Hamdi Reviews

The food here is phenomenal but I cannot give it higher ratings because the service was shockingly absent. We were ignored for ages and finally flagged down someone to bring the bill. 20% gratuity is included so making any kind of statement about poor service is impossible.

This was a disappointing and expensive experience. Our party of 6 was excited to go after having read about Hamdi. The host informed us upon getting seated that we would receive a pre-fix menu...a new policy they had just implemented. We were given no advance warning during the reservation process and this was not what we had planned. We had paid a per person deposit when making the reservation and were already seated. We received several starter courses we would not have ordered on our own and we did not enjoy. The host had emphasized that we could eat as much of these as we desired as a way to make being forced into a pre-fix seem like a good thing. That is really not a plus when you don't like the dishes enough to finish the first serving. This is not a reflection on the quality of the dish but it was not to our taste and would not be something we would have ordered. The overall experience was not one we care to repeat and have not. The service, outside of the host, was great. Some of the meal was also great but did not outweigh the other aspects that weren't. We have had less than stellar experiences at other venues and have gone on to enjoy them on future visits giving them the benefit of the doubt for an off night. This is different. It has been a while and it still irritates me how this evening went.

Service and food were amazing. You can’t go wrong since the staff will walk you through the menu as you arrive. Cocktails are interesting and tasty, food is a party of flavors and the ambiance is great for a date night.

Seattle has its share of interesting, friendly, and down-right delicious restaurants. Hamdi deserves to be placed near the front of that list with an inspired take on classic Turkish food. Our group of eight was treated to a family-style feast selected by chef Berk Güldal and general manager Katrina Schult. After a sparkling pet nat aperitif from Turkey and delicious cocktails, the parade of delights began. Cold starters included mung bean salad with pomegranate seeds, watermelon salad, vegan kofta al pastor, and celery root yogurt. Let’s just say the menu delivers tastes the American diner usually doesn’t get to experience. We took advantage of the Turkish wines on the list and stuck with those selections during the evening The 48-hour marinated chicken wings alone are enough to warrant an Uber ride past the trendy bars to the edge of Fremont. Eastern spices are brought to life over an open fire to create an unforgettable treat —spectacular! A Turkish restaurant must prepare an excellent kebab, and the minced lamb was incredible. Pide, a Turkish flatbread, was so good I was glad they brought enough so that a fight didn’t break out. We treated ourselves to the ribeye special and we are so glad we did. I’m not a felon but I would gladly break into the kitchen late at night to steal the seasoning mix. It’s just that good. Turkish tiramisu and the chef’s mother’s rice pudding capped the evening. We all agreed it was one of the most flavorful and enjoyable meals we’d ever had. Many thanks to Berk, Katrina and their delightful staff for a memorable evening.

Just another amazing culinary experience by Chef Berke and his team! This restaurant is so out of this world delicious, fabulous and cool, it would have a line around the block if it was in NYC! Such an amazing gem in Seattle can’t wait to go back!

We have been meaning to go for the longest time. Heard good things. Love Turkish food. Finally found a reservation. There was a mandatory $40 no refundable deposit pp which gave me pause. If I read it right, they said that if you can't make it, you have the option to transfer it to someone else, which would be bizarre to ask around to see if a friend could bail you out of a reservation. And then that deposit doesn't offset your bill instead, it gets refunded, which it did but why? its a lot of hoops to jump through for a place we had never been. We also got a text a few days prior asking us to move our reservation to 30 min earlier which we did but we couldn't figure out why. We didn't see too many empty tables but here were a decent number of empty seats at the kitchen viewing bar. After all that I was a bit nervous. As people mentioned, parking was tricky. There's plenty across the street but crossing that street is bonkers. Def needs a crosswalk. We got a wonderful table. The whole place is very dark and moody. Loved that. We helped by maybe 6-8 different staff members, I don't feel like we had an official server. One of the owners popped by for a moment. One of the servers recommended turkish wine with turkish food. That was excellent advice. One of our servers, not the owner, suggested we order a certain number of dishes. My partner has a big appetite and even so, it was too much food so trust your instincts when you are ordering. also you can skip the sourdough bread. $4 for 4 small slices of bread made elsewhere. With the high end prices, charging for small slices of bread seemed a bit much. Barring that, everything we ordered was delicious. We got the mung bean salad, the celery root, the chicken wings, the pide - had high hopes for that even though reviews are mixed... the one that said "its trying to do too much" wasn't wrong, and the lamb kebab. We ended up taking home half of the last two dishes. Not sure how one of them will hold up the next day. Bill was about 2x what we pay typically to dine out. 20% gratuity was pre added - I appreciate that. added bonus - my hair smells like a campfire from all the smoking of things happening inside, which for me is a plus Net/net - great food. Odd bumps in the road re: the experience. Place was packed. Try it, especially if you love Turkish food. Will we rush back, hard to say.

Seattle has never had many Turkish restaurants. Those that it does have are very nice and the food is generally good. However, Hamdi is in a league of its own. It aspires to be a fine dining destination and lives up to that aspiration. The couple of Berk Guldal and Katrina Schult are the owners and driving force behind Hamdi. Both have Michelin 3-star experience and are very serious about their craft, which shows in the food, decor of the restaurant, and presentation. Guldal helms the kitchen; Schult is in charge of the front of the house. The restaurant is small and you might miss it along busy Leary Way if you weren't looking for it. The interior is dark, with tables and a long counter. We sat at the counter and enjoyed looking into the open kitchen and prep stations. The servers are all very friendly and good at explaining the food, which is very helpful given that the names of the dishes are all in Turkish. Guldal named the restaurant after his grandfather, who he says was his cooking inspiration. These may have started out as family recipes, but Guldal has elevated them to haute cuisine, with skill and obvious passion. (If his family really ate this well, I hope he will consider adopting me!) The menu listed just 9 food items, 3 sides, and 1 dessert. We started with sourdough bread and olive oil (the oil was mixed with interesting spices). It was good enough that we ordered more as the meal progressed. I particularly enjoyed what they did with the olive oil dip. Another dish where we ordered a second round was the topik. It was basically a potato dish but also contained chickpeas, yogurt, caramelized onions, currants, and pine nuts. It was terrific. A dish called Imam Bayildi was an eggplant preparation, containing fried and grilled eggplant in a rich sauce of peppers, dashi, and garnished with thinly sliced large pieces of radish. It was listed as a main course but we ordered it as a side to go with the "Turk-Bone," a giant (ours was over 2 pounds, bone-in) T-bone/porterhouse steak. I wouldn't normally order a steak at a Turkish restaurant, particularly for over $150, but I am glad I did in this case. The steak was 21-day dry aged and extremely flavorful and tender. We watched as chef Guldal prepared it, first by rubbing it in spices, then baking it for a time, and only then putting it on the grill. It was served sliced but not to worry--we took the bone home for enjoyment later with no worries about its being messy. The meat looked to be done medium but it was every bit as tender as a good medium-rare steak. This was truly an outstanding dish, prepared completely differently from any steak I had encountered before. There has been a lot of hype about Hamdi, starting with a year of occasional pop-ups. Sometimes, restaurants can't live up to their own hype. That is NOT an issue at Hamdi. You will enjoy it!

OMG every single time .... mind blown! Hamdi is by far one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. It's a bit of a journey for us from Sammamish , but so incredibly worth it. We always order practically everything off the menu and every bite is so perfect. My husband is from Turkey and he loves chef Berk's elevated and creative twist on his fav home cooked meals. The Dolma was an extra memorable new plate for us, and Omg I woke up dreaming about it. Of course not the typical Dolma but an inspired creation that was just so amazingly delicious. And Katrina, his lovely wife who runs the show, is always such a fantastic host, we always feel like we are amongst family. Tonight the whole team outdid themselves, and we can't wait to go back very soon to try chefs' ongoing new creations and spectacular staples that we love so much.

If you’re looking for a quiet, hushed dining room, Hamdi isn't it—but if you want arguably the best Turkish food in the Pacific Northwest, look no further. I finally snagged a table on Super Bowl Sunday (literally the only opening I could find for weeks), and it was worth every bit of the hype. The vibe is exactly what Seattle’s dining scene needed: dark, loud, and unapologetically romantic. It feels sophisticated yet energized. Despite the high volume, the service was exceptional—attentive without being stifling, and clearly well-versed in the menu’s nuances. The precision here is no accident. Owners Berk Güldal and Katrina Schult both bring serious Michelin-star backgrounds to the table, and that level of expertise shines through in every detail, from the plating to the pacing of the meal. The Standouts: • Rye Manhattan: A perfectly balanced, punchy start to the evening. • Pide: Perfectly charred crust with that authentic, chewy-yet-crisp texture. • Turk-bone Ribeye: This was the showstopper. Incredibly tender and seasoned with a beautiful nod to traditional Turkish flavors elevated by world-class technique. • Sutlaç: You have to try this. It’s Berk’s mother’s rice pudding recipe, and it is divine. It’s the perfect bridge between a refined pastry kitchen and a comforting family kitchen. Hamdi is a masterclass in how to blend high-end technique with soul-satisfying heritage cooking. It’s a tough reservation to land, but absolutely worth the effort.

Absolutely breathtaking! If you're a fan of Turkish cuisine, make haste to visit. And if you're new to it, then sprint—don't walk—to Hamdi Restaurant in Fremont, Seattle. This place is a true gem, offering a contemporary take on authentic Turkish dining that is utterly sublime. As soon as you enter, you're wrapped in a cozy, welcoming atmosphere, infused with the heady aromas of spices and succulent meats that promise an extraordinary culinary journey. Hamdi sets itself apart with a steadfast dedication to authenticity and quality. Every dish, bursting with flavor, is meticulously prepared with ingredients chosen for their freshness and authenticity. It’s like a culinary passport, transporting you to Istanbul with every bite, surrounded by charming visual touches like tulips, the iconic evil eye, artwork of the Galata Tower, and the unparalleled Turkish hospitality. This enchanting restaurant not only brought me back to my visits to Istanbul but also elevated my appreciation for Turkish culture through its vibrant flavors and inviting ambiance.

We were visiting Seattle this month and looking for a wonderful dinner, so we picked this busy restaurant from a list of Seattle's better restaurants. Bingo, what a dining experience we enjoyed, being from Berkeley, we know good food and grabbed a late reservation. The atmosphere and service were top-notch. Smelling the smoke from the open kitchen immediately caught our sense's attention. We sat at the open bar facing the kitchen action and watched as Hamdi's Mediterranean food was artfully created. What I liked most was the kitchen's interpretation of Turkish food, it was super forward-thinking. The food was served Meza style, with crazy good small plates and a few delicious entrees available as well. It seemed everything was kissed from the fire, I was told the owner-chef was in charge of the nonstop grilling station. I am not going into the delights of every dish, but everything was sublime. I would highly recommend this restaurant, it's a culinary step above.

I didn't really like it here. The food is not very tasty, the prices are high, I would recommend choosing another restaurant.

Hamdi is all of the superlatives in one restaurant. Wonderful experience! Excellent food! Everything from the soup to the dessert, was delicious! Beautiful atmosphere! The restaurant is small and intimate with an open kitchen and chef's table! Fantastic servers! I loved how they described each dish brought to the table! Superb presentation with the plating! Everything about Hamdi is 5 stars. My boyfriend is Turkish so I'm used to eating Turkish food all the time. Hamdi's Turkish food is elevated and you could definitely tell the owners have Michelin 5-Star restaurant backgrounds. I've been following them on Instagram and seeing their pop-ups around the Seattle area made my mouth water. I was so excited when they announced they were opening a restaurant, so my friends and I made plans to visit Seattle one weekend. It's been a long time since I had such a great dining experience. From the moment I walked into the restaurant until I left was the best experience I've had in a long time and I can't wait to go back.

I had been craving Turkish food for a while and Hamdi was on my to-do list. Unfortunately, I do not think I will ever go back to that place. Bummer, because the owner was friendly, but that should not be the only enjoyable thing about a meal. Food: The Kereviz with the toasted sourdough bread was delicious. Of course, it would have been even better with some Turkish flat bread straight out of the oven with some black sesame seeds. The pide looked so delicious when it was served, but there was so much mushroom goop and it needed so much salt that it was borderline palatable. The bread was great, but I feel that the dish needed more refinement (less shrooms, more cheese). I asked for salt and it came when I was working on my last two bites. The roasted cauliflower was, simply put, not edible. The sunflower seeds were so burnt that the dish was just bitter and, frankly, gross. At this point I decided that I will not take the risk of dessert and asked for the check. Ambiente: Really cool space, except that the open wood fire grill had me coughing for fresh air. Now I smell like I spent the weekend in a Boy Scout Kumbaya camp fire. My jacket needs to go to dry clean and the rest is right now in the laundry. Without exaggerating, there were times where I had a hard time breathing. if you have asthma, please stay away. Service: As mentioned, the owner was friendly, but the staff were incompetent beyond recognition. Whenever I would ask one server for X, the other server would come by and ask if I wanted X. Then the first server would bring X. Now replace X with pretty much anything I asked for. It felt comedic, except that it got annoying after the 4th time. Please please please train your staff, or get better people. This was likely the most annoying part of the dinner, right after smelling like Smokey the bear. Cost: I had an appetizer, a veggie bread loaf, about a quarter for a medium sized cauliflower and two glasses of wine. $120 strikes me as way too expensive. Just have a peek at the photos. Will I come back? Heck no! I am still burping burned seed aroma and feeling pretty meh after that meal. I tried really hard to enjoy it, but frankly, this place needs a hard reset. Not going back in the foreseeable future.