Turkish Cafe and kebab Ponsonby — Restaurant in Waitematā

This place gets a two star from me just coz of the service, the ambiance and the staff (quite friendly and jolly-ish).

The food, is another story. I’ve had Turkish food (with my Turkish friends home cooking, and, yup, you guessed it, in many cities in in my frequent travels to Turkey). Sadly, this does not come close to any of what I’ve had. Even a small cafe at the street corner there tasted better then the food here. (Unless of course you like bland food and are content with telling yourself this is teal Turkish food lol).

I love moussaka (it’s one of my go to dishes in that part of the world), however the one made here tastes like the sauce came out of an Italian tomato sauce jar instead of being freshly made the right way. It tasted more like lasagna.

The chicken donner needs more chicken and not other ingredients. Was bland too. They actually served our table 3 wrong orders of this. We had ordered chicken kebab but they served doners instead. (Not to worry though, to hungry to wait to get it right.)

I get it, you are trying to cater to the local palate here, but the reason why people eat at your restaurant is to have a taste and experience of Turkish food. This is far from anything Turkish...

This place has recently become a take out spot and moved location just slightly. It used to be a sit down restaurant and was a Ponsonby favourite for over 20 years! 🌯🥗 The menu hasn’t changed though - the falafel is really good 🧆 … crispy and crunchy on the outside yet moist and flavourful inside. The tabbouleh is also delicious 👌 Everything is fresh and lovingly made from scratch (with the exception of the flatbread itself). The atmosphere is relaxed and the same guy still makes the food - he’s a gem. There are still a few seats but it’s not a dine in atmosphere anymore. You can still get great flavours for a...

I used to love this casual spot, but things have changed. While the prices are still good, the portion sizes have shrunk. My biggest gripe was the lack of customer service. It was 6 p.m. on a Saturday, and there was only one guy doing everything—cooking, answering the phone, and taking orders—while a young girl seemed to just be standing around. They even forgot to bring out the cocktail I’d ordered, and with the slow service, we didn’t bother ordering dessert. I’d consider going back, but only if we didn’t have plans...