Pasha Turkish Restaurant — Restaurant in Houston

I have fallen behind, recently, in reviewing the places I go and the items I purchase. You know, once you get home or have other things going on, it can take time away from your normal tasks that you just do not want to spend away. But then I went to Pasha's. This restaurant, the owners, the food... everything... just led us to having such a wonderful time that I had to leave a review.

Our first trip here was with some friends who came out of town and we were looking for a good dinner with them. One of our friends has some extreme dietary needs and Turkish or Mediterranean food was on their mind. After consulting Google, I decided Pasha's was going to be our choice that evening and we drove into town. Having not been to this establishment yet, I was a bit shocked at the coziness of the place... warm, inviting, and the host (who I later found out to be the owner) made walking in our first visit a wonderful surprise. Looking over the menu, I got lost in choice... with so many wonderful sounding options, I ended up getting 2 different appetizers for the table plus some hummus. Just with the appetizers, I can say that their dolma's were excellent, the cheese rolls were wonderfully tasty, and the hummus was creamy and some of the best (if not the best) I have had in some time. Their iced tea was fresh (even near closing time), the bread was wonderful, and then when our entrees came out... well, lets just say the leftovers were even great. My stuffed eggplant was so good, I actually want to try and figure out how to cook it, myself... it is a truly underutilized vegetable. Also, the turkish flan... treat yourself, it is amazing.

The second visit to this establishment was for a lunch service with just my wife, and we both wanted a pide or lahmacun. Since returning from Belgium and The Netherlands, we miss walking around the city looking at everything and eating street 'Turkish Pizza'. This time we tried the baba ganoush which was creamy and filled with wonderful eggplant flavor, and we both had our own pide, with my wife getting the veggie and I got a beef sausage and cheese. The beef sausage was amazing and offered a wonderful counterpoint to the bread and cheese on the pide: how something so simple as three components can make such complex flavors goes to show that the choice and quality of your ingredients matters just as much as the assembly.

All-in-all, I cannot say enough about this place, and we will not fold it into our list of regular spots to stop in and enjoy a wonderful lunch or dinner when we are...

My daughter has told us often about her love of this Turkish restaurant. Of course we had to try it. I highly recommend it as you may have noticed from the 5 stars.

A heavy bread is served with a well balanced dipping sauce; nicely matched. We ordered the Pasha Meze Platter which is a variety of what I assume are their appetizer favorites. Each item is distinctive and flavorful. Diners should be aware that some of the items, in my experience, are not the same as the "storefront" Mediterranean dishes you may be used to. Set that idea aside and enjoy what Pasha has prepared for you. Bizarrely, no one at our table was a fan of the Babaganush so my expectations were low. It is hard to describe how wrong my family is. Babaganush is creamy and delicious with what I can only describe as a slightly smoky flavor. I will have this again.

My daughter is a vegetarian and ordered her favorite, the Menemen. I had a bite of her sautéed tomato, onion, bell pepper, feta and scrambled eggs. Wonderful flavors and I see why it is her go-to. My wife and I shared the Pasha Mixed Grill Platter. It is a nice mix of Doner, Adana, Chicken Adana, Lamb Shish and Chicken Shish kebabs and served with rice. I am a lamb fan so we added the lamb chop. Again, each item is distinctive from the next and I'd be hard pressed to pick out my favorite from the great choices. My only disappointment was the size of the lamb chop but I absolutely cannot praise its flavor highly enough.

Thank you to Pasha's staff and owners for an enjoyable evening with great service...

The most surprising this happened when I walked through the unimpressive doors of Pasha. It's a place you'll love or hate, and what I found most surprising was that I loved the food, and wasn't a fan of the location/decor/presentation.

Fortunately, I'm a easy person to please as long as the FOOD is good, and it was fantastic. The fresh (complementary) bread was a highlight, served with a fresh oil dip.

As far as decor, it's strange to say the least. The restaurant is a converted house, and much of the architectural aspects are still that of a house; just not appetizing for a restaurant. There were (no joke) old travel agency posters on the walls, but to be fair, it wasn't as bad as it sounds.

Some of my food (egg plant salad) was obviously prepared beforehand and refrigerated, and I am not a fan (at all) of paying for pre-made food. If it was amazingly delicious, I could deal with it, bit it wasn't great...

My lamb kabob entree was absolutely incredible. Best lamb I've ever had, and I've had a lot of it as of recent. I wish there had been more on the plate, but for a lunch special it was plenty (for me, more food is ALWAYS a good thing).

I will be coming back with my wife, and this time by choice. I will admit, I was "forced" to try this place after consistent pressure from my more adventurous other half who insisted I would like it. Indeed I did, bit it's not a favorite spot by any means. We will be coming back for more bread and lamb, and that should be enough to get you through their unimpressive...