Alaturka

This place is awesome. Sat out front last Saturday with some Turkish coffee watching all the market goers. So nice in the sun! We split a few appetizers, and each one was tasty. The dolmates were especially interesting. I never realized that the Turks add sugar to theirs, unlike the Greeks. Sooooo yummy!
Our server provided the best service I’ve had in while! She was so super nice and attentive. Even though the place was empty at 3 pm, and probably would’ve preferred to be on break she kept coming out to check on us.
Can’t wait to go back and try the entrees!

Go here, go now!
Went with a friend who raves about this place … it was a little unnerving that we were the ONLY people in the place at 7 PM on a Saturday evening with every other joint in Ohio CIty filling up with beer lovers and food fans, but by the end of our meal all I could think was «Their loss!» for everyone who walked by.
I love ezme and as soon as I saw it on the menu I crossed my fingers and hoped to be transported back to some of the amazing Turkish places I’d loved in New York. Alaturka’s ezme starter, served with warm pita was just phenomenal — spicy and rich — with the slight crunch of walnuts adding a great texture. It was just spicy hot enough to wake up my taste buds, but warm enough to keep them primed for the main course.
I went with the filet mignon kabobs, while my husband had the lamb and our friend was in heaven with his stuffed eggplant. The meats were well marinated with lots of meat flavor wonderfully enhanced with their Mediterranean spices. The meat also had those wonderful crispy edges that were just blissful. I prefer medium rare beef, and, while these were served medium, the meat remained soft, easy to cut and delicious. The rice and cabbage sides were fine accompaniments.
The baklava was a tasty finish, but the real star is the authentic food with wonderful flavors and textures. I can see this becoming our go-​to place for a quick, delicious meal with no wait — a least until Alaturka gets itself on the radar for everyone heading to Ohio City for great food.

This is a great restaurant. The food is exceptional. We enjoyed the great service and friendly atmosphere!

I went to Alaturka at about 9:45 one night with a large, relatively rowdy group. We were the only people in the restaurant, and the waiter showed us unbelievable hospitality. Our waiter, DJ Eric, who bore a striking resemblance Lou Diamond Phillips, stuck around while we enjoyed a two-​hour dinner. He even played along while the Turkish member of our dinner party read our fortunes in our Turkish coffee grounds.
The food at Alaturka is always good, but it takes more than that for a restaurant to stand out. It needs a je né sais quoi, or however you say that in Turkish. After months or years, I won’t talk about the hummus or the kebab (both delicious, by the way). Things like our evening with LDP are what I’ll remember about this place as time passes.

I love this place with every fiber of my barbaric soul of the hungry for the authentic food foreigner. It’s simply amazing. The flavorful fresh food melting in your mouth, attentive service, good selection of wines. Kababs are out of this world delicious, when in doubt order anything that ends with Adana — you won’t regret it. And smile a lot. That might get you free dessert. Especially if you are a Russian girl (yep, not ashamed to use it when it comes to free food and speeding tickets).
I have no idea why the place is half-​empty every time we come around. I might reroute some culturally confused customers from local generic Alladin’s to go try some real Middle East at it’s best.
Up-​side: tasty.tasty.tasty.
Down-​side: smaller portions.

I love it here.
Even though a lot of the staff can’t speak English that well, they are always courteous and helpful. The food is always fresh and very flavorful, you won’t have to add a thing to it. I recommend coming here right after the regular lunch hour. Sit at the bar and grab the remote, you’re in for a really good meal. Who knows, Hassan (the chef) may even come out and chat you up, use this time to try to learn his secrets lol.

They serve the standard Middle Eastern cuisine. The hummus, tabouli, and baba ganoush were average at best, but Kafte (small lamb patties) were out of this world!
The service was attentive, but not intrusive. All in all it was a good meal that I’ll come back for when I’m in the Ohio City neighborhood.

Iskender kebab (shwarma served over soft croutons and fresh yogurt with a light tomato sauce) = BOMB!

Wow, what a find. My husband and I went here for lunch, during a quiet hour. The service was great. The restaurant was clean. The food was incredible… large portions at a good price. I had hummus with pita for appetizer, falafel vegetable salad and baklava. Left there full and happy to continue Saturday grocery shopping at west side market on a full stomach. Will definately go back, when we are back in town.

I still dream about the Chicken Shish… wow, that is good stuff. Perfectly seasoned with the right amount of smoky char from the grill. The basmati rice was perfectly cooked and I smiled at the grilled tomato on the plate. Hummus and pita are delicious but I tend to like my hummus dripping in oil and garlic and it wasn’t. The tabbouleh was very refreshing. The real bummer was the falafel. Not a fan. Dry and bland. Best falafel in town is a few doors down at Nate’s Deli. We will definitely go back to this place.

Alibaba and his 40 thieves can take me here any time.
I arrived at the West Side Market after 6:00 pm and everything was closed. Stupid me! So I walked down the street and saw the happy hour sign. I was like 5 $ for a wrap and a cheap beer would hit the spot. I just needed a bite
The place was very clean and modern looking. I bellied up to the bar and got a Turkish beer and asked the barkeep what is good. I told him I like lamb. Barkeep suggested the Doner Wrap.
The beer was good. The wrap was great. The meet was fresh juicy and tender. Crisp lettuce and chunks of red fresh tomatoes and tahini.sauce. Sine I like things mega-​spicy I asked for some hot sauce. It was not particularly spicy. So I looked the bartender in the eye, he eventually blinked and I advised him if he has anything with a bit more kick. He looked me in the eye and said he would be back. He mixed in some sauce from a bottle but I could not see the label. 3 spoons of it. It was Dave’s Insanity Sauce. That sure as hell did the trick
The service was great. I saw a lot of dishes flying out of the kitchen and they looked superb. The deserts looked homemade.
I gave it 4 stars on what I saw and what I ate. I will be back!

Went here with the family for a late lunch — we ordered the appetizer sampler and fried liver cubes… The service was good, food was decent — the liver cubes weren’t bad — however, i will say i think living in new york sets a high bar and makes me critical of everywhere outside the city.

We were here for happy hour specials, ordered the babaganoosh (that was ok, would not order again), hummous (was ok, I’ve had better) had the falafel (pork or beef can’t remember) that was good, however it was cold by the time we got it, so maybe it could have been better if it was warm, service was very slow. I don’t know if I will come here again, will try to find better Turkish food elsewhere.

OK – I’m taking it down a star.
Service? Awkward the first time around and 10x worse the second time around. Lack of interest, didn’t ask my guest what she wanted to drink when she got there and served me the wrong dish.
The food is really good, but I’m not up-​ing my rating until there’s a change in the staff. Well, maybe I’ll just order their delicious hummus and falafel to-​go or something.
P. S. The dish they gave me instead of the one I wanted was still tasty, just not what I ordered.

I was initially leery of this rise of new Turkish restaurants in the «Land of Cleve.» I was thinking, «OK…this will be just like all of the Middle Eastern places…» Thankfully, Alaturka has a flavor all its own… and it’s great!
We started with the hummus and stuffed grape leaves. I’m always wary of hummus, when there’s too much lemon squeezed into it, my tongue does funny things… like swell up. So, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that theirs had more of a savor, nutty flavor. No one flavor overpowers the others. It’s a well-​balanced taste. They also offer the olive oil on the side, so you don’t have a lake of it swimming on top of the hummus. And the bread… is addictive. Like a really thick pita, served piping hot, with enough heft and nooks & crannies to mop up every last bit of hummus. The grape leaves were excellent. Very similar to Greek ones, but with pine nuts and a hint of some mystery spice. I think it was nutmeg, but I couldn’t swear by it. My oldest friend in the world is Greek… his mother is from Greece and every holiday, hand-​makes 100’s of «dolmades» each time. Hers are the best I’ve ever eaten… Alaturka’s grape leaves are tied with hers. (I can’t say better, because she will know I wrote that, then I’ll get hit with a 70’s-era Dr. Scholl wooden clog next time I see her.)
For our main course, I had the Lamb Adana from the «Yogurt Dishes» menu. It’s thin slices of very good, lamb/​beef «gyro-​style» meat, perfectly seasoned, laid out on a bed of toasted croutons made from the aforementioned addictive bread, with a yogurt/​tomato sauce on top of the croutons. It was excellent. The meat was tender, moist but not greasy, and the sauce was flavorful without overpowering the dish. The portion was just the right size… not too much, not too small. A great dish!
After dinner, I passed on the very tasty sounding desserts for a cup of traditional Turkish coffee and a glass of «raki,» a traditional Turkish liquor, similar to ouzo. They offer the coffee 3 ways; sweet, semi-​sweet and unsweetened. I opted for the latter. It was thick, but velvety smooth and bitter-​sweet taste. Perfect. The raki, (pronounced «rah-​key») was as expected, strong anise flavor… like black jellybeans, followed up with a punch in the face. They offer up a traditional presentation; bowl of ice cubes and glass of water on the side, (add the ice, and a little bit of water, and the raki turns milky white), but I prefer mine straight.
Our waiter was very attentive, and honestly enthusiastic about the quality of the food. He offered honest recommendations from the kitchen, «That choice is good, but this one is great!» kind of stuff. He was very knowledgeable about the ingredients of each dish. The table behind us was a group of those, «I’m allergic to this, he’s allergic to that» kind of people. One-​by-​one, he rattled off the ingredients of each dish, addressing the «concerns» of each of the diners.
Alaturka is an excellent addition to the neighborhood! Go there, tell your friends!

This West side Turkish invasion thing is pretty great. I love Anatolia on the east side, but I’m a Westsider, so putting up with crazy drivers and diagonal streets over in that neck of the woods is something I do as rarely as humanly possible. So, fortunately for me, now I have three new ones to choose from.
We started with Alaturka, the sister to Anatolia. My husband and our friend and I were very impressed. We started with the small appetizer platter on the recommendation of our server. That came with hummus, babaganush, ezme, tabuli, lebni, and eggplant, and was accompanied by hot, fresh bread. It was perfect for the three of us, especially with the size of the dishes that followed. For our entrees, we chose the lamb kofte, chicken adana with yogurt, and the classic doner. The meats were spiced nicely and had just the right amount of done-​ness. Oh, and the yogurt tastes homemade because it is. It really made the chicken adana.
To drink I recommend the light or dark Efes beer. Really goes well with the food.
Our server was funny and attentive, and we did not lack for water or anything else we needed.
The bar area is small, probably seats 10 or so, but it looked cozy and welcoming.

Excellent!!! You will not be disappointed with anything you order. I started with the hummus. It was smooth and creamy and full of flavor. I also had the falafel with a salad and was blown away with how good it was! I had the kazandibi for desert which is a custard-​like dessert and again it was phenomenal! The restaurant itself if super clean and the staff was wonderful. Simply amazing!

What’s with all the new Turkish joints?
Maybe they are all owned by the same person.
Maybe it’s some kind of revolution.
The Turks are infiltrating!
Regardless, I am happy, for I am so down with the Turkish food.
I was in Istanbul last year and I can say the Lamb Adana and the cold Soslu Patlican (eggplant appetizer) meze was spot on. The fluffy bread served with the Patlican (this is not the correct spelling BTW, but this is all I can do on a US keyboard) was excellent, although it could have been fresher. My only complaint. The Adana was super juicy and flavorful. Love this stuff! I liked how it was served with simple white rice and a light cabbage slaw. The slaw was excellent as well.
The décor is very simple and decidedly not Turkish, apparently. Very nice, but I’d love to see some culture here.
Highly recommend!

Ala Turka is the West Side sister to Anatolia Café, and I believe even better than the original. We started the evening with excellent appetizers: hummus that with bright, intense flavors, tasty falafel, and lebni. They were accompanied by very fresh, tender pita, as well as Ala Turka’s own bread. It was all excellent. I had the iskender. The Doner meat was probably the tastiest I’ve experienced, perfectly grilled and sliced thin, generously piled on croutons made from their homemade bread. My dinner companions also had excellent meals, though my husband’s chicken kabobs were a bit dry (this seems to be a constant problem with chicken kabobs throughout this city).
My only ding on this restaurant was that the service was slow and a bit confused. We were one of only two parties in the restaurant, and our water glasses were only refilled once. We will definitely be returning.

A new «turkish delight» for the Cleveland area, located in the upbeat Ohio City area just across the river from downtown.
The atmosphere is cozy; the service is hospitable and friendly; the food is DELICIOUS and reasonably priced.
I can definitely see this new night spot becoming a vibrant place to hang out.