"It’s easy to love Taksim. The upscale Turkish restaurant near Brannan and 4th Streets from the Lokma people has a large dining space centered around a wood-fired oven, and is pretty enough for an easy weeknight dinner, or meals with coworkers when snacks at the bar just won’t do. The biggest reason to come here is the food, coupled with friendly service. The menu is a mix of mezes, salads, housemade breads, and large plates—just about everything is what you want to eat over convivial conversation about water signs. The golden branzino is balanced with salty sea beans, the lamb and beef kabob is perfectly cooked, and the plump king shrimp wrapped in finely shredded kadaif are a dream over sweet pomegranate molasses. And the interesting cocktails infuse Mediterranean ingredients like carob molasses and urfa pepper. " - Julia Chen 1, Lani Conway
