Çağlayan Grillhaus — Restaurant in Berlin

Beware of the sneaky trick of the waiter.

I first became tempted to try here after reading a blogger's post saying it was his best Turkish restaurant in Berlin which turned to be far-fetched claim. The food is not terrible to be fair though not outstanding as claimed.

But the dodgy behaviour of the server ruined the whole experience.

When we first sat on the table, the waiter brought a water jar filled with tap water and some random leaves and cucumber. He offered it as if it was free without telling us that would cost quite a lot of money.

The waiter was too busy with talking to his friend to take our order despite our best effort of sending signals. Then, he was busy with picking flowers from the street to create his flower art.

Finally when we asked for the bill, he brought a hand written price on random brown paper without the breakdown. It was a lot more than our calculation so we asked if it is correct. Then, he said the water was charged but without telling how much it was. We were too naive to believe that was correct amount and even added a generous tip. Later we realised he over-charged more than 10€.

And I can see from other reviews that some other people experienced the same.

Just deceitful and demeaning practice. Not sure this is a common practice of the restaurant or only the particular waiter who served us has the...

Turkish food can be a proper cuisine but sadly not in this grill house. The shish, lamb and vegetarian dishes are good enough but not remarkable. We ate here twice on our first and last days. For Berlin the menu is overpriced but there was a marked difference between our two experiences. That the manager/waiter was borderline sober on the first visit and embarrassingly drunk on the second possibly accounts for it. Dips and sides ' on the house' arrived unasked for, as did a stupendously weird fruit arrangement at the end (containing very little fresh fruit). On leaving, refusing more drinks pressed upon us, the card machine mysteriously was' not working' so cash had to be fetched ( fending off a determined beggar meanwhile) and the bill inflated with all the unwanted dishes by about e25 at least. In sadness and to get away, I paid the sorry, miserable little man to avoid a drunken argument but I now see from other reviews, this is not unusual behaviour. It's clear this grill house could be outstanding, but it's not, and especially late at night, best to steer clear. To cap it all, no masks anywhere in sight and other covid requirements not evidenced. Sad to leave Berlin with a...

For my first time trying Turkish food, Caglayan set a high bar for quality Turkish food. Many dipping choices and some pretty tasty desserts as well. I recommend the baklava and especially the Künefe, which has such a unique texture. The grilled chicken was excellent and the lamb wonderful. The menu item descriptions are in German and English, which was very helpful for me since I’m still learning German. The staff are kind, courteous, and most importantly, hard working. There was never a moment where I observed staff not working hard on the next meal or cleaning or checking to go orders or checking back on their customers. The location is also very nice on a main road with access to a U Bahn(subway station) and has tables outside if you’d prefer to dine in the fresh air. Overall, I cannot recommend this place enough. You’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t visit. I hope this review helps and you enjoy your visit(s) as...