Anatolia Kebab House — Restaurant in Brookline

JUST PLAIN DISHONEST, Nickel-and-Dimed at Every Turn

We went to dinner at Anatolia’s recently, and while the food itself was okay—just “meh,” honestly—the overall experience left a far worse taste in my mouth, and it had nothing to do with the cooking. When the bill arrived, I noticed several surprise charges that had never been disclosed ahead of time. First, there was a $0.75 charge per takeout container. When I questioned the container fee, the manager told me it was “Brookline law.” I checked—it’s not. That is just their business decision to do so, and if such is the case, say so, do not blame it on Brookline law. We eat out in Brookline all the time, get takeout often, and I’ve never been charged for a container. And these weren’t reusable containers, either—they were flimsy, single-use aluminum with plastic lids. Secondly, I noticed another charge, for a small sauce—served in one of those tiny ketchup-style cups—I was hit with another charge: $0.95. And it wasn’t even good; it tasted like watered-down something. It didn’t end there. Thirdly, I had also ordered a wrap sandwich for takeout. The menu description clearly offered a choice of hummus, baba ganoush, or eggplant salad—no mention of an extra charge. Yet there it was on my bill: another upcharge of 50 cents. When I pointed this out, the manager deflected and even blamed the waitress, who was standing right there, rather than acknowledge the lack of disclosure. When I reminded her she hadn’t mentioned the sauce fee either, she brushed it off with, “Restaurants always charge for that.” (They don’t. And we dine out a lot in Brookline, Boston, and beyond.) and that maybe next time I shouldn't order "extra". I even read the sandwich description back to her from the menu—“choice of X or Y”—but she still insisted it wasn’t the case. Eventually, on principle, I wanted her to remove the 50 cents. She agreed but when I got home and checked the receipt, I saw that while she credited me $1.50 instead of $0.50, she also increased the price of the main item. End result? I still paid the original price plus the $0.50 she supposedly removed. And just when I thought we were done, I noticed the final kicker: the bill showed two totals—one for cash, one for credit—and the suggested tips at the bottom were calculated on the higher amount.

I understand times are tough for restaurants, and I have no issue with fair pricing. But don’t bury small charges, misrepresent them, or tack them on without disclosure. Just plain DISHONEST. Just charge what you want to charge without surprising people with little additions on the bill. It’s the principle. This was the pettiest, most needless nickel-and-diming I’ve experienced in years—not worth it. Just plain DISHONEST and you really feel icky after the entire experience. So sad.

P.S. Just read the bad reviews and turns out what I experience wasn't unique. I was even giving them the benefit of the doubt thinking that it was just...

As a family of 4 vegetarians we ate at Anatolia in Brookline Village for the first time last night. Overall, the food wasn't very good and the service was decent so I wouldn't recommend and I don't expect to return.

The lone waitress seemed rather harried and ended up breaking 2 glasses at adjacent tables during our dinner, but otherwise the waitress was efficient. I can understand that staffing shortages can make things challenging currently, so I can look past the service.

In terms of food, the best thing we ate was the white bean salad with bread that was brought to the table while we were ordering. That white bean salad was well seasoned and spiced compared to the rest of our meal. We ordered 4 appetizers: stuffed grape leaves, humus, stuffed eggplant and phyllo pastries with cheese. The stuffed grape leaves, humus and stuffed egglplant were all very bland, definitely under seasoned and under spiced. The phyllo pastries were filled with a cheese that was extremely salty. As main dishes we ordered falafel, zucchini pancakes (fritters really) and a Turkish "pizza" (pide) or cheese filled bread along with some onion rings. The falafel was not good at all, very bland and we ended up just barely touching it. The onion rings were passable, but also very bland and served with a bland tomato sauce. The zucchini fritters weren't bad but again rather bland, served with the same tomato and yogurt sauces. The cheese bread was fairly good albeit a bit greasy. Anatolia's kitchen would do well to invest in some flavors and balancing the 4 axes that Samin Nosrat preaches: salt, fat, acid, heat. Most of the dishes we ate at Anatolia needed salt, acid and/or heat. I hope that Anatolia's meat dishes are better but definitely a spot to avoid for...

This was my third and probably last time coming to this establishment. I would start with food. Unless you have establishment located in Turkish speaking or understanding culture location, what is the point to put original names on the menu? Without actual pictures and descriptions? If you don’t have any explanation to this, then just slap on the door the sign “no Turkish speakers welcome”. In Brookline MA. Like in Tokyo Japan “ no foreigners please”. In Tokyo it has deep, non-insulting, meaning. In Tokyo, food parlors have actual pictures of the dishes with often detailed explanations. In Japan they don’t care about gaijin’s too much. In Tokyo they cook like their lives depend on it, because of high level of competition. And it’s super clean everywhere. Can’t relay same feeling when stepping in the Anatolia KH. Everything is questionable, after anything I touched, I had strong urge to sterilize hands, clothing etc. If I had a job related to Brookline board of Health, I would probably shut down this location just after first visit. Meals were, mildly put, without taste. Does not matter what you order. Server can’t explain menu, nor serve properly, nor bring anything else you ask for. With food being bland, there is surprisingly nothing on the table to improve the taste. If you want to purchase something from displays, don’t: it’s old, tasteless and...