Village Cafe — Restaurant in New York

Ambiance (4/5): The restaurant is located a little farther from the street, almost inside a parking lot, within a small homey dining lodge. I felt like I was inside someone’s home and felt welcomed and comfortable. Not loud and well lit. Service (5/5): We came at an off hour during the weekend around 1:30pm there was still around 6 parties dining in. The staff provided good recommendations and good service. When asked for water without any lemon slices, they provided bottled water at no extra cost! Food: (4/5) – rated New York Times top 100 Best Restaurants in New York City in 2025 Every dish came with a small cup of sour cream / Tzatziki based sauce that went with every dish. This was a must and this was mastered very well. Kutaby with chicken and lamb (4/5) – we ordered one each but the lamb was far superior than the chicken. Guru Hingal (4/5) – served in a warmed bowl with a lid in a bed of soft pasta and minced lamb. The pasta reminded me of chow fun (Chinese rice flat noodles) and then some seasoned minced lamb. While overall there were flavors in there, it was still lacked flavors and required to be drowned in the Tzatziki sauces or perhaps a order of table hot sauce. Finally we got the Lamb Lulya Kebab (5/5): this was by far the best dish of the meal! The meat was so wonderfully seasoned throughout, juicy, and complemented well with the rice, onions, and tomato based dip. The wraps themselves were way too small to enjoy using hands so we definitely reconstructed on our plates and attempts...

We were originally planning to go to another cafe, but they weren’t able to accommodate us at the time we wanted, so we decided to try the Village Cafe. Upon entering, we were warmly greeted by the staff and led to the table. We ordered Delight salad, tongue salad, Greek salad, kutabs, and herring for appetizers. All the food was incredibly fresh and delicious and the service is warm and so friendly, we felt very welcomed throughout the entire experience. For the main course, I went with the Turkish liver got appetizer as I was so stuffed from the appetizers we shared and we ordered another Delight salad to share. The salad is amazing, such a perfect balance of fried eggplants, feta, walnuts, herbs and spices. For dessert, we ordered tea with 2 jams and some pastries. Our bill for 6 very stuffed people was $405 with gratuity which is extremely reasonable for the quantity and quality of food we had. Upon exiting, we met the owner who spoke to us and when I told him that my friends play trivia game there every other week, he opened the other room to show me where the game takes place and wow, this was a nice large room suitable for events. It was spacious, high ceilings, air conditioned, so not only will I come back to eat here again, but next time I throw an event, I shall...

I try to be objective in my reviews. So now I’ll write everything as it is. A cafe with a hint of rustic style could still look a little more "interesting" in terms of design. Just nails driven into the wall are definitely not the only thing that should remind me of my native village... The food and table setting seemed quite contrasting to me. There are dishes that were prepared perfectly - beef shish kebab, fried liver, very tasty bread, decent vegetable salads... Grilled shrimp - the cook burned it. Fried potatoes with mushrooms are not for everyone... The cutting looked strange - for a table of more than 10 people there were 4 pieces of each type of meat on the plate... However, all the nuances of the interior and cuisine are smoothed out by the friendly and positive cafe workers. Big respect to the staff in the hall. To summarize, I want to say that the impressions of the evening were definitely not spoiled, everything was good, but this cafe definitely has something to work on to improve the...