Turkuaz Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in England

Turkuaz Restaurant & Bar, Newbury – A Taste of Turkey with a Side of… British Reserve?

If you can’t quite make it to Istanbul for dinner, Turkuaz in Newbury is the next best thing. Stylish, authentic, and packed with all the rich, smoky, and spice-laden flavors you’d expect from a proper Turkish feast.

We kicked things off with the falafel starter, which was so good it nearly had us booking flights to Cappadocia. Light, crispy, and perfectly seasoned—none of that dry, flavorless stuff you sometimes get elsewhere. Then came the mains: the Mixed Shish Grill, delivering juicy, flame-kissed perfection, and the Mousaka, a rich, indulgent dish that had us scraping the plate like we hadn’t eaten in days.

Now, let’s talk about the rakı—or rather, the Turkish wine. Did I mention it? Because I should. Smooth, well-paired, and a welcome change from the usual suspects on a wine list. Worth ordering, even if just to feel momentarily transported to a rooftop terrace in Bodrum.

Prices are a little on the high side, with a service charge already added (a very sultanic move, if you ask us). But hey, you’re paying for quality, and given the location, it’s no surprise.

The only thing missing? A bit of that famous Turkish warmth. The staff were efficient, professional, and… well, let’s just say they weren’t about to pull up a chair and share their grandmother’s baklava recipe. But if you can live without the extra charm, the food more than makes up for it.

Would we go back? Absolutely. Next time, we’ll just pretend we’re in a bustling Istanbul meyhane and hope the staff warm up to us after a few more glasses of that fantastic...

Oh that was good!!!

We sit here sated, tightened belts and happy stomachs after our first meal at Turkuaz in Newbury.

It has just arrived but it is immediately a firm favourite.

We shared a hot meze starter (£19) and then chose lamb burgers, Moussaka, and a four cheese flat bread as mains. We probably should have been more adventurous on our first outing but one has to start somewhere.

Everything was served to perfection.

The staff are incredibly attentive and friendly, and they even implored me to keep with the rice with the moussaka instead of swapping for chips. The waiter urged me it would taste better. It did. Don’ts swap the rice for chips - it was fluffy pillowy Mediterranean brilliance.

It was so good we were discussing if they might have a Turkish Christmas menu on for our Christmas Eve traditional meal out - and it’s only August.

We even took left overs home in a box - something we never ask for usually

What a fantastic addition to Newbury we have in the market square.

Congratulations to the entire team who were fabulously welcoming and attentive throughout. A genuine taste of Mediterranean food and...

Great food but diabolical service. Food was great and I highly recommend that along with great cocktails. The service was very bad. A party of 11 and it took 2hrs to get the mains. Originally it took 20mins to get drinks, when ordering more drinks some never arrived and had to re ask for them countless times. A few of us had starters which took a long time to come. We asked for a starter to come with our main but it came out with the rest of the starters. He only offered to take it back and "keep it warm". So it would just be sat in the kitchen and not fresh. After 2hrs 3 mains arrived. After 5 mins the rest came out not before asking where the rest of the mains were with the response "I don't know" Everything was very slow and it was a case of having to keep asking for the same things over and over. Maybe we got this place on a bad day but it wasn't overly busy. It's a shame as the service to me ruined a what would be 5*...