Turks and Frogs or Pera?

[mla19]

Looking to introduce my parents to Turkish food....does anyone have an opinion on which is the better choice? P.S. My parents are young-at-heart New Yorkers, and I'm a downtown girl myself so I'm leaning toward T&Fs so far. Thanks!

[alyssi]

I am very surprised to see the negative reviews of T&F - I have been there several times and have always had a great experience. Everytime I've been, I've gone with a group of Turkish friends who have all agreed. For downtown Turkish - I highly recommend T&F.

I have also heard very good things about Pera so far and although I have not gone yet, it is packed every night - I tried to go last week during the middle of the week and there was an hour wait.

Pasha is good too but the decor and style of food is very stuffy / Ottoman. Very uptown.

[maxinem]

Here's a review of Pera I wrote on Jan. 12. For some reason it doesn't come up in the search function:

Pera review

We went to Pera the other evening a "mediterrean bistro" co-owned by an American and a Turk who appparently has several branches of the restaurant in Turkey.

The seemingly awkward, high ceiling space has been given a clever upscale transformation with comfortable seating and an open kitchen in the back where diners can view skewers of grilled meats flying back and forth between toque-coiffed chefs.

Aside from mezze (which we didn't try) these meats are central to the menu--several lamb and beef choices and one or two fish and chicken. We loved the two lamb dishes we ordered along with a wonderful side of grilled vegetables.

The wait staff was extremely pleasant and helpful.

I hate to recommend Pera too strongly because it was already packed when we arrived for an 8 o'clock reservation on a Tuesday evening (had to wait 20 plus minutes for our table but didn't mind much since we spent it at the attractive bar).

[Bob Martinez]

I've been to the T&F branch on Greenwich twice since the summer and enjoyed it very much. The lamb tandir entree in particular is a standout.

[mrnyc]

T&F is just ok, nice wine selection, but no great shakes foodwise. very unmemorable.

[cimui]

I agree w/ vinogirl that T&F isn't all that great. My favorite Turkish place is Pasha in the West 70s, though in the past year and a half, portion sizes and quality have gone down somewhat.

[vinogirl212]

Turks and Frogs was ok, not great. The best Turkish I've found so far is Turkish Kitchen in Murray Hill. Not quite downtown but I've introduced many of my friends to Turkish food at the place and they now go back on their own. It's definitely one of my favorites.

[RGR]

I have not been to either, but someone very recently posted a scathing review of a lunch experience at Pera.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/34730...