Ankara serves up hearty halal comfort food like flavorful lamb gyros and fresh falafel in a cozy, no-frills vibe, perfect for satisfying late-night cravings.
"Those that say history doesn’t repeat itself have Ankara #3 to contend with. Two decades ago it was a late-night Turkish hangout called Bereket on Houston near the rock clubs, then it vanished. Low and behold it reappeared years later in roughly the same spot with a new name offering an even great range of doner kebabs in your choice of breads, bread dips, chopped salads, and brown-top pudding." - Robert Sietsema, Eater Staff
"This halal Turkish restaurant is the successor to the long-closed Bereket, a late night favorite of clubgoers. Lots of salads, dips, and kebabs at bargain prices, but my preferred choice is a doner kebab in Turkish bread (other breads include pitas and flatbread wraps). Three rotating cylinders of meat are available: lamb, chicken, and veal, each with its own attractions." - Robert Sietsema
"I finally found lamb döner nirvana at Bereket’s successor, Ankara #3. My heart was thrilled to see not one or two, but four cylinders of meat rotating in the window, as a guy shaved them like a barber with a mean-looking knife. As is conventional, the lamb döner is offered on three kinds of bread — pocket pita, Turkish bread, and a wrap ($13 each), the latter something like a flour tortilla. This time the Turkish bread was an individual round roll, unseeded but still focaccia-like in its crustiness. And the meat was absolutely wonderful, as greasy as you’d like and heavily pungent of hay and loam. The vegetables on top were fresh, though I should have asked for more raw onions. While several versions I’d had earlier had been served with tahini, this one had minted yogurt on the side, and a great oily hot sauce, too." - Robert Sietsema
E.J.
Abhay Thakur
Adam Giladi
Pierre Reviews
Emek
Nancy R.
Trevor Bonner
Herbert Lust
