Little Istanbul — Local services in Hartford

What a delightful shop for unique gifts and spices. Upon entering you're welcomed with the scent of warm spices. Then you are enchanted by stunning Turkish dishware, exotic lamps, and much more. Staff are generous with guidance on the use of spices. With their advice we marinated chicken in their Shish Tavuk (with yogurt and olive oil). Also made a dressing with their Vural's Blend for a chopped salad. Tahini and grape molasses from the shop, served with flatbread made by my husband, rounded out a delicious meal. We love having lunch across the street at Tuckerbox, and then spending time at Little Istanbul. But it's worth a trip to WRJ for...

They sent the wrong item, and after eight months and multiple attempts to contact them, both by the “Contact us” form on their website, and by email, I’ve yet to hear anything back. Hoping a scathing review will get their attention. Inconveniently, there is no phone number listed on the website, and without information from them, a return cannot be initiated. Beware of ordering from Little Istanbul. They give the assurance of returns, but there is no such thing. Unless you live in VT, you are out of luck if you don’t like what they happen to send you, which may or may not match...

My boyfriend and I stopped in a few days ago, and we were welcomed by Josh. Josh was very friendly and highly knowledgeable about every product in the store as well as various menu highlights from Tuckerbox, which is the restaurant across the street that is under the same ownership as Little Istanbul (side note: it was delicious!). Josh generously offered us a sample of a spice called Shish Tavuk, providing us with a recipe for it, too! We will be sure to stop back in soon to see what's new and to try some...