.
but this location was over priced and did not deliver quality food or service.
i ordered the combo ii meal. the menu said it came with yogurt sauce. when my meal arrived and did not resemble the menu description, i asked if it was combo ii and was told yes, after a lengthy perplexed stare. i wasn't enjoying the food and there was not only no yogurt sauce, i couldn't identify what i was eating.

so i asked again about my meal and inquired why it didn't come with yogurt sauce. the waitress said, "would you like me to bring you some?" it was an odd reply at best and my meal was a very meager portion of lamb on top of what ended up being pureed eggplant, so i didn't need more liquidy ingredients. it should have been obvious to the waitress by this point that my meal was not what i ordered.

i actually had to ask a third time and this time had someone bring me a menu. then i was able to confirm they brought me a combo iii (i think it was called) which was lamb served atop pureed eggplant...totally different than what i ordered.

the food was bland, the portion was insufficient for the price point and the server was not familiar with the menu nor did she know how to respond to a customer's questions about their order. for their ticket price, i would expect more on all 3 counts.

went here for very  late lunch and  the place was completely empty .ambiance is nice and we opted to sit in portico. ordered turkish coffee which we never miss in any turkish restaurant and lahmacun. coffee was good and lahmacun is like turkis pizza which was freshly made ,light and tasted amazing.

we hit this place on a friday night just for a casual dinner but the place was unexpectedly deserted. we were among the only few people visiting this cafe which kind of took us aback! the food was pretty average and dint take too long to be served! ambience was again moderate. would recommend this place only if you are craving turkish food !!

i really enjoy this place for eating out and it never disappoints whether its a quick meet up with colleagues or pleasure eating

also to mention staff is very helpful and nice and take care of any queries or requests

great ambience and a stylish cafe. service is quick and very courteous. two of us went there on a wednesday night and had some drinks with appetisers. we had their falafel and hummus with lavash. the taste was awesome and the quantity just right .

please avoid this place! not only do they charge enormous for their small plates, they also goof up on the final check. this place is a rip-off!

very rude and terrible service. our food came incomplete and when we pointed this out, the waiter, instead of correcting the order, stated "i don't know, i've only worked here one month." then overcharged us for the food and drinks. we didn't want to say anything but all 6 of us were slightly offended. the owner just ignored us then dropped $15 cash on the table and said "there!" this is somewhat funny because we paid with credit cards and he still overcharged! who charges extra for filling your coffee cup, honey in the middle of the platter as advertised, and sends out incomplete orders. it's ok because we got a good laugh out of it, but that's not how you stay in business of have people come back. this is actually sad because the place was otherwise relatively empty anyway and we were saying that's a shame because the food wasn't that bad.

very enjoyable - nice atmosphere - great food. cafe istanbul wins a huge thumbs up on all fronts from me. the location is on the north side of the shops of legacy. it has a wonderful patio that is well decorated and gives a view of all the activity in the area. warmers are lit for colder evenings. inside, the decor is beautiful. the floors look like hand-scraped wood planks. the tables and chairs are a heavy wood with black walnut stain. dark blue's are used as accents on the seat and table settings. white stone bricks flank both sides of the room. a large copper flue and wine rack wall complete the look. it's really well done.

the service and food are just as good as the atmosphere. my server was so pleasant and helpful. on my wine, appetizer and main course, i narrowed it to two or three choices each. my server steered me to the one to select in each area. she nailed it, and i really appreciate that. the turkish wine (kavaklidere) was really good. the kisir (tabouleh) came with a huge lavish (flatbread). the cracked wheat mixed with peppers, mint leaves, garlic and other ingredients was really good. the portions were huge. i could not finish it. next came my main course tavuk sarma (stuffed chicken). so good. i was really surprised to find a huge pile of shoestrings piled on it. it ended up being a great flavor addition. it added crunch to the sauce. i liked everything about cafe istanbul.

tiny portion for too high price. this is a review for the plano, tx location. the food is good but we always leave hungry. they charge $7 for lentil soup which is delicious but it's practically thimble sized. it's like a joke! the appetizers will only feed 1 or 2 at most so a party of more than 2 needs to order double. entrees are so over the top expensive for what little you get. the service is hit or miss. there is a lot of staff but they stand motionless and you have to flag them down if you need your water refilled or really for anything you need. they are very slow and inattentive. for the prices they charge we all feel that it's just not worth it. what you get for your money and the mediocre service is not in keeping with what fine diners expect from dfw 's many fine dining establishments.

the food here is very good and fresh!! i was very impressed by the quality and the great service. i defiantly recommend it!

oh my goodness. i was in lamb heaven tonight. the food was wonderful and the service was fantastic. we will go back and bring friends.

double check your bill. this restaurant is robbing plano folks blind by offering poor quality food and unexplainable high prices and over charges even in compare to its sibling in dallas. the service has improved since it opened but the food quality and the usual over charges have remained the same. definately microwaved specially the falafels which used to be excellent.

i came with my wife....we have loved turkish food since we went to istanbul many times....here was extremely disappointed.....service was bad and late...pricey and not to worth this price...if pricey, we expect good and quality service

click here for a virtual tour of cafe istanbul plano.

we liked it but,. had dinner at the new shops of legacy location last night. the outside dining is really great and we loved the cozy inside of the place. it wasn't very busy so our service was really good.
the fresh pita was amazing but screaming for some type of dipping sauce which it did not come with. it should. we ended up ordering tzaziki for $4.00 which was really nice with it.
our food took quite sometime to get out. i realize everything is from scratch so i get that no big deal. we waited about 40 min, for our food.

when the food arrived my daughter ordered the lamb/ bef sandwich. it was very good. she didn't care for the onion and tomato salad so they brougt her an order of fries at no charge. that was very nice. i had the braised lamb shank. it was a bit tough and probably needed to braise another hour or so. the flavor was good and it was big.the tomato sauce it was served in was very flat an had no flavor. it left me feeling very unsatisfied. it was served with big onions and a turkish pepper that we're not raw and not cooked. i didn't care for the al dente veggies. they needed to be one or the other. then it had an eggplant sort of stewed in which was good except the tough skin was still on and the texture was very unpleasant. my husband had the lamb k-bob and it was very good. tender and cooked to perfection. i will go back and try it again. the menu was large and there are a lot of things i would like to taste.