Palace Istanbul Kebab House — Restaurant in Palos Township

I've been to every Turkish restaurant in Chicagoland, always eager to support new restaurants from my homeland. However, my visit to Istanbul Palace/Istanbul Kebab House compels me to share a disappointing experience, marking the first time I've felt compelled to leave a negative review. I went to this restaurant with my husband who is an American with a deep appreciation for Turkish cuisine, we entered the restaurant only to be met with silence from the staff. There were three people behind the register. One waiter, I don't know what the other lady does and the owner. There was no acknowledgment from any of them. So I asked the waiter if we can get a table. After securing a table, we waited an extended period of waiting for our menus that never came. There were only one more table other than us. So me and husband discussed what we are going to eat without the menus. We always get the same dishes anyways. Beyti or iskender and lahmacuns. So we decided on beyti and lahmacun since we saw alot of posts about beyti in this restaurant. Then I called the waiter over, she grabs menus for us. I said we don't have to look, we ll just get beyti and 3 lahmacuns and 2 cokes.

Beyti was not an traditional version that we usually get wherever we go in unites states or in turkey. It was with gyro meat and cheese insideit resembled a Turkish inspired quesadilla rather than the authentic dish. It was not their fault though, because i guess in the menu it does have a description of beyti. So that was on us. We should've read the menu but we were done waiting. Beyti did taste good and delicious. But i wouldn't call that Beyti. We asked for our cokes again and reminded them.

When the owner brings the lahmacun, he did not bring any parsley, lemon, onions, sumac. Those are the garnishes that you are suppose to serve with lahmacun. You can not serve lahmacun without lemon. So the owner asks me if we want any greens, garnishes with lahmacun. I was shocked and confused by this question. So i said maybe lemons, and my husband asked for little bit of onions. He comes to the table with a sliced whole onion, little bit of sumac on top and two slices of lemon. Lahmacun did not taste good. We couldn't even eat it. It had a bad taste. They should not survive this lahmacun to anyone. I asked for the check and to go cup. I couldn't believe what I saw on the receipt, they charged me almost 6$ for the onions and called it as onion salad. It was literally a whole onion that was sliced, little bit sumac on top. That onion probably doesn't even cost them 40cents. I didn't want to say anything there. I should've have. I was embarrassed to say something, but he was not embarrassed to charge me that! He definitely took an advantage of us and charged us. And the sad part is that it was the owner. I came home and read the menu and it says lahmacun comes with those garnishes with free of charge.

After leaving there, we said we would never come back. I talked to couple of my friends they said they got the same treatment from them.

So service is 0/5. Food 2/5. I wish the owner read the bad reviews that people have been posting on Google and yelp months ago, so I didn't have to experience such a horrible experience and write a review like this. Clearly he does not understand how to run a restaurant with customers.

If you guys are looking for a turkish restaurants there are plenty of others everywhere. They are all good. This was the only one that I was...

We had such a wonderful experience at The Palace Istanbul Kabab House. We came in with four adults and four kids and decided to order the mixed grill platter for six.

When it arrived, it seriously felt like a feast. The table was filled with beautifully arranged meats, each one smelling better than the last.

Surrounding the platter were generous portions of creamy hummus, smoky baba ghanoush, a bright and zesty salad, and the most addictive garlic sauce we’ve ever had. There was also lentil soup, which I thought was the least flavorful, and slightly on the blander side, but my toddler loved it.

The salad was especially refreshing, with crisp vegetables and a light dressing that balanced the richness of the grilled meats perfectly. Every bite of the meal was packed with flavor. You could taste the spices and the care that went into the preparation. A couple of the meats were slightly overcooked, but not enough to take away from how satisfying and tasty everything was. The variety alone made the meal exciting, and there was plenty of food for everyone with leftovers to take home. We ended with some baklava that also came with it. I didn’t try it but my family thought it was decent.

Our server Bilal was fantastic. He was warm, attentive, and made us feel truly welcome. His service really elevated the whole experience.

What surprised us most was that the restaurant was nearly empty. With food this good, it deserves to be packed. We left full, happy, with my son already planning his bday dinner here. If you’re craving bold flavors and a generous, family-style meal, this spot is def a hidden gem waiting to...

I had a very disappointing experience at this restaurant. When we arrived, we waited for about five minutes, but none of the servers brought us a menu, I had to go to the counter and get it myself.

While we were placing our order, the lady server abruptly walked away mid-conversation, saying “take your time,” even though I was still talking and placing the order. It felt rude and dismissive.

I specifically asked if the Iskender was the thinly sliced version, and the lady server assured me it was. Unfortunately, it wasn’t and it was a completely different style and the taste was even worse. The reviews that show the Iskender are from their old menu. Most of the positive reviews seem to be from when they had the old menu, so I’m not sure if there’s been a change in management or the chef for this new and different menu.

We also ordered lahmacun, which never arrived. Yet, when I went to pay the bill, it was still included. I had to point out that we never received it to get it removed.

Overall, this was by far the worst service I ever received and the food fell well short of expectations.

UPDATE:

If the menu hasn’t changed in the last two years, then why did your server claim it was recently updated when I showed her a review from just eight months ago that featured the Iskender I was asking about?

Just to clarify, I know the menu says “Tantuni Iskender,” which is exactly why I asked the server if it was a different version or the traditional thinly sliced one. She assured me it was the thinly sliced Iskender but it...