EL TURKO CHARCOAL GRILL — Restaurant in North Island

They opened a few months ago in lower Hutt on high Street, I saw quite a few very positive reviews about them, so we were keen to give them a go. The prices were great, with a dessert you come out with around $40 for a very filling 2-course meal. The portions were impressive especially if you get the keto meal, you will definitely be very full at the end of the day. I am not much of a lamb person but our tablemates said the lamb was really nice. I loved my chicken thigh (chicken Turkmen), it was tenderly charred with juice still oozing out of the meat. We also got mezze platter to share, as it was a big group so they presented it slightly different with all the dips separated into different dishes. My personal favourite was the yogurt dip and the beetroot, not a huge lover of beetroot but this dip was amazing, had a very nice tangy flavour and a creamy texture, goes perfectly with the bread. For the mains, you could choose between the turmeric rice or the Turkish rice, but the staff recommended the Turkish rice, so everyone chose that, it was a mixture of grains and lentils with a lovely fragrance, mixed with a piece of grilled meat and the sauce on top was a match made in heaven. Very impressed with their offering and the whole table pretty much finished their plate so that was definitely saying something! Had to go for a dessert because they sounded so tempting, many of us went for the mango float because it seemed like a good refreshing palate cleanser after the rich meal, but I could not get past the tiramisu so I went for that. All who ordered the mango float raved about how nice and light it was, there were 2 different presentations so I took photo of both 🤣 The tiramisu was more like a nice chocolate sponge cake with cream, happy with it and the portion size was pretty impressive, with two scoops of vanilla ice cream on the side, so can't complain! Definitely keen to come back for that comfort meal! Bonus that we had the chef come out to show us his balancing trick,...

I had dinner with my wife and daughter on Friday 27th of June at this lovely little restaurant. First off I’d like to say that the authenticity of food and flavours truly reminded me of how the depth in beauty and culture served on a plate should be and taste like. I’ve loved the Turkish cuisine for the better part of 35 years . It rare to have such balance in each ingredient and freshness that I could tell almost everything is made fresh and on that day. Each element paired perfectly in harmony with the next on the plate and before I knew it I had near eaten my plate clean! I stopped by to speak to the chef and was greeted by the most humble and kind man and his family. We will make this restaurant our family’s regular. Two adults and one child for $65. The pricing is a bargain for the quality and service they deliver. I recommend anyone that has missed eating real Turkish Food , food that you can tell they care about when making go on down get a table . Heck grab two and get a group together. They have great options available. Was a fantastic surprise don’t...

We had a work team dinner (12 people) for our Manager who was leaving. The chef came out once we were all seated and introduced himself. He then offered us a couple of shared platters of breads and dips and large bowls of fries as we waited to order our main meals. The main meals were excellent, most definitely worth the price you pay and the salads on them were so fresh and crispy. If you love turkish food, you will love this place, as what you get on your main meal is a bit of everything. The chef even compensated for a little mix up with one of the girls meals with chocolate baclava. What would have taken 10 - 15 minutes, she got her meal within 5 minutes. After everyone had finished their meals, we were sitting around talking with each other, when the chef came out and did a couple of tricks at our table. The whole experience here at The Turkish Grill House was AMAZING and we will definitely recommend to others and return for our next team meal. Big thanks to the Chef and the Staff for making our night a very special...