Troya Restaurant — Restaurant in San Francisco

I love Troya Mediterranean Kitchen on the hip Fillmore Street in San Francisco for its authentic and delicious cuisine. The Turkish brunch sampler for 2 ($60) is definitely something to share and write home about, especially if you’re a fan of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.

My favorite items from the sampler included the green olives with red seasoning sprinkled on top, fresh tomato/cucumber, tahini with sesame seeds and almost a creamy peanut butter dessert consistency, dried dates and walnuts (try dipping the date in the tahini at the end of your meal as a sweet treat), and both cheeses. Our server let us know that one cheese is a feta and the other is a harder, more-aged version, and that both included a combination of three types of milk - cow, goat, and sheep. This definitely made the cheese easier to digest, and I personally recommend putting the feta on the shakshuka.

The Shakshuka was also good but felt like it could have been great if we had eaten this immediately because the eggs seem to continue cooking the longer you let it sit. I do wish that the lamb sausage either was mixed into the sauce so that the sauce absorbed the flavor, or that the lamb sausage was cooked for less time so that it was less crispy. It comes with slices of lamb but as of now these seem like they could be easily removed if you’re vegetarian.

If you order extra bread, heads up that it is an additional $10, but since they bring you an entire tray of different bread types it feels worth it.

The Turkish coffee ($5) is worth trying at least once if you enjoy super strong tasting coffee, or if you’re just an adventurous person. It also comes served in a cute cup and saucer with a little treat on the side. For those wanting a regular coffee ($3.50) with their brunch, not to fear because they have...

This is the food that makes you close your eyes with delight as you savour the first bites of each dish and then keeps you savouring each bite after until it’s gone.

Everything was mouthwatering delicious!

My husband and I shared our food. We had the fried brussel sprouts and dip. Crunchy. Salted just right. The sauce is the perfect level of spicy. 👌🏻 A greater starter!

Then, we had the roasted cauliflower. This was our favourite! I could eat this every day and be satisfied. I can’t even describe how amazing this dish is. The tzatziki with how they cook and season the cauliflower… 🤤 An absolute must try!

The chicken kebab was a bit dry, but paired with tzatziki and brussel sprout sauce, it made for great bites! The rice with chick peas was surprisingly flavourful. Topped with harissa and spices, it was the best part of that dish!

All together, each dish paired well with each other. I loved hopping back and forth from plate to plate and mixing items from each dish together. I recommend you do the same. ☺️

I had the mint mojito and my husband had the Romeo and Juliet spritzer. I knew my mojito would be good (it’s hard to mess up a mojito), but this one was so refreshing! Not too mint forward. I was sure my husband’s drink would taste like perfume, as it has rose and lavender flavours in it, but it was so well balanced! The cucumber really broke up the sweetness.

Top quality food.

The restaurant itself is beautiful! Bright. Cozy. It has a gentle vibe to it. I would definitely go back and eat...

This was a good place overall. It is a bit more costly than you would want for what you get depending on your selection, but the staff was kind and the place was clean.

It does feel a bit hollow inside, as if there is some missing personality like some hanging plants in the middle of the area or something. Maybe some more sturdy chairs and tables would be helpful... It feels like an alright place pretending to be a fancy place enough so that you just feel it tugging on your heart while you eat.

Regarding the food, no complaints. A lot of the group-breakfast dishes are just simple servings placed into little ramekins, with bread and Shakshuka to justify the expense. Tasty... but again missing the personality that matches the price.

The staff was kind, but it did feel a bit thin on presence as if they are delicately balancing paying staff against a tight budget, even if they're not. Everybody was really nice, but the attentiveness faded as more customers arrived.

Ultimately, we liked it here and would go back periodically, but this isn't a must-attend place yet. They feel stuck in purgatory where they would need to either commit some money and evolve to the next level, but their attempts at overcharging to cover the gap feel like if they don't commit to growing up a bit that they might fade out as their customer base rotates away naturally with the ebb and flow of commerce. Right now you go here because you like Turkish Breakfast, not because the...