Hanci Turkish Cuisine

Usually I consider myself too busy writing reviews but THIS place really deserves five stars and a ton of good reviews. Food is fresh as it can get, flavors in perfect balance. Try the leak appetizer and the whole Bronzino grilled, lofted is very good too … and the desert I forgot the name but is like a pudding with cinnamon. It’s a little of the grid, we live luckily two blocks from the restaurant — a real tip.

Don’t be fooled by all the positive reviews on Unilocal.We will NEVER eat here again.
A group of my friends and I came here and ordered several appetizers and entrees. It took FOREVER for the food to arrive. We had to flag down the waiter several times to ask about our food, and she was very annoyed each time. We were starving and the food was barely mediocre at best. But what was surprising was that none of the food we were served was hot, it was room temperature at best. This made us think that our food was sitting in the kitchen waiting for the waiter to pick up. To our disappointment, the food did not have any seasoning. Just two quick examples: the hummus tasted like pureed chickpeas and nothing else; my friend’s shish kebab had irregular pieces of overcooked meat that looked like they were taken from other dishes and put together (??).
My friends are Turkish and they told me that they have had far better food in NYC. So, we left with barely having eaten any of the food served here and went to Pasha (only 10 blocks away).

My review is not about their food because I did not have the chance to try it! The waiter or I don’t know who he was is super rude. My friend and I came to grab a light dinner before hitting NYE party, this man who took our orders told us something like we were wasting his time or the restaurant’s reservation and how much it costs blahhhh blahhhh blahhhh because we just ordered maily appetizers (4 plates) and not entrées, but hello it would still cost us 60 to 80 bucks coz we were going to order a bottle of wine! And the appetizers cost 18 $(large plate), 9 $, 9 $ & $ 8 plus the wine supposedly!!! Plus, the restaurant was not full only 3 tables were occupied and it was almost 10pm!!! My God! I have never expected such treatment! So, whatever, we left the place and ate somewhere else. we ordered maily the same and there were no problems. They even gave us free shots before we left!!! Very inexcusably beyond rude. I would never come back nor recommend this place to anybody. There are lots of good turkish Restaurants on the area. Avoid this kind of person!

Its a really nice place to be eat turkish food. Iskender and meze was really good. Kazandibi was also very nice. I need to see baklava with pistachio only next time :)) great place great people!!!

Loved this place! We got turkish wine, turkish coffee, calf liver, smoked eggplant, kofte, branzino, milk pudding, and baklava. All tasted awesome! The owner came to chat with us as well.

I should start by saying that I’m not Turkish, I’ve never been to Turkey, and so I have no idea what authentic Turkish cuisine is like. That being said, if I had to imagine in my mind what authentic Turkish cuisine is like, it would be like meal I had here. The falafel and the lamb kofte were spot on and delicious and had generous portions. The hummus, while generous in portion and served with a delicious pita alternative, was different from what I am accustomed, but again, these guys are the Turkish ones, not me. Five stars, hands down, can’t wait to try out some more of their menu.

Maybe you can not find better Turkish food in Istanbul. Hanci is the only authentic and the best Turkish, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern in NY.
All the meats and the sea bass (levrek) are my favorites here.
Milk pudding is out of this world. Baklava is not too sugary which i love. Kadayif is the best you can find in US i believe.
Really good pricing too for that area!
Try the apple tea, Turkish tea or coffee with the end of your meal I’m positive you’ll not forget Hanci.

Excellent/​Real Turkish Food. I have tried many others in NY. Some items are OK in some and others are not as good. Chicken Adana, Shish Kebap, Levrek (Sea bass from Turkey) all were wonderfull. Make sure to leave room for Kazandibi (Turkish desert made with milk/​pdding). Turkish coffee to top. Excellent …

Excellent food!
Great coffee!

The food was ok, but pretty small portions. The waitress was rude, brought the wrong food and actively ignored us for twenty minutes while yapping away with some Russian friends/​customers. Not worth it.

Solid Turkish food in the neighborhood. The staff are all from Turkey and care about you enjoying your meal.
Their is a great combo platter if you want to try a bunch of different starters, unfortunately my friend didn’t like any of the things that you could get with the special. However if the special works for you, I highly suggest getting that to try out your options.

I was there with a friend and I was all amazed by this place. First of all the menu is simple. I tried lentil soup, mix appetizer and lamb sish. Then some kind of pudding as desert and tea. First, Soup was great. The way spouse to be.
Then mix appetizers.. I really don’t know how to explain but I can say I had better. But doesn’t mean it was bad. Let’s skip that.
Then lamb sish. OMG !!! That was amazing. Just right amount of seasoning and perfect temperature. I would highly recommend it.
And desert was pretty good also.
Our server was amazing and I will be back soon.

The food took forevvvvvvvvvver and once it arrived, it was overwhelmingly average. My husband’s dish had some type of tomato sauce on it and it was clearly from a jar.
Maybe I look like a bad tipper or a huge asshole, but the waitress basically ignored us the whole night while being super attentive to the table next to us. I sat there with an empty water glass for ten minutes watching her fill up the glasses on every other table. It was a little baffling because she seemed like a very nice, cheerful person.
We were about half an hour late to our concert by the time we got the check.

We went on a Friday night when lots of other places might have just been gearing up for the long night. This little spot was nearly empty, except for a couple of local ethnics. This worked out for us, as we met with our sons and enjoyed catching up in a place where one can hear one’s self think.
We had a mixed appetizer plate with some fantastic bread, and were very happy. The wine pour was generous, and my house red was decent enough.
The Turkish food was the real thing (my grandfather was Turkish), well presented and delicious. The server was not especially friendly.
I got really authentic ethnic food at a very good price in a quiet environment… all I would have asked for.

I had read some unfavorable reviews about the service here and we ignored them. they were pretty accurate, unfortunately. Food was good though.
Walked in yesterday to find out that although Hanci’s new BYOB policy was heavily promoted on their website, nowhere did I see a mention of their $ 10 corking charge.
The fact that it was a screw cap (which I ended up twisting off myself) made it even harder to swallow this injustice. It turned out that the do serve wine but that wasn’t apparent on they website either. Fortunately, after looking at the wine list at the table, I was glad to see that even with the corking charge, byob was a good deal.
Administrative annoyances aside, the food was pretty good. Grilled chicken liver app was tasty and flavorful. The Cakik was nice and garlicky. The mixed grill was delicious but was a bit skimpy on the meat for $ 21. I counted only one piece of chicken kabob. Chicken was juicy but we could have done with more than 1 piece. The lamb pieces were tender but could have used a little more flavor.
Not sure I’d go out of my way to eat here
but it’s not a bad stop before shows at Terminal 5.

Excellent food! We got the lamb shank dish, which was tender and flavorful. Also, their bread is so tasty — crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Delicious! Order some hummus and dip that bread!
It is a bit expensive, so be prepared for the $ 20 – 30 dishes.

Indistinguishable lamb drowning in a pool of unseasoned tomato sauce.
Pretty much sums it up.

this place is no secret. We order from Seamless all the time. ABBA is closer to me but this place is so nice and good that i wouldn’t switch. They are so good i crave it and have had it two nights in a row, which says something. I usually get sick of the same cuisine twice. It just has the best fluffiness and firmness in the rice and they don’t cheap out on the meat. Both the chicken and the beef are yummy, juicy, and made-​to-​order. I’ve had delivery and pick-​up. both were nice and swift. We usually order the combo, or one of the chicken and one beef. I love that each dish comes with a roasted tomato, cut up greens (squash? dont know my greens!), well-​seasoned rice, and the meat… mmmmmmmm…mouth is watering.
Never been there for sit-​down.

The food at Hanci is fabulously mediocre. So why the 4^th star you may ask? Turkish cuisine is about the alchemy of the overall experience. The ingredients include equal heaping parts of hospitality, ambiance, quality, preparation and a certain je né sais quoi. Hanci delivers on all fronts.
We ordered the following: chicken kebab, cold eggplant appetizer in tomato sauce, pan-​fried liver, hummus, and village salad. For dessert I ordered the kazandibi and Turkish style coffee. All were promptly delivered at the appropriate moment leaving all with a good compliment of dishes to dine on and replacing what was consumed with the balance of the meal. As it should be.
I suppose my surprise was that in this otherwise average looking restaurant they managed to execute as a restaurant should execute. We received properly served, well prepared and good tasting dishes. In my humble opinion disappointment has become the new norm. When a restaurant delivers as they should I’m pleasantly surprised.
The piece de resistance of Hanci is Jacob the owner. He embodies the very essence of a hospitable Turkish innkeeper that takes pride in his establishment and respects his patrons. At the very end Jacob stopped by to ask about our experience? But moreso than your typical quick meet and greet. Perhaps he didn’t care at all and was simply acting as a good businessman? Perhaps he wasn’t? I’ll never known and that is the point.

If you are a tourist and you are visiting Times Square do yourself a favor and do not eat in Times Square and walk 2 Avenues over and go to this restaurant.
I have been to several Turkish restaurants.
The 5 star scale is not helpful because for example I gave some stellar restaurants 4 stars. But they can rate 7 8 or 9 on a 10 star scale.
For Manhattan my favorite is Ala Turka. On a 10 star scale it would be 9 stars –http://​www​.yelp​.com/​b​i​z​/​a​-​l​a​-​t​u​r​k​a​-​n​e​w​-​y​o​r​k​#​h​r​i​d​:​5​L​E​m​N​e​Q​9​D​o​D​9​r​z​Q​7​m​uKQOw Ala Turka was very elegant and the bread was perfect, the fish was perfect! However the prices were not perfect!
Then Hanci at 8 and a half stars stars.
Then after that as far as Manhattan goes the other Turkish restaurants I have been to (and I have not reviewed them all yet) are all similar in their mediocrity after these 2 as far as my experience goes. Though I am not an expert on Turkish food I do know what good quality food and service is. I like Turkish food, there is something for everyone! The menu usually has a lot of variety. Fish, vegetables enough for vegetarians to eat and be satisfied, meats, salads, breads, desserts anything you want!
I will start with the low points of the meal at Hanci in regards to this visit. My fish was good but not great. It was supposed to be boneless but it was not. That is the thing that made it 4 stars and not 5 stars as well as the bread which was not hot just warm. But they got the fish from the fish market and said the fish market told them it was boneless. But at least it was fresh and tasty!
I have to also agree with Atif I about the bread.
However I am unable to actually pinpoint the exact bakery they got the bread from like Atif did! I do not think I have ever read a review anywhere where a reviewer was able to do that and knowing Atif’s integrity I know it is true!
Now for the high points of the meal. I agree with Andreas «Nuke LaLoosh» H that the Kofte was perfect!
The service was extremely gracious and welcoming and it felt more like a family party than a night out in Hell’s Kitchen. One of my favorite neighborhoods! It is family run and the family works very hard to please customers and even told me they would talk to the fish market about the fish! (As I already said before it was good but had bones in it and it was supposed to be boneless)
The Eggplant appetizer was the best eggplant we have had at any middle Eastern restaurant. This is my Middle Eastern restaurant list.
The Apple tea was lovely! It was unique. I have not seen that at any other Turkish restaurant.
My husband thought the Sigara Boregi was the best we have had at any Turkish restaurant. I thought it was good, but I believe Ala Turka’s was good too.
But I saved the best for last. It was a milk pudding dessert. Kazandibi.
Baked & caramelized milk pudding with cinnamon topped
with pistachios
The milk pudding was outstanding! It was unique and delicious!
Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. ~Ernestine Ulmer
All in all if I did not make it clear it was one of our best Turkish food experiences in Manhattan and we will go back for sure when the opportunity presents itself!