Mavi Grill - Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

Forgoing the horrendous experiences I have heard from local Turks about this place, I decided to give this place a fair chance by taking my mother out here recently. That was a great mistake so please, learn from mine. First off a restaurant who offers dine in should no way near look as dilapidated and filthy as this place is no matter how geared it may be towards take-out. Ignoring our instincts, we requested to be seated at the table near the entryway after I nearly lost a shoe to the sticky floors in the main dining area. Similarly sticky like a low-cut movie theater. Almost like it had been mopped with glue, if it had been mopped at all! Being as polite and as patient we could, we still accepted to be sat down. After 20 mins of being sat and taking in the view of dead insects and cobwebs within arms reach, we left. The disgusting image this place has a it’s service to match as well! 20 mins after being sat and no one came by to take our drink orders let alone appetizers. This is after many of their employees proudly wearing the restaurant’s logo shirts clearly saw us sitting there menus closed ready to order, mind you. I don’t care how big the portions of food seem to be, this is absolutely unacceptable. I can’t fathom how someone would come here to spend their hard earned money on a dining experience below third world street food vendor status. I digress. Should have listened to the local Turks. Take your money and eat elsewhere, thank this...

Ever since I started seeing my Greek girlfriend, I put together a list of local Turkish/Mediterranean/Greek restaurants to go to. I don't know why we waited so long to come here, the food is amazing. If we started with this place, every place else might have been just a disappointment.

The food was so good, the service was great, ample parking, tastefully decorated, and the menu wasn't overwhelming. The hummus, tahini, white bean salad and babaganoush appetizer all tasted fresh, and the stuffed grape leaves were cooked just right. The Chicken Kebab platter was perfectly seasoned and came with 2 different types of rice, the accompanying roasted vegetables were nice and fresh. My girlfriend said the falafel was just as good as the ones we had, at a hotel in Egypt. The Spinach Pie had a nice hint of coriander I think, which made it really unique and added a nice flavor profile that elevated it. Lemon Chicken Orzo soup had a nice and silky broth ...all very well done.

We are definitely coming back here, it beats the other Greek/Turkish/Mediterranean spots around.

Update: We've been back at least twice, and each time bringing more and more people. They've had nothing but great things to say about the food. We celebrated a birthday there last night and brought our own...

A small cozy place – we visited on a Wednesday evening – it was the eve of Eid so it may have been quitter than usually for that reason – but it worked out better for us, cause my friends and I got to spend a relaxing evening catching up on 6 months’ worth of chit chat!

I ordered the Lamb Adana Kebab – it came with a choice of Salad or Soup – I had never tried the CHOBAN (SHEPHERD SALAD) – so I decided to go with it for a change – it was perfectly seasoned and had just the right amount of dressing (Olive oil & Lemon juice – the parsley that that was used for garnishing was fresh and fragrant)

When the main dish arrived it had a 2 types of rice – one looked orange and the other was white – they were both flavored to perfection – also the saluted Vegetables were delicious and finally the meat was tender and mouth melting (I am salivating as I am writing about my experience from yesterday … go figure!)

Finally the cherry on top was the Dessert for 2 that I shared with my friend - Baklava & Kadayif

In conclusion… the portions were quite filling and made to perfection!!

Next time I intend to enjoy the Lamb Chops that were on the...