Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery — Restaurant in Urbandale

This place popped up on my radar a few weeks ago and I was craving some Turkish food. The restaurant is extremely nice for being in a strip mall. The tables are appealing and already set for service. The staff was so friendly and I love the semi-open kitchen concept. It was beautiful to see them making the food with pride!

They start everyone out with some bread. I got the savory yogurt drink, Ayran, to go with my meal. It is not sweet. Be aware. We ordered the Turkish "pizza" as an appetizer--Lahmacun. It's a flatbread that's topped with minced meat, some tomato paste, and herbs (no cheese). It is served with some veggies on the side that you put on the flatbread before folding up. The owner said he would cry if anyone ate it with a fork and knife, so don't do that 😂 It's finger food! My hubby and I split a mixed grill platter as well which was absolutely divine! You can actually taste the smoke on the meat unlike the majority of BBQ places in the state of Iowa. If you like Middle-Eastern food or are adventurous, then please check this place out! The prices are so cheap and the quality is impeccable! There are numerous options available for those with dietary restrictions. Christian was our server and he is fantastic! Tell them...

The space is fantastic, beautiful! Service was decent enough.

We had the mixed plate for two for $50. There is a breakfast menu online, but that didn't seem to be available? It didn't open until 11am. Whatever, we just went with lunch.

The beef, chicken, lambchops, and adana were all delicious. Adana was my favorite. So was the beef "Turkish pizza" we ordered. It was like taco meat (strong cumin flavor) with mozzarella and the bread was good.

The "Salad" was just iceberg lettuce with a tomato slice and red onions, nothing special. Couldn't even tell you what the dressing was. Probably just some oil and vinegar. It was fine to add some fiber to the meal I guess.

Only serious complaint is the kofta was COMPLETELY RAW inside. Took one bite and said nope to that. I'd recommend cutting your meat open before eating it to make sure its cooked. It wasn't just undercooked it was RAW.

They have a TON of options on the menu and we'll probably go back to try more things. The gyro meat on the spit looked great but isn't included in the sharing plate we ordered.

Wife says the Baklava was the best she's had but very sweet. Their baking is...

I found myself at one of the most delicious and delightful restaurants within Des Moines. The atmosphere is inviting and youthful filled with romantic dates and tables of lady’s having girl talk enjoying delicious appetizers. I ordered a soup of the day and it was a vegetable cream but to my surprise it was so delicate and the spices were elevated to a higher note which the flavors danced on my tongue for moments after. I then moved onto the main Dish which was the sultan’s delight and the words to describe this won’t give it justice. Think going to the best top tier Michelin star restaurants and I would say the dish was at par with it. Des Moines currently does not have a restaurant with a star but this business is decently a contender.

I wondered what made it so good and tasty and found out my server was the daughter of the owner and I watched him take leadership Ofer his kitchen when the buissness started picking up and mom was managing the staff and both of them were doing it with smiles and a healthy positive attitude towards their staff. Instanbul is the spice capital of the world and this restaurant can be the capital...