Mahzen Grill

Too bad this spot closed. The food was so delicious but the place was always empty. Hopefully they’ll open up somewhere nearby?

So sad this place has closed. Truly a loss for the neighborhood.

The 5 stars is strictly on the food and service. The food portion is also very generous. We had Branzini, chicken kebob, shepherd salad and grilled calamari. Top notch and full of flavor. Must try it!

We ordered the calamari the garlic sauce was overpowering. Zucchini pancake was a bit salty but we eat bland. We really liked the chicken kabob and rice.
Bf ordered the grilled lamb on rice and it was lack of flavor.
Ordered this eggplant dip. Not saying was bad it tasted like chicken pharm.
The bread was really delicious we were killing that. I guess the highlights were def the toasted bread which they make it in the house, Turkish coffee, and the chicken kabobs. Oh and our waitress didn’t ask for her name. She was such a sweet heart. Service was great. Ambience was alright.
Make sure you check-​in on Unilocal… you get a free dessert.
Not a foodie just making a honest comment.

Hours incorrect. Stopped by at 1:15 PM on a Tuesday because their Unilocal listing said they were open, but they were completely closed.

Delicious, had the lamb meatballs and the chocolate gluten-​free cake. Everything was excellent. The service was great, what else can I say.

My girlfriend and I ordered from here very late last night after a long day. We’d never eaten the food before but it’s close to home and seemed like it would be ok. It was so much better than ok! Really, really tasty. We shared a few appetizers and entrees, everything was delicious, we will definitely be eating here frequently in the future.
An aside — they called and let us know that they were out of rice and asked if bulgur was ok instead. My gf is gluten free, so that was a no go for her, but we told them not to worry about it. When the food showed up the lady who delivered it told me that they had included some gluten-​free bread instead. Very thoughtful, nice surprise, thanks!

Came here for a big group dinner on a Tuesday night. They have a great back garden and plenty of indoor seating. I was surprised with how empty it was though, we were the only table there besides one other couple.
The server was lovely and very sweet, our friend even gave her his number after the meal (sorry about that!) and the food was really good. I had the appetizer sampler as I don’t eat meat, and it was more than filling. We loved the bread served with the oil and balsamic vinegar. I was a little sad they were out of Turkish wine.
Grape leaves, zucchini pancakes, hummus, babaganoush, all of it was really good.

No problems here. I was actually referred to this place by their competitor because his business on Atlantic doesn’t deliver to my house. Now that speaks volumes when another place will refer customers.
I love that the bread is always fresh for my soup even if I dp delivery.
The zucchini pancakes are also a treat. They give you a good serving.

Mahzen is one of my new favorites! I came in here on a Saturday for brunch and was blown away by the friendly service and delicious food. We were initially a little nervous to be the only people in here at 1pm on a Saturday (not a good sign) but we don’t scare easily. The bartender directed us to sit wherever we’d like, so we snagged a couple of seats at the bar to watch the World Cup, which was playing on the television.
I’m not sure how long they had been open, because she seemed to be getting everything set up. We got a couple of brunch menus (they had the regular menu options available also). I had the Turkish Breakfast Platter ($ 13) which came with a mimosa and coffee or tea, and this amazing bread that was obviously freshly made. It was crumbly goodness that you dipped into a peanut tahini with pomegranate glaze at the bottom. It sounds a little strange as I’m explaining it, but trust me when I say it was delicious!
They brewed me a fresh pot of coffee, and opened a fresh bottle of champagne for the mimosa so that it wasn’t flat. My mimosa was a glass of champagne with a splash of orange juice while I think it’s supposed to be the other way around… but after the week I’d had I was hardly one to complain.
My platter came out with a nice serving of cheeses and cucumbers, tomatoes and olives, all served with a thick berry jam to dip it in. It wasn’t a ton of food, but I wasn’t starving so that actually worked out really well. It was the perfect decadent, but not too filling, Saturday brunch.
Very relaxed and friendly place. I’ll definitely be back to try the regular menu!

Went here the other night to celebrate my birthday in their newly opened back garden.
First off, the back garden is enchanting! And the interior of Mahzen is also charming — a surprise that you might not guess from passing by on the street.
But then: THE FOOD!
I was lucky enough to go with Turkish friends, so they pretty much ordered everything on the menu. And everything I tasted was not only knee-​weakening good, but, according to my friends, very spot-​on authentic.
There are plenty of vegetarian options and they even have gluten free bread (should you want such a thing) for dipping in their incredible babaganouj and hummus (as someone who makes their own, I am not often surprised by hummus, but this one is exceptional).
Stand outs were the grilled calamari –perfectly succulent and taken to the next level with garlic, olive oil and tons of parsley. I would order this every day if I could. Also the branzino — brought in from Turkey — was the best I’ve had.
Also of note: they have some super good Turkish wine — we had a dry red that starts with a K. It was fantastic — dry, medium bodied, a perfect accompaniment to the top notch cuisine. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
The service was also warm and attentive. Really making sure we had everything we needed at all times.

This is not a bad review…
Food was just ok… chicken dish was good… Everything else was just so so
Price is great …10 bucks for a 3 course lunch… it’s almost unheard of
Service was so so … Took 25 minutes for take out… come on… lunch break only an hour… not expecting fast food chain speed but 10 – 15 minutes would be reasonable
I would love to go back an try more but Manu is too limited
Again…maybe it’s just me .I’m not a food critic after all

The waitress was friendly and welcoming, the food was delicious and the hummus put all other’s to shame.
We ordered a cold platter appetizer, the salmon roll appetizer, and the stuffed (lamb) grape leaves entrée. The servings were generous and the food was great.
The atmosphere was very relaxed and they were very accommodating for our large group of 12; We never felt rushed and we quite loud at times.
We’d definitely come back again to try the rest of the menu.

Definitely glad that I put my foot down and insisted that we try out Mahzen Grill! Came here early on a Friday evening with my boyfriend– the place was still empty but steadily filled up as the clock creeped towards 7 pm. Seeing that they offer gluten free bread for an extra $ 1– we decided to get the hummus appetizer and I devoured the bread like I hadn’t eaten for days. Hummus + warm bread gives me the fuzzies.
Anyway, for entrees, I got the roasted lamb and E had the Hunkar Begendi (beef stew with eggplant). I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have any of the Turkish red wine I wanted but was quite happy to settle with a good Shiraz from Spain. I was already a little full after my bread slaughter but I managed to finish my plate and the subsequent dessert of gluten free brown top pudding (free dessert when you check in thru Unilocal!you’re welcome).
For those new to turkish desserts– i recommend the kadayif; it is their version of the kunafa aka the other great love of my life (especially when it hails from Palestine).
Good spot for date night ;)

I usually try to keeps things positive on Unilocal,but I feel compelled to warn you all about how bad this place is.
We ordered take out the other night. I had the veg casserole and my guy had the lamb meatballs. I’m going throw a word out here that I don’t think I’ve ever used to describe a meal before– inedible.
Few others– tasteless, mush, overcooked. Even the rice was vile. How do you mess up rice?
To say I’m stunned by the good reviews would be an understatement. Do yourselves a favor and avoid!

If you are what you eat, I am a disturbing amount of hummus. So one could imagine that I set the bar pretty high for Mediterranean fare. I’d heard from friends that Mahzen had some seriously great delivery, but I’m not the type to seamless my life away, so I decided to grab a few friends and try this place out.
Upon first entering, things were not looking too good. No one seemed to be working, and the fire alarm was going off. Uh-​oh. Hungry as funk, we stalled a few minutes to admire the awesome photography and paintings on the walls. All of a sudden, the owner Adam came out from the back, and apologized profusely. Apparently there was a scheduling snafu, and he was forced to play host, waiter, chef, and bartender while he waited for his team to show. We were nervous, but we let him seat us and figured we’d give it a shot.
WOAH, WOW, YAY. Best decision we made all day.
We ordered like fiends — getting the hummus trio, spinach dip, cacik, calamari, falafel, the sigara boregi. All were delicious!
The hummus was by far the best hummus I’ve ever had!
…yes, I said it. And I MEANT it.
The spinach dip was another favorite — perfectly creamy and delicous with toasted bread. The sigara boregi was amazing — it was a crispy dough filled with feta and spices. Yummmm. Adam was super friendly and nice, and even hooked us up with the zucchini pancakes fo’ free to apologize for the lack of staff. Lightly fried, crispy, & amazing!
The bottom line — don’t just order out, head in and experience the food for yourself. You’ll see me there again soon!

From the wine to the meal, this place was delicious! The waiter was exceptional and never left our glasses empty. The falafel stayed crispy, without being completely dry on the inside — as most restaurants tend to overcook it. Their hummus was unreal. Everything tasted made to order and fresh. I can’t wait to go back. I absolutely loved this place!
You can’t go wrong if you order the falafel and a dip platter appetizer.

I’ve never before dined someplace where the food and the service are so radically opposed.
Mahzen features some very tasty, and very reasonably priced food (the menu isn’t huge on variety, but I get the sense they pride themselves on their gluten-​free appeal, so points for that). The dining room itself is fairly minimalist and oddly configured– a few random, haphazardly hung pieces of art decorate the walls — and we were the only folks there at 7:15 on a Friday evening, but by 8PM, there were a few other tables.
As for the food: Everything we tasted was really good. Admittedly, it’s a slightly odd menu– there are far more appetizers than main courses, and there’s a lot of repetition (like the décor, this made me think that Mahzen could use the help of a design consultant!). But, still, everything we tasted was impressive. The appetizer selection is far more extensive than the main course list — we sampled the dolmas which were tasty (a tad too cold– the chill took away from the subtle flavors), the calamari (truly excellent), and the shrimp kabob (again, cooked absolutely perfectly served over a slightly under-​salted bulgur), the absolutely exquisite meatballs, and the well cooked salmon. And we had a side of mouth wateringly good, very garlicky spinach. All of this to say, the food was very good, and we had dinner for four (with one side, two drinks, and one dessert) for a reasonable $ 102.
But here’s the weird part– the service was absolutely inattentive. There was only one waiter for the entire dining room — he was waiter, bartender, busboy. In short, he was doing too much, and doing it far too slowly. I hate being rushed in a restaurant, and appreciate a graciousness with pacing, but at Mahzen, I just felt abandoned. We constantly had to make an effort to track our waiter down.
Our first uh-​oh signs were small — delivering the main course dishes while appetizer plates were on the table producing annoying overcrowding; an inability to answer questions about wine; an insistence on seating all guests too close together which felt particularly odd since the restaurant wasn’t all that crowded; between dinner and dessert, when the table was clearly quite dirty, no effort to clean it. On top of that, the food was very slow coming out of the kitchen– I’m all for a leisurely pace but two and three-​quarter hours for dinner on a Friday evening when a restaurant is a quarter full seems too slow.
Bigger uh-​oh signs: We ordered coffee and a piece of chocolate cake and waited twenty minutes for it to arrive. When the coffee arrived, it was the color and temperature of dirty dishwater; when we pointed out the coffee faux pas, the waiter said he would bring another mug, but promptly forgot. He didn’t even seem to register that we were annoyed — only after we again said «where is the coffee?» did he remember.
One final observation– purely speculative, but take it for what it’s worth– the delivery orders seemed to come out of the kitchen very quickly (the delivery man must have come in and out of the restaurant seven or eight times while we were there). I’m not sure if Mahzen prioritizes delivery over the customers actually sitting in the restaurant, or if this was purely coincidence. But Mahzen seems worth trying for delivery; otherwise, the service is slow enough that I’m not sure I’d return, even though the food is really very good.

Mahzen was another Unilocal app choice (love it when I get to do it) in a neighborhood I’m not too familiar with (Bushwick/​E. Williamsburg, or whatever it’s called now). It was only a block away from the former mental home where Then She Fell is playing, and Turkish is always an easy choice.
On Tuesday night at 8:30 pm, the place was completely empty aside from the staff and perhaps a friend or two. I know Tuesdays are slow, but that’s a shame. Come on, people, come out and enjoy the good places in your hood!
Mehzen reminds me of the very good Turkish places in my old Brooklyn nabe, but with a bit more class and panache. It’s the Taci’s Beyti you can go to on a first date. I was thoroughly well serviced from the minute I stepped inside. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of nice and reasonably priced wine (so they were already on my good side).
Somehow, Mahzen manages to keep the prices in check without holding back on taste and portion. I hope they can keep it up. Sigari boregi were delicious (phyllo + hot feta = WIN). The Mahzen meatballs were also very good, with that very specific consistency that ground lamb achieves in Mediterranean kitchens. The SO’s chicken chops were also pretty good, though I think she wanted a bit more flavor. But we played it conservative as she can be spice-​averse.
I’m not sure if I will ever have occasion to visit Mahzen again, but I hope it happens, and I wish them luck in the meantime!

This past Friday I made an early dinner reservation here for a friend who I hadn’t seen in over a year and myself. I chose Mahzen Grill because my friend needs to adhere to a gluten-​free diet, and it is has many gluten-​free options.
I got here a little before 6:30, and of course I was the first person at the restaurant. From the start, our server was friendly and helpful, and she even helped me choose a wine by giving me a couple of samples after determining my general preferences. And when my friend arrived, she did the same for him.
Since we hadn’t seen each other in over a year, we must have talked for an hour before actually ordering anything. Patient and unhurried, we were told to take our time. And when it came time to order, we chose the smoked roasted eggplant salad and the zucchini pancakes. Both were gluten-​free, but the salad came with fresh sliced bread, and they were out of gluten-​free bread. So they brought me regular bread, and we out to get more gluten-​free bread for my friend, which they even toasted before serving!
Everything was delicious, but because we both had eaten late afternoon snacks that day, we didn’t order more. We definitely plan to go back to do so, though! And perhaps also to redeem our free dessert from having checked in on Unilocal!
Gluten-​free or not, I highly recommend Mahzen Grill to anyone in want of good Turkish food and excellent service.