I've been here many times and it never disappoints! The food is cooked well and it's delicious. Shockingly the cocktail was amazing The service is great and the ambience is energetic

Friendly service, good atmosphere. Was packed on a Saturday night. Food was excellent. Really hit the spot for Turkish meat plates. Easy to share amongst a group, staff helped us order a perfect amount. The various lamb kababs were fantastic and we went for a pesto risotto dish to mix it up, and it was phenomenal. Prime Rib entree was amazing.

Best dining experience I've had in Chicago. Loved the food and the service was delightful. On a beautiful sunny day make sure to eat on the outdoor patio, it's well worth it!

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.

TL; DR: Cute patio, great food selection, you'll leave full This place is great for many different dishes. I would bring a group of friends, so you can all try different dishes. The SOGURME is great and the LAHMACUN is large. The CAG KEBAB is delicious and a large portion that you can take some for home!

A lovely neighborhood spot with solid food, excellent service, reasonable prices, and an awesome outdoor patio vibe for the warmer weather! We ordered the following dishes- - Sogurme (4.4/5) - Turkish Delight (4/5) - Manti (4.5/5)- probably my favorite dish of what we ordered. It was unique in the combinations of flavors and textures. - Kuzu Shish (4.3/5) They serve BOTH complimentary bread + dip to start and complimentary dessert to end, which we really appreciated! The bread was soft, fresh, and warm, and the dip was solid and flavorful. The dessert, a small, soft honey almond cookie, was tasty too. Overall, the service was fast and so friendly. It's a place I'd return to for a reliably solid meal experience in every facet.

Came here for lunch and overall enjoyed the experience. The free bread and side were very nice and delicious! Everything was very fresh tasting and tasty. The portions were good as well. I really enjoy Mediterranean food and so my opinion is based around the different Mediterranean foods I've had around Chicagoland. I'd give Cafe Istanbul 4.5/5 if i could. Service was alright, they seemed like they were kind of pushing us to order a little more than the entrees we got. The restaurant itself is very cute and cozy. I think it would've been even better at dinner time. There is an 18% service charge and a 3% credit card fee but they do make it clear on the receipt.

Visited some friends and was asked what I would if there was a cuisine I was interested in going to and I immediately said Turkish. Good Turkish cuisine is hard to come by I feel in the Twin Cities and whenever I travel, I like to find a good Turkish restaurant. So my friend recommended this one as it was one he had wanted to try. So the three of us went to check it out. Its a small dining hall but bright and clean with white table cloths. Fairly busy but we had an reservation so we were seated right away. Got our waters and the server asked for drinks. I had a couple of questions on the drinks but the server didn't have many suggestions as such. Ended upo with the revolver which was a good cocktail. For appetizer, we ordered the Lahmacun for the table. Very tasty. The beef was spiced really well, the bread was crispy and and plenty of it to go around between the 3 of us. For entree we ordered one each and the were all very good. The kebab was moist and flavorful. The Islim Saramasi was a unique dish and was tasty. The lamb was tender and the eggplant was not overdone. A good balance of flavors. My Iskender was exactly what i was looking for. It's one of my childhood favorites and any time I get to have it, I am all for it. Good place with fast service and great food. Next time I am in Chicago, I would certainly make this on my list of places to visit for some good turkish food.

We came an hour before closing but the food was still stunningly fresh. Quality in every bite, each dish distinct marination just enough not to cover the honesty of the meats. We had the chefs mixed grill. It came with beef medallions(good),shrimp(good), chicken white meat(beyond good and juicy), lamb(excellent), Scallops(amazing), kofta(possibly the best ever). Kofta for the uninitiated is ground beef and lamb. Even the rice was delectable. One caveat parking on a Saturday night on Division St. is a bitch.

02/28/24 - Tonight my wife & I went to Cafe Istanbul @ 2014 W Division Ave for dinner. I've had this restaurant on my radar for several years. Well tonight was the night & Cafe Istanbul more than lived up to my expectations. The food was outstanding. They brought us fresh bread w/a dip to die for made of yogurt w/julienne cut carrots, green onions, garlic....it was absolutely delicious. I could have made a meal of this by itself it was that good. In addition we ordered the following dishes Islim Sarmasi - Braised lamb shoulder wrapped in eggplant served with/basmati rice. Doner - Lamb & Veal combined seasone and cooked w/basmati rice, shredded red cabbage, julienne cut carrots, & dill yogurt sauce. This came w/2 piece of paper thin flat bread. I wrapped this w/the lamb, veal red cabbage, carrots & yogurt dill sauce & made a Turkish taco (lol Turkish taco Wednesday). The servings sizes are very generous & both of us will be able to make another meal from the take home leftovers. *They also have lunch menu which is less than the dinner menu. The food was outstanding as was the service & ambiance of the restaurant. This was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. We will definitely be back again soon.