Any Great Turkish Places in Los Angeles?
And don't say Sofra, it was Sobad when i went
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fame da lupo
Jan 5, 2013 10:48 PM
For anyone craving a good lahmacun, they serve them up at The Old Sasoon Bakery in Pasadena. $1 each, can't beat the price -- basically what'd you'd pay in Istanbul! The zahtar lahmacun is also tasty, recalling southeastern Turkish-style cooking. They also make something resembling pide. Baklava too, of course, but I'm still waiting on that pistachio balkava that seems to not exist in the United States.
It's Armenian rather than Turkish, so there are other specialties there that resemble Turkish food but with a different twist. Highly rec'd.
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re: granadafan
fame da lupo
Jan 6, 2013 08:06 PM
Yep (the "c" in Turkish is pronounced as a "j"). You have a favorite?
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fame da lupo
Dec 15, 2012 09:37 PM
I've been reflecting on how it's sad that there is no great Turkish restaurant in LA, one that reflects the incredible diversity and flavors of the country. I don't even need a Ciya or Zubeyir, to name two top Istanbul restaurants -- a Beyoglu would do (to name an excellent NYC Turkish joint). Turkish food does not end at the doner! But no one in the US knows that. So Turks have to go to Greek restaurants to find the closest approximation ;)
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Not to hijack this thread, but do any of these places serve doner kebab sandwiches? I know Spitz does, but I'm looking for the real deal street food version, like I had almost every day in Germany and Istanbul. I see a lot of places with doner plates, but I want the warm bread with tomatoes, pickled onions, yogurt sauce, and chili spread... num num. I will drive anywhere in LA for one...
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Mr. Roboto
Aug 18, 2012 01:17 AM
My Turkish friends prefer Sako's Mediterranean Cuisine:
6736 Corbin Ave (corner Vanowen)
Reseda, CA 91337
(818) 342-8710
http://www.sakosmediterraneancuisine....›1 Reply-
re: Mr. Roboto
I just went to Sako's and was very impressed - it's a very nice restaurant in an awful location, invisible from the street and with no sign.
We had the fried eggplant with yoghurt sauce, tomato and onion salad, a combination plate (chicken and beef kebabs, doner, lamb chop, and kofte kebab) and an order of iskender. The doner was gyro meat rather than real Turkish doner, but otherwise it was all very authentic. It came to less than $30 per person, not bad at all for good food in a very pleasant environment.
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Have yet to hear of a good, aka great, Turkish place.
But, Mezze on La Cienega has more than a few Turkish influences to its menu, all prepared very well.
Spitz for a more fast food take might do, with locations in Eagle Rock & just recently opened Los Feliz. Specializing in Donar Kebabs.›4 Replies -
There's also a brand new Turkish place called Cafe Istanbul, at 326 S. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills (where Jacopo's and Clay Pit used to be). Haven't tried this one yet. Nor have we tried Anatolia on Westwood. Neither of these places seems to have a website, and when I asked the owner at Anatolia for a take-out menu he said they didn't have one.
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re: PayOrPlay
fame da lupo
Dec 1, 2012 11:23 AM
Anatolia definitely does take out (at least, they do now), they were doing a brisk trade last night.
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re: fame da lupo
echoparkdirt
May 4, 2013 06:51 PM
I used UBER for the first time last nite, and the car that picked me up was driven by a Turkish guy with authentic accent and everything. He told me Anatolia was amazing, just like home. He said Istanbul on Beverly is not real Turkish food.
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re: echoparkdirt
We ate at Anatolia a couple months back. Never been to Turkey but we thought the food was really tasty. The vast majority of customers seemed to be from the old country as we're the folks running the restaurant (very cordial folks). Many conversed in what I'm guessing is Turkish with each other and the staff. The food is meat-centric - my meatatarian daughter was swooning.
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Not "great" (as in destination resto) but pretty GOOD is the Turkish kebab place at the back of the Jewelry Mart Alley downtown (north of 7th). Someone help me out with the name?
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re: silverlakebodhisattva
annagranfors
Aug 17, 2012 12:51 AM
I think the place you're referring to is Sevan Garden Kebab House, 621 S Broadway, (213) 489-5626. I've been wanting to go, but the hours it's open (10 am-4pm Mon-Fri) prohibit, since I work nowhere near downtown. They do deliver, though, albeit not to anywhere near me.
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re: annagranfors
monpetitescargot
Dec 15, 2012 11:04 PM
ima big fan of the place youre talking about, at the back of st. vincent square. it's really nice. st. vincent square is an interesting dtla experience in and of itself. loads of little persian, turkish, armenian men drinking coffees, smoking cigarettes and playing dominoes. we had a the appplatter which had really lovely feta and falafel and the taboullleh which was quite nice. the doner kebab wrap was pretty great. service was excellent. atmosphere was entirely unique.
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Servorg
Aug 16, 2012 01:55 PM
If your ever down OC way you might want to try out http://www.donerg.com/index.php/about... and see what you think.
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re: Ciao Bob
fame da lupo
Dec 1, 2012 11:23 AM
Anatolia is pretty good -- I liked the iskender and baklava (walnut, why so hard to find pistachio? I know we're far from Antep but California grows a pistachio or two). They have an actual charcoal grill over which they cook their kebaps as well, planning on getting an Adana next time. The family who runs it is very nice and we'll be going back.
Keep in mind, though, that's it's a combination of a Turkish büfe with a live grill rather than a meze/meyhane type establishment.
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