Turquoise Turkish Restaurant — Restaurant in New South Wales

I write this review with the hopes of this local restaurant staying in business forever at this location, because my family simply adores this place that much. It’s so cosy and the staff are always so friendly and accommodating, creating a lovely and welcoming atmosphere that makes us feel right at home each time we come here. We dined at Turkish Turquoise Restaurant tonight to celebrate my mum’s birthday; it was her first time there and we knew she’d love it. (Though you could argue it was mostly for us because we would mention this place a few times throughout the year, wanting to plan gatherings just to eat here again 😝). And love it she did! She really connected with the waitress Isa, who is such a professional and so, so sweet and amazing at her job.

I remember the first time we discovered this restaurant last year, we were immediately impressed. It is clear the owner takes great pride in what he does and is extremely passionate about sharing Turkish cuisine and culture with the world. You can see it in the details - from the careful presentation of the ‘apple tea’, and the food which is always amazing (delicious, juicy and perfectly cooked - once you experience the banquet and try their fresh warm bread and dips + desserts you will find yourself wanting to eat here again and again!), to the interior design, lighting and decor which is just exquisitely curated (you’ll know what I mean once you sit on the beautifully intricate and unique comfy chairs/couches). This restaurant has carved out its own unique spot in Queanbeyan, almost as if it’s existing in a beautiful little vacuum separate to the local town. It is truly an exotic experience. Each time we’ve dined here, the owner consistently goes out of his way to make every occasion feel special with a generous heart, adding a personal touch by serving us personally and being directly involved with the dine-in experience. It is through these unfailing interactions with him that you can see he really values his customers and is dedicated to giving them the best experience possible.

I can even vouch for their takeaway, as I’ve ordered plenty of times both picking up in store for ‘pide nights’ and various other meals through Doordash and have yet to encounter any problems with my orders. The food always arrives hot and carefully packed. We’re also satisfied with the pricing and think it’s quite fair, specifically the banquets, as you get more than enough food to fill you up. Banquets are generally quite pricey especially in Canberra, so I believe ~$40 for a banquet is on the cheaper and more reasonable side. The only suggestion I would have for the business is to renovate their bathroom, if the budget allows, but I don’t eat at restaurants to rate their bathrooms since I barely spend any time in there, and the focus should be on the food/dining which takes up most of the experience. Truthfully, the only reason I even mention this is for the sake of a balanced and transparent review. It personally does not bother me at all 😂

It is very rare for me to be completely impressed by a service in its entirety. So when I do take the time to write a review, it tends to be long and comprehensive because I believe it’s worth it. All in all, we are honestly so lucky to have this hidden gem so close to home in Queanbeyan. We’ve raved about this place numerous times to all our friends, and will continue to recommend it highly and support the business whenever we can. My family and I would like to thank the entire team for their incredible work ethic and attentiveness, passion, kindness and dedication, and for making each and every experience with them an immensely...

Staff were friendly. It's one of the most expensive Turkish restaurants we've been to, even though the decore represents something much more simple. $25 for a pide!

There is an option on the menu in the dips section for a selection of dips. Servings are small & large. Then we discovered the most unusual thing. You can't choose the dips you want. Well sort of. There were five of us (2 adults & 3 kids). We needed the large size and there were dips the kids weren't keen on. We asked if we could just select 3 dips instead of 6 - no that's not possible. You HAVE to have all 6 which they will choose for you. So very, very odd.

The rest of the food was pretty good that is until our salad arrived, which came out 20 mins after we'd eaten all our mains. There was so much salt it was grinding on our teeth. The taste lingered for some time. You know(as the cook) when you've had an accident like tha -- it simply shouldn't have made it to our table. We really couldn't eat it and we tried.

To be fair to them when we complained they immediately agreed to take it...

It was my 3rd and unfortunately last visit to this restaurant.

Ordered 2 mixed grills and Pide for a take away, and got one container of mixed grilled and one container full of rice (pay for 2 and they will serve you  one). When I rang them and explained to them what happened, I was told that no we gave you 2 mixed grills, then no you have one container with 2 servings and one full rice, in the background the person who served me was saying then who got that 2nd mixed grill?

Finally they gave me 15 minutes to go and collect the goods as they were closing, I am not upset about the food, as you can make mistakes but after that no remorse and words like I don't care but I can give you that missing meat as I was asking for the free food from them.

I decided not to go back to collect the food and will not go back ever to them.

Best of luck, customers need to check their food before leaving the restaurant, because you...