Cafe Istanbul — Restaurant in Plano

The first time I went, my husband and I were walking the shops of legacy on our anniversary to kill time before our movie. We happened upon this place and we were pleasantly surprised. Our waiter was fantastic. He made some excellent recommendations and was attentive and friendly. The food was fantastic. It was fresh and flavorful and didn’t leave you feeling stuffed or bloated. It filled you up in the best way. The waiter even brought us a cake for our anniversary. I thought that was really sweet of him. It was early spring and the weather was great. We sat outside and as the sun set, the lanterns came on and it was just a romantic setting. I couldn’t wait to come back. For my birthday my husband wanted to take me to dinner. I chose this place. When we got to the restaurant, it was full inside and they asked if we had a reservation which we didn’t. They said we could only sit outside. That was fine. It had been 96 degrees but the temperature was starting to get lower as the sun started to set. Our waiter came and was friendly. He brought us water that looked like it had 2 ice cubes holding on for dear life in the heat. At best, the water was lukewarm. We ordered some drinks and our appetizers and my husband already knew what he wanted for the main course. Our waiter left and my husband and I were talking about bringing the family the following weekend so they could try the food. Our waiter brought out our drinks and food and that was the last time we saw him. The appetizers and drinks tasted great. My husband’s main course that he had been dying to try was ok. It didn’t have much flavor or seasonings. We quickly started attracting tons of flies that wanted to join us for dinner. As we kept shooing them away, more kept coming. Since we didn’t want to drink our warm water, we quickly drank our mojitos and needed a couple of more. Since we never saw our waiter again, my husband asked another worker if he would be able to get him for us. That man said yes and disappeared. Later there was a lady that my husband flagged down and asked if we could get more drinks. She asked what we had and left to get our drinks. We never saw her again. As we glanced at the doors, we could see the crowd inside and all the staff attending to them. As I looked around the patio, all I saw were sweltering customers with no reservations and warm glasses of water staring into space waiting for someone to come pay attention to them. I was unsure if they were understaffed and just could only attend to the people inside or if the waiters just didn’t want to come out to the heat. If they didn’t have enough people, they could have told us they were full and we could’ve gone somewhere else. My husband finally had to get up and go inside to get our check. It wasn’t the best birthday dinner and was definitely nothing like our first experience. At this point, I know we...

First time here with a friend and I have to say the food is great and the staff is friendly. A friend recommended this place when I asked about good Turkish coffee.

For apps, we had the Humus and the Babaganoush. Wow, the Humus here is very good and fresh. Some places overdo it on the Tahini but not here. I actually quite enjoy it a lot that we both finished the bowl. Same with the Babaganoush. You can taste the garlic and the roasted eggplants. Some places, make it thick, like paste, but here at Cafe Istanbul, it's light and flavorful! I'm not a big fan of eggplant but this has got me hooked. And you get fresh pita? bread. Piping hot, and so good. It's thin which makes it easy to eat and you're not chewing it to break it down.

For the main course, it was hard to choose so we ordered the mixed grill for two. It's a lot of food but perfect for 2. You get the Adana Kebab (ground lamb), Lamb Shish Kebab, Chicken Shish Kebab, Istanbul Doner (ground lamb and shaved like shawarma), Chicken wings, and Chicken Beyti. Comes with rice, pickled cabbage, and onions. OMG, the proteins are tender and juicy. What caught me off guard is the Lamb Shish Kebab. I thought it was beef but it's lamb. I never had lamb so tender. It was so good. The chicken wings, wow. Can I order that for the Super bowl? Nice charcoal flavor, the marinade is spot on, very delicious. Wow, the entire plate is full of flavor and so so tender. And it's all fresh off the grill. If you can't decide on what to order, get the Mixed Grill.

And for Desert. We had to get the Baklava and wow. I had Baklava before but these are much better than what I had. It's airy, it's crispy, it's not soaked in sugary syrup. This is the real deal. I never enjoyed Baklava as much until now. This is good.

And of course I had to get the Turkish coffee that a friend recommended. This is good. Strong, clean flavors, comes with a Turkish delight on the side and a shot of icy water. lol.

Our waiter, I forgot his name, is really friendly and helpful when we asked...

Saw the show on Fox this morning with chef (once again excellent show this morning!!!) Preparing the stuffed chicken with sauce and fried toppings, we came here for dinner and wow! I could not have been more impressed with the decor or the staff. Quick seating even though we were early for our reservation to a nice corner outside. It was nothing but excellent t service from Oguz, fresh bread right away, drinks arrived perfectly paced with our appetizers. There was no rush whatsoever to our delicious journey with Turkish sausage and lightly breaded calamari with a tart and subtle dill sauce. For our entrees we opted for the mixed grill and the dish from the fox show this morning. I have to take a pause here because I am still smelling the wonder that I came to enjoy. A diverse and profound theme emerged amongst everything tasted. The stuffed chicken was light and flavorful with sweet and rich flavors coming from the raisins and pistachio, the carrots and parsley all were so beautifully combined. The mixed grill for two, (sigh) is more for three or four, it also does not disappoint at all. Grabbing some of the best selections of lamb and chicken in various forms. Included is dono (sliced lamb) which was melt in your mouth delicious. I would say that we stopped there but the selection of deserts beckoned a test, I tried the Turkish custard, while the rest in my group tried the spiced pears along with the sweet cheese baked dish (can't recall the name but wow none the less) all indescribably delicious in every way. My custard almost tasted like chocolate and creme with cinnamon hints throughout. The spiced pears, sweet and subtle wine flavor with the large and plenty walnuts surrounding them with a small bit of vanilla ice cream. A meal to remember and one that will be repeated again without fear. I intend to bring the rest of the family when they...