Turkish Kebab House — Restaurant in West Haven

After eating at several local Turkish restaurants we wanted to try somewhere different. This was our first meal at the Turkish Kebob House. The menu has a wide variety of Turkish foods, including vegetarian dishes with detailed explanations of the dish for those who are not familiar with Turkish foods. Our group of 6 ordered various meals from shish to the flat breads and brought 2 deserts home. Everything was delicious and there was more than enough food to enjoy the next day. Watch out for the bread & dipping sauce It is so good, it is easy to fill up on it before your meal! Prices were very reasonable. I was pleasantly surprised when we received the check. The only reason I did not give 5 stars was for the questioning of our reservations, which are recommended. When we came in I said we had a reservation for 7pm. The person at the hostess station knew there was a 6 person reservation and began to escort us to our table. As we were going to the table a woman called me back to her to question me further on the reservation. As my family was seated I am standing amongst other diners being questioned about the number of people on the reservation, the time and the name. After she verifies, she says to me (not in a pleasant way) that if it really wasn't our reservation we wouldn't have been able to sit and eat. Considering I checked in at the hostess area already I didn't feel we needed a second verification. Aside from her the waitstaff was very friendly and surprised two in our party speak and understand Turkish fluently, as they are from Istanbul. That was disappointing, as I do not randomly walk into restaurants to celebrate a family members birthday and lie about having a reservation. Upon leaving each staff member we walked by said Goodnight and thank you, except the woman who questioned me. Aside from her, the experience was great and I highly recommend...

We ended up going to this restaurant because we were extremely hungry, but unfortunately, it was a disappointing experience. The menu was more expensive compared to most French or Italian fine dining places. After ordering, we were served a basket of bread along with small, pre-packaged butter cups—the kind you typically find at American diners. We were shocked! As a Turk, I felt embarrassed on their behalf. In our culture, we enjoy spreading quality butter on warm pide bread, not using these to-go style packets. If the restaurant management reads this, I strongly recommend getting rid of those diner-style butters—they just don’t fit the ambiance.

We started with a small lentil soup. While the taste was okay, it didn’t really resemble traditional lentil soup—it had small bits in it, giving it a bit of an Ezogelin vibe, but it was still decent. My friend and I decided to share the liver sauté and Iskender kebab. The liver was tasty, although the pieces were cut too large for my liking. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the Iskender kebab. It neither looked nor tasted authentic—the meat was cut in small, ground-like pieces, rather than the typical thin slices. The sauce on top tasted like marinara, similar to a pizza sauce, rather than the rich tomato sauce usually served with Iskender, and there was no traditional melted butter on top.

At the end of the meal, they kindly offered us tea, which was a nice gesture, and the staff was polite and accommodating. However, both my friend and I experienced stomach discomfort later that evening. Overall, it was an underwhelming experience, and I don’t plan on returning. I hope they reconsider their butter presentation to better reflect our cultural...

Food was very good, but service was poor. We asked to be seated in a booth because the chairs were not comfortable, but the waitress (who was the cashier too) said that she can't because of social distancing (COVID), however, there was another booth that was far away from any occupied table but she claimed that it was reserved (it was never used till we left more than an hour later). Ten minutes later the only table close to an available booth became empty, so we requested to move to that booth, but the waitress first declined saying that it is also reserved for a party that is coming at 3:30 pm (it was 1:30 pm at that time!). When I told her that we are are going to be finished with our lunch well before 3:30, she reluctantly agreed saying that we made one table dirty and she will have to clean it. The food came and was very good, then the receipt came with a surprise 18% gratuity added to it! Upon inquiring why the gratuity is already added, I was told it is because she has to wear a mask all day and because the majority of the customers are from the middle east and they don't give her any tip, and then when she realized that her statement was offensive to her clearly middle eastern customer, she said I am Turkish, so I am middle eastern too! To the Owner: Don't spoil a very good eating experience with lousy service! This waitress needs hospitality training! Also, if you need a COVID surcharge to help you in hard times, that is acceptable, but it has to be posted in the restaurant or indicated...