Aksaray — Restaurant in New York

This was the first time we tried this small local Turkish restaurant and we were definitely looking forward to it. I order the large lamb chops ($27) and my wife ordered the mixed platter ($30). The menu seems to be fairly priced when compared to how much most diners and small restaurants charge these days. The place seemed clean and had a nice family atmosphere. It's a pretty small/intimate place.

The bread they bring as an appetizer was delicious, we both ate a lot of it as we were starving when we arrived for a very late lunch. The server seemed new and accidentally brought two orders of soup to our table, saw our puzzled faces and confirmed that it belonged at another table and brought it to them instead.

The entrees were excellent, the lamb chops were juicy and tender. The mixed platter is an excellent choice to sample a smaller portion of a few of the different individual entrees available. I found the price/value for the food we received to be very good.

The dessert was one tres leches cake and one rice pudding. They were both absolutely excellent. The rice pudding is a fairly large serving and the tres leches is a reasonable size, taller than it is wide. Both were not overly sweet, they were just right.

The problems began when the cheque was brought to the table. They came with a device to charge my card which is convenient. However, the screen showed a total that was more than we anticipated and it offered three main option "15% tip, 20%tip and 25%tip" below it in small letters was the "no tip" option.

Doing the math in my head the total didn't add up so I asked if the tip was already included, the waitress said "no". So I asked for an itemized receipt. Our meals plus tax added up exactly to the dollar amount I expected but then it said "15% gratuity". The gratuity was already factored into the bill but the device only showed the total including that 15% gratuity and offered me the opportunity to add an ADDITIONAL 15-25% tip without acknowledging that the total already had gratuity factored in.

When I charged my card and selected "no tip" (because I had already paid 15%) the waitress had an attitude and forcefully dropped the device onto another table as she walked away and presumably went to go get the printed charge receipt that I had selected on screen (as opposed to email receipt, no receipt, etc.).

She never came back to the table, we got our jackets and went to the counter to ask for it and found it laying on the front counter. I felt like they tried to scam me and every other customer into paying gratuity twice. Initially by lying through omission (not showing the initial gratuity on the total while asking for a tip) and then directly after I verbally asked if the total already included a tip, to which she said "no".

Overall the place was good, the dessert was excellent but the service was poor and the payment processing was deceptive. It seems like they count on customers just paying via charge card without doing the math, just assuming that it all adds up and adding a...

This restaurant is a gem of Midwood.

The people of Midwood are religious Jews, Turks, Russian, Hispanic, Balkan, and Arab. We're immigrants. You won't find "New York quality" here, but you will find lots of damned good ethnic food.

Lots of Turkish and middle eastern eateries in this neighborhood, most notably Memo on Kings Highway. It's hard not comparing Aksaray with Memo... I truly love Memo, and the people who work there are some of the nicest people in Midwood, but as another reviewer points out, Aksaray might actually have the upper hand in the food department.

The waitresses are very friendly. I think they may have too many tables to wait on because it's slightly difficult getting their attention, but that's not their fault. I think they need another waitress here.

When you walk in, you walk past a counter that has uncooked kebabs and meats that you can purchase and cook at home, along side a dessert counter where you'll see 3 different kinds of baklava as well as other desserts like rice pudding.

The food here bursts with flavor. This is a true gem of the neighborhood.

House Bread: A+ Very flavorful breads with a beautiful golden crust on top and a delicious crunchy/chewy crust on the bottom. The inside is fluffy and delicious. Goes really well with the olive oil supplied with each table. Magnificent bread!

Lamb Soup: C+ Not overly fond of this soup. I was expecting something like Harcho, but got something like New England Clam Chowder with lamb replacing clam. Slightly sour, and very homogeneous the way chowders can be. Not my favorite.

Lentil Soup: B+ An excellent lentil soup. It's not a "chunky" kind of soup: it's not one of those lentil soups where you'll be chewing the lentils. It's more liquidy than that. But great flavors. Above average.

Humus: A- An excellent hummus. Garlicky, flavorful, smooth. If you like hummus, you'll want to try it.

Lamb Adana Kebab: A- Very soft and succulent lamb. Absolutely delicious. Probably not appropriate for small kids because it's ever so slightly spicy, but it's perfect for adults! ;-P

Iskender Kebab: A+ Might be the best Iskender kebab I've ever eaten. Firstly, they use that A+ yummy bread. Secondly, the lamb gyro they use for the iskender kebab is soft, juicy, and bursting with flavor. Thirdly, the yogurt they use is A+ as well. And fourthly, the pièce de résistance is the brilliant and skilled way the chef fries the bread and uses oils and peppers to enhance the flavor of the dish. It couldn't possibly be any better than it is.

Aksaray Kofte Special: A+ The same as the iskender kebab, but instead of using lamb gyro, they meat is ground lamb "mini meatballs". All the same comments apply. This might be my favorite dish on the menu.

Bakalva: A Delicious. Still...

NEVER EVER TRY THIS PLACE.

If you really want Turkish food (gyro, kebab, kofta, or whatever) try Memo Shish Kebaba, 3 blocks from it on Kings hwy.

While food is not bad, the service is the worst .. They used to have nice people working over there there, but not any more ... Last time the waiter at night shift (guy) was really rude from first moment. Giving no answer or wrong info about the menu, unhelpful, and has really bad attitude. All that was okay, until I asked him to bring me the check. He just mentioned to me without saying a word to pay over counter!!!??? I thought that's the system, so no complaint. I was waiting on long line to pay for my food, and I saw same Waiter brings checks to other customers!!!

Honestly I felt really bad about it, and was thinking to not pay tip. While I'm paying my bill, i asked the cashier guy if waiter was supposed to bring me check like other customers, but he said just "sorry"!

The cashier charged me for 20% tip, and at this moment I said, that I won't pay tip for such service. It started to get worse when the the old man (cooker) got involved, and said that I must pay the tip .. I found out that he's the owner .. he only cares to pay the tip (it was clear that restaurant takes this money).

After all, I insisted to not pay tip whatever happened .. as all if them are such rude!!

The old man (owner) started shouting and screaming like crazy and already hit me to grab my credit card from my hand.

Every customer were supporting me!! I'm the one who was telling him to charge my card the correct amount so people don't have to wait more on the line!! Most rediclous people ever!

I was a regular customer, but never had such problem before .. the staff who used to work before were nice, but after I I found out that this rude guy us owner .. no way to pay a penny for...