Daniella A.
Yelp
This restaurant is under new ownership as of MAY 2023!! The original owners are enjoying retirement, and hand selected a new Turkish family to pass their legacy on. The old owners were a lovely family, and selected a brother & sister duo as the proud new owners of this restaurant. They are also very lovely, and are working hard to share their culture with us. If you go to the restaurant they are sometimes working the service floor, and are super friendly. The duo are very proud of their heritage, and are happy to share it with Anchorage.
The space & menu has been completely refreshed. I love the new vibe of the restaurant. It's much lighter inside now with beautiful white oak tables & chairs. Touches of bright blue throughout & beautifully decorated. The space has a much more Mediterranean feel. The restroom is probably one of the nicest ones in Anchorage with Turkish glass light fixtures & they used to have a gorgeous mosaic sink bowl until a customer broke it. The artwork around the restaurant is a display of Turkish culture.
Service has always been excellent when I have dined there. There was one time I went on a Tuesday during lunch, and the restaurant was packed. There were only 2 servers working the floor so things were a bit crazy, but everyone was working hard, and doing their best. That's all you can hope for when you see that type of situation. I'm glad they have become so popular as it really is an excellent restaurant!
The menu has become way more extensive, and while it includes some of the popular Turkish dishes from the previous owners it has become so much more than that. You can sample way more of the country's cuisine; not just items that are well known (doner kebab, humus, baklava). The menu has all the dishes written in the Turkish language, which I appreciate. In my humble opinion the new owners have really brought us a more well rounded & accurate taste of Turkey. The only dish I do miss from the previous owners is their Kalamar.
I've dined there 3 times under the new owners, and have found everything to be absolutely delicious. The food is beautifully presented, and I've got to sample way more of the Turkish cuisine. The meze selection is much more extensive now with a selection of cold & hot items. My favorites have been the ezme, dolma, Patlican Salata, sigara borek, antep cheese, and Havuç Meze. Their humus is also delicious, but I love being able to try new items.
The Köfte & Adana are some of my favorite dishes from Turkey so I was happy to see them added to the new menu. Both dishes are flavorful and plentiful. I also tried manti for the first time, which are ground beef dumplings. They reminded me of mini ravioli. They were hearty, and delicious. Definitely a "stick to your ribs" type of meal.
I've also had the opportunity to try all of their desserts. I love Künefe so I was ecstatic to see it on the menu, and it did not disappoint. Warm, cheesy, sweet goodness. If you are a big super sweet dessert person you are not going to find that here. These desserts are way more subtle in sweetness, but still 109% worth the try. Their baklava is excellent as are the lokum (Turkish delight). Those are probably the sweetest items. The Kabak Tatlisi (butternut squash) is probably my other favorite after the kunefe & baklava.
The drink selection has Turkish tea & turkish coffee (served with a lokum) as well as housemade mint lemonade, which is very refreshing, and Ayran (a yogurt based drink). There is also a great selection of beer & wine including a lager imported from Turkey.
If you have not ever dined at Turkish Delight I would highly recommend it! It is one of the only Mediterranean cuisine restaurants (besides Greek) that we have in town. It's a great celebration of Turkish cuisine, and heritage. Under the new ownership I believe that the food has been elevated, and it's a way more well rounded representation of Turkey!