Cafe Istanbul Reviews

It was a the most random choice but I was so happy to have dropped by for a quick bite. The ambience was perfect for a date night. We ordered a chicken Kebab and some drinks to go along with it. The staff was well informed and suggested the best. We shall visit again to try the rest of the items soon.

We have been to Cafe Istanbul several times and each time the food has been just excellent. We have tried pretty much all their menu dishes. All of them are unique and tasty. The lamb dishes we liked the most. Especially the Doner dish in main menu. The desserts are also great. We recommend it highly.

I ordered carryout food through chownow from here recently and did not have a good experience. I needed to change the time for pickup and it was not possible to do online, so I called the restaurant 6 hours prior to my original 4:30pm pickup time. The first person I spoke with told me she would alert the chef and we were all set for a 5:30pm pickup. I was a little nervous about the message being relayed so I called back again 2 hours before just to confirm and was told that the chef knew about the time change. When my husband arrived to pickup the food at 5:30, he was told that we were late and the food had been sitting there since 4:30. The food was obviously cold at that point and everything had to be reheated which was time consuming for a group of 8 people. I called the restaurant immediately and asked to speak to the manager and was asked to hold, but after waiting 15 minutes I finally hung up. I tried calling back 2 more times later that evening and was asked for my number so the manager could call me back (he did not) and called again the next day and was told the same thing and its now 4 days later and I'm still waiting for that call back. Terrible customer service! Regarding the food, most of what we had was good (not great) but the grilled calamari was inedible.

Turkish restaurant with quite a small menu. The portions are large, but they have takeaway boxes to pack up your leftovers. Pleasant outdoor seating area.

We really enjoyed our dinner last night at Café Istanbul. It has a unique feature of having some parking spots outside since it’s part of a small strip mall. It’s in a nice area around the Wicker Park neighborhood. The place is airy, with large windows. Keep in mind that in the winter time in Chicago the window seating could be a little chilly due to the temperature outside. We were immediately seated after our reservation, even though we were a little early. The staff is very quick to attend the customers and get the orders in, but don’t expect them to be overly friendly just simply attentive and quick. We started out with a hummus, and excellent Patlican Salatisi which was plenty for 2-4 with freshly baked bread. Our main dinners were the the doner (made with real veal and lamb) which the best one we have had in the USA, and Imam Bayildi which are egg plant rolls with vegetables, also very good. we finished our meal with Baklava and Turkish coffee. The baklava were freshly made (there were four in the order) and clearly the best we have had in the USA as well. Overall we had an excellent experience, the food is clearly and truly traditional Turkish and were very impressed with our meal and highly recommend this place for its authenticity and flavors. We will come again.

This is a cozy cafe with friendly service and great food! It makes you feel like you’re in a cafe on İstiklal street in Istanbul enjoying great food, drink and friends. The beer is cold, the pide is tasty and the mussels delicious. Next time we go it’s going to be fried sea bass and rack of lamb. Don’t forget to end it all with a Turkish coffee or Raki. BTW - if you park in the lot next to the cafe, make sure you only go to the cafe or one of the stores bordering the lot. If you go anywhere else, you’ll get a boot bolted onto your car’s tire.

We really enjoyed the dishes served in the joyful ambiance of Cafe Istanbul. I strongly recommend the "lentil soup" which was perfectly prepared as the original taste served in Turkey. You should absolutely order it before the main course. Thanks !

This places looks like a little diner deli cheap place (i was going to eat at the Schwarama place across the street) but it is really gourmet! A little expensive but excellent food! The zucchini pancakes were amazing. Everything was fantastic.

Super fresh Turkish food! Every dish is so huge, you can split it at least two ways. We got one appetizer, one salad, and one main to share among 3 people, and still had enough left over for another meal. The smoked eggplant appetizer is fabulous, and the mixed grill is very well spiced. Best thing is that it is rarely crowded, even in popular Wicker Park.

We had an outside patio table which was very comfortable as we were shaded from the sun with a light breeze. The service was excellent and the menu was extensive. The food was prepared fresh and was superb. Lamb kabobs, salmon carpaccio, lamb shank. All outstanding.

Stopped for lunch here because the other places in the area had a wait..so glad we found this restaurant....clean..attentive wait staff and excellent food. Had a seafood salad that was full of shrimp, scallop, calamari.. ..etc...Salads were plentiful and delicious. Would definitely go back...

Very authentic Turkish food, perfect service, all staff is Turkish, very kind hearted, we would come back

Lovely restaurant in every way!! All the positive reviews posted are true. ( I read them on Yelp as well). You can find lots of hummus, kabobs , eggplant , chicken etc in Middle Eastern restaurants around Chicago. This is different. It’s Turkish and has that extra zing in their food. Your head spins and wonders WHY IS THIS SO GOOD?! I asked. It’s the spices. The owner chef directly imports them from Turkey. That’s the ticket! You will NOT find the spices in most restaurants and Whole Foods no matter what their packaging says. In this restaurant , it’s the real deal. It’s authentic and is what the gazillions of other spice companies and restaurants TRY to copy. ( good luck with that). The dishes are prepared with a true artistic flair. Cafe Istanbul cares as much about the presentation as they do about the quality and flavor of their creation. Crisp white tablecloths yet super reasonable prices!!! Go and enjoy!

After twenty-seven years living in Wicker Park, we've seen this store front through its various incarnations, from video store to a couple of mediocre restaurants, but they've hit the jackpot with Cafe Istanbul. From the moment we walked in we knew we were in for something special. The renovations have taken it from a cold open room to a warm, inviting place to relax and enjoy some truly spectacular Turkish food. We were greeted warmly at the front desk, and even though we didn't have a reservation we were seated promptly. We started with some delicious and complimentary hearth-baked bread served with a yogurt-garlic-carrot dip that was to-die-for. For an appetizer we split the SU BOREGI, homemade dough filled with feta cheese and fresh dill, served with fresh dill and creamy yogurt garlic sauce. This was reminiscent (to me anyway) of a Turkish-style kugel. Very hearty and satisfying. For our entrees we went with BRAISED SHORT-RIB, red wine and fresh herbs, served with soft polenta and ISLIM SARMASI, Braised lamb shoulder, wrapped in eggplant, served with basmati rice pilaf. OMG so good and so tender! And the portions are enormous. We had to take half of our food home to enjoy another day. Note that the short rib takes about twenty minutes to prepare, but it is definitely worth the wait. Prices are reasonable and the staff were friendly and welcoming. We highly recommend Cafe Istanbul and can't wait to return.

Great location, really nice staff all around, nice option to eat outdoors if the weather is nice, is clearly very popular. The Saturday night we went it was probably 70% full. We had a reservation but they were taking walk-ins too with no wait. I loved that they offer a BYO option (with corkage fee) despite having a full bar. As for the food, I'm struggling with what to write because I'm not sure if it just wasn't for my taste, or it wasn't that great. We started with the Sogurme, basically like baba ganoush. The bread was outstanding. The dip I didn't like because I couldn't figure out what type of oil they used. It was the color and taste of vegetable oil but the dip was drenched like it should be extra virgin olive oil. The thought of dipping bread in vegetable oil was grossing me out. Related to this, they have oil on the table so I stared at that for a while trying to figure out what type of oil it was. It was yellow-y-er like EVOO but I didn't bother trying it because I was ew-ed by the other oil I consumed. For entree I got the Cag Kabob, my husband got the Doner Kabob. It comes diner style plated, with a mound of rich, mound of marinated carrots, mound of marinated cabbage, and flat bread. We both thought our meals were fine. The doner is like the kind of kabob meat that comes off a spit. He thought it was fine. The yogurt sauce they both came with was good. Lastly, watch out! An 18% service fee is already on the check (see picture) but then they have suggested tip amounts on top of that. We confirmed with the waitress the service fee was indeed the tip and she said yes. We would have tipped more than 18%. Sad that they have to force 18% and they miss out on people who typically tip more. I know we could have added on, but whatever, we just did what they asked.

First time experience recommended by our Uber driver. We had incredible service by attendants who explained each of the foods we ordered. The Turkish tea was exquisite.

From the moment we arrived and were served warm hearth baked bread and vegetable spread we thoroughly enjoyed our late lunch at Cafe Istanbul.

Cafe Istanbul has a wide variety of food offerings with some very unique & authentic Turksih food plus a few choices non-Turkish. They have the home made Bayram bread, home made daily special soups among many other selections. They have lamacun & pide pizzas. All this & Most Delicious as well. I think it is the Best Turkish restaurant in Chicago and I have tried them all!!! Cok Sogul Cafe istanbul!

The food was average. The waiter was completely disinterested in our dining experience. Was hoping for a fantastic meal. The calamari was excellent appetizer. However the lamb shank main course was tasteless in a brown gravy. Was expecting subtle braised flavors but was bland.

We stopped in here on a Sunday and sat outside on their wonderful patio! Wow just wow...everything we had was delicious. Our special request for an item that was not on the menu (grilled octopus appetizer) but suggested to us by friends who had been here, was well received and made to perfection! My husband and I were blown away by how great everything was and all of the other food we saw getting delivered to the surrounding tables looked fantastic. Super authentic and wonderful service and smiling faces! They didn't even mind we had our 105 pound dog joining us and brought him a bowl of water! We will definitely return!!!

I was highly satisfied with my dinner at Café Istanbul. I was visiting the area, and some family members suggested we meet there—so I hopped on the L from downtown and arrived quickly and easily. We started with a warm, freshly baked Turkish bread (the name escapes me), and I ordered the Adana Kebab, which I was told is a house favorite. Everything we had was absolutely delicious. There’s also a full bar, and they nailed my simple whiskey and ginger ale. What stood out most, though, was the exceptional service. The staff was friendly, attentive, and happy to answer questions. Most importantly, I was dining with my father’s cousin and his wife—he uses a wheelchair and is a regular here. The staff not only knew him but also went out of their way to patiently help with getting him in and out of the car. In a world where that kind of care isn’t always the norm, it really meant a lot. Kudos to Café Istanbul for great food, excellent service, and true hospitality. I’d definitely return!