Turquoise Cafe & Restaurant — Restaurant in Lake View Township

This review is written for those who are celiac/GF. I had dinner at Turquoise with friends during a busy evening at the restaurant. I ordered the adana kebab, gluten-free, no onions, with the gf option to substitute chips. On the menu, the adana kebab is “gluten free optional”. I had to ask for the chips which didn't come out with my food (onions still made it on the plate) and turned out to be stale and sparse. My friends ordered the chicken kebab which, on the menu, is specifically listed as “gluten free”. At the end of my meal, I asked the waiter if there was orzo the my rice. At first, they said no. Then I pressed and said it appeared like it did and I commented that orzo is often not GF. He assured me “it is gluten free”. The chicken kebab dish that was labeled GF on the menu also had orzo in the rice. Later that evening, I was feeling unwell and called the restaurant because I was concerned about contamination. At first, they told me they were “too busy” to check. When I insisted I was asking because of an allergic reaction, they checked the packaging for me and confirmed that the orzo was, in fact, not GF. When I followed up with the manager a few days later about how they were planning to ensure the safety of celiac/GF customers going forward they said: “To prevent this in the future, we’ve reinforced staff training, separated gluten-free prep areas and utensils, and added a double-check system for all gluten-free orders.”While I appreciate this and surely hope this is the case, I would simply caution those who are celiac/GF to be attentive and advocate for themselves to ensure they can eat safely and confidently when dining here. All of that said, the flavor profile of the kebabs was lovely and the dining environment (outside) was...

The people couldn't have been nicer. We sat outside, and it was very nice out. Loved that part. The drinks were great. The food was mostly Ok.

They do tzatziki instead of tahini. My mom used to make something similar called, maast o khiar. So, I was still on board, and even excited, at that point. All this to say, the the falafel was Ok. But, had to eat it dry, because they put mayonnaise in their tzatziki... Why though?...

Real talk... Way too many restaurant owners must be sitting around thinking, "How do we make this mad-artisan and give it that American flare?.... I know. Let's add mayo (or bacon). That'll make us stand out. (random 'extreme' guitar riff plays in the background)" Yes, it will make your food stand out. But, not in a good way. Mayo is gross. If you are thinking about opening a restaurant of your own, stop doing this. And, when someone asks you if there's mayo in your garlic sauce, I promise you, ain't nobody trying to get your recipe. They just want to make sure they don't eat anything that tastes the way feet smell after playing 9 rounds of pickup basketball, while wearing a pair of asiago cheese high tops.

Anyway, the food came out, and it was not bad. Nothing really stood out. We had the lemon chicken and the lamb chops. But, we messed around and also ordered that flatbread. I don't know why, in our minds, we thought we had it in us. It was way too much food. That said... I'd order it again in a minute. That flatbread was on point. Soo good! It full-on stole the show.

Not sure if I would go back. But, the flatbread makes a strong argument. The old fashioned and the green banana cocktails were great. And the people were very nice. It's definitely still worth checking...

My husband and I were so excited to finally try this highly rated restaurant. We have lived in a Roscoe Village for a year and had been wanting to eat here for so long! Some friends of ours were in town visiting, and we thought this place would be perfect for the occasion. Google considers it a "romantic" restaurant, so we were expecting a nice, quiet vibe. That was not the case at all, as the place was an absolute mad house from the moment we walked in. We had reservations at 8:30 and were seated about 15 minutes late- not a big deal. We received waters and their fresh baked bread, which was absolutely amazing! We ordered our food promptly and couldn't wait to try our Mediterranean dishes. Unfortunately, it had been storming all night- absolutely pouring! Our waitress, after we waited an hour for our food, finally apologized and said that all the reservations came in at the same time because of the storm. This was just poor, slow service, in my opinion, being blamed on the customers coming in at the same time. It is my feeling that reservations are exactly that, so if guests arrived late for their reservation, why would they be given priority still when some of us did arrive on time? All in all, I knocked off 2 stars due to the experience. The restaurant was crazy loud to the point where we could hardly hear our friends at the small table across from us and staff members were running all over the place. The food was the only saving grace here. Our meals were delicious and filling, but I only wish we hadn't waited over an hour to receive it. My husband and I might come back again, but for the higher price tag, I think the experience needs to be...