I wonder if there are any reviews--yes, and they are good...I find it funny that one person says " I once saw Rudy Giuliania dining there"
Sahara's Turkish Cuisine
Categories:
Turkish,
Middle Eastern,
Mediterranean
513 2nd Ave(between 29th St & 28th St)
New York, NY 10016
Neighborhood: Kips Bay
(212) 532-7589
- Nearest Transit Station:
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28 St.33 St.23 St.
- Hours:
- Mon-Sun 11 am - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
- $$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
76 reviews for Sahara's Turkish Cuisine
Review Highlights What's this?
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"My friend commented positively on his red lentil soup." In 4 reviews -
"The shepherd salad is always good." In 4 reviews -
"Shrimp Kebab: Perfectly seasoned and charred just right." In 10 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
76 reviews in English
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Review from Cher A.
New York, NYokay so this place is sometimes a hit or miss. However one thing they are really good at (eventhough sometimes it is a miss) is their LAMB SHANK.
Their lamb shank is soft, fall of the bone yumminess. It just tastes really good, and the sauce is so light (sometimes it isn't there, I wish there was more sauce though., but at least it wasn't smothered in it like some other places).
So one thing I stay true to is to the lamb shank which has a thin slice of eggplant covering it, SO GOOD. one other thing I like is their chicken vegetable soup, it tastes like it has been simmering all day in chicken and vegetable juices, it is oily though, but... so good! Both of this combination is a plus :)
I ordered lamb shank from another place and absolutely disliked it, I don't know if its because it was swimming in sauce and the lamb was too fatty or my palate has just stuck to Sahara's Lamb Shank and only their lamb shank only. I haven't tried anything else here, but I know for a fact their lamb shank is great (again, warning some, sometimes a miss depending on who is cooking it - and no I don't know who cooks it- just gotta go and wish for the best) It's NOT bad, it's just not as succulent sometimes. But when it is which is luckily most of the time it is GREAT. -
Review from Cassandra B.
Brooklyn, NYI dined here recently and was totally blown away with the food. I've always loved Turkish food and I have yet to meet a hummus or stuffed grape leaf that I didnt' like, but I found the food at Sahara's to be especially tasty.
The bread, olive oil, and olive mix that they brought out was delicious! I actually didn't even want to order any food, I just wanted to just eat bread and olives all night. Fortunately, I found some restraint and put down the bread and ordered some food, which was delicious.
This city doesn't offer enough sampler platters (unless you're talking Applebee's), and I am no good at choosing among many tasty options, so I was thrilled to see an appetizer sampler platter. All the items were tasty but I was especially impressed with the eggplant dishes. I also had a salad, which looked a little bland on the menu but which turned out to be very tasty. -
Review from Crystine W.
New York, NYSome solid Turkish food can be found at Sahara's, but their service could really use some work. We came around 1:00 PM on a Friday afternoon for lunch and they had plenty of seating available. We were promptly seated and the server came back several times for our order (all within one minute) even though we kept asking for more time and we were clearly catching up with one another. Then after we gave her our food orders, it took a full half hour for our food to actually be brought to the table.
Their hummus is absolutely delicious, fresh and creamy, but they can get a little bit stingy with the pita bread. As I was ordering my Babaghanoush, I asked the server for a side of pita bread and she said that she was going to bring a basket for the entire table. For a table of 6, they only brought out about 6 pieces of pita bread, which definitely is not enough when each of us ordered some sort of dip.
Lunch specials are not bad at all - you get to choose from a selection of appetizers and entrees, you get many options and it rings you up about $11pp. -
Review from Yassmin A.
New York, NYGreat place for a nice cozy meal.
I went with two girlfriends and we were one of three tables. Despite that it wasn't crowded we weren't over-attended to by the staff, this was nice because I felt like they read the audience (i.e girls just trying to catch up).
The food came promptly and was delicious. They catered to my friends nut allergy by dividing the large appetizer combo into two separate plates. Between the three of us we had this, falafel, and the kebab combo. The combo kebab platter was wonderful but I would only recommend it to be divided for two people. For us the amount of food was perfect-especially because they provided bread, olives and olive oil. The falafel was really good but don't expect your traditional falafel: this came in little bite size balls and with a much milder flavor.
Overall would go again and recommend if in the area- the lunch special looks amazing. -
Review from Andy W.
Manhattan, NYWe recently held a large group birthday celebration with about 20 people at Sahara's and it was wonderful. Originally, we had booked the dinner at Limon, Sahara's sister restaurant, during the weeklong heatwave that hit New York in mid July. A few hours before our reservation (with temperatures around 100 degrees) the manager called and told us that we would be more comforablte at Sahara's and offered the same prix fixe menu for us at Sahara's.
Once we arrived, we were immediately impressed with Sahara's. The restaurant is spacious and very nice inside. They were consantly on top of keeping our drinks refeshed and bringing out a variety of appetizers for the table. The food was terrific and the prix fixe menu for the group was a great deal. They even kept our ice cream cake in the freezer while we ate and drank and brought it to me to cut when we were ready. It felt like the we had 2 or 3 servers dedicated to us at all times.
It was a great meal for our large group and I recommend Sahara's highly.
Side note: I've not ordered delivery from Sahara's but some friends said that they order from here frequently and love the takeout. -
Review from David H.
New York, NYMixed decor; they didn't know if hey were going for ethnic or sports bar, so there are some oddly placed TVs, and some nights have dancing...but it is clean and the service is prompt and pleasant. I usually don't write about specific dishes but the d fig salad is aMAzing! skip he zucchini pancakes, though....but while the vegetable casserole is more like a vegetable tomato soup, it is tasty. Good, not great, but respectable falafel. -
Review from Charlie G.
Houston, TXI just finished a late lunch at Sahara's and it was very good.
The restaurant has about 15 four-top tables with a small bar in the back. It is clean, minimally yet tastefully decorated and has nice ambiance.
Along with their full menu, they offer a lunch "special" (until 4PM I believe) which allows you to pick a soup or various salads and then a main course. Aiming for a Paleo/Primal meal, I opted for this choosing the Cacik and Doner Kabob with vegetables.
The food was delicious and hit the spot. Even better, the price was $10.95. Probably would be hard-pressed to find a decent lunch for that price in many places in the Manhattan area.
Service was prompt and friendly, but again it was a late lunch and it was relatively empty when I arrived.
Will definitely be back!-
Gyro (Doner Kabob) with Cacik.
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Review from Parisa S.
Yay for my 500th review!
The Sahara delivery guy visits our apartment at least 2x per week. He probably thinks we're lame. Entirely possible, but mostly, my cooking skills are lame.
Here's the rundown:
Cacik - gooood
Lentil soup - outstanding
Fresh baked bread - also outstanding. However, I don't understand the bread policy. Order only hummus and you get 1 piece of bread. Order hummus, cacik, salad and a kabob entree and you STILL only get 1 piece of bread. How does that make any sense?
Hummus - my grocery store Sabra is much better
Shepherd Salad - delicious, consistently fresh. Could use more lemon juice for my taste
Chicken Shish Kabob - delicious, though I could really do without the giant grilled pepper
Chicken Adana Kabob - stay away. This was a decision made on a whim that I sorely regretted
Baklava - very sweet and a huge portion. Not my favorite
Prices - decent. Much better than Ali Baba
Delivery - always fast
All in all, there's a reason I see this delivery guy more frequently than my best friends. -
Review from Lisa A.
San Francisco, CAEat anything here. You will thank me.
Can't wait to visit fam again next month so I can eat here.
I always have the lamb kebab and the eggplant salad. Let me just eat all their hummus. That's fine.The meat is the best. Best way they marinate, best quality, best everything. My mouth is watering thinking about it. Uggghhh, you just don't need cuts of meat with any fat on it for flavor. That's why I love this place! I eat lean and it's so divine.
The eggplant salad was so flavorful and perfectly seasoned too.
Every time I come here, I come here with my Egyptian homies and we eat like we just discovered gold for the first time. I drive from Jersey to eat here. New York, I love you to death. -
Review from Amanda L.
Really good lamb here.
We started with the dry fig salad, a sweet and very fresh salad with balsamic vinaigrette. And we had the babaghannouj with pita bread. The pita bread is very thick, almost like a friend pancake- crispy flaky and soft.
Then i shared the mixed grilled kebab. No its not a plate of kebabs, it's actually a very well presented plate of lamb slices, lamb chop, chicken, with vegetables and rice in the center of the plate. The mix plate can def feed 2-3 people. I also had some of the lamb shish - tasted like a gyro but very good. I was a big fan of the lamb slices in the mixed platter because it was sweet, not too gamy and there was enough to share or eat for yourself.
And to top it off, the waiter was super friend and was always refilling our water. He actually suggested that we get the dry fig salad because it was his favorite. He def was on point with that. dry fig salad was delicious! -
Review from Brandon S.
Brooklyn, NYThe food here is delicious. It may look like a total dive, but I've been here twice and both meals were surprisingly great. If you are looking for a super casual, inexpensive, absolutely delicious Turkish meal - look no further.
Recommended: Lamb shish, fig salad, lentil soup, small appetizer mix -
Review from Julie J.
God I love this place. This was my last meal before leaving for Houston for work. I really couldn't have asked for a better last meal, because there is nothing that comes even close to this in Houston.
We ordered on Seemlessweb and it took close to an hour to arrive (it was Election Day), but I am not holding that against them at all.
Zucchini Pancakes: Aaaaaaaaaaamazing! Nice and crispy on the outside.
Soslut Patlican: SO good! And comes with a giant piece of fresh, warm bread.
Shrimp Kebab: Perfectly seasoned and charred just right. More than enough pieces of shrimp and the peppers, onions and tomatoes were grilled just right. This meal will certainly fill you up. I couldn't eat all of the rice.
My friend has the Kofte and she loved it - I didn't try but perhaps my next order I will. I know what my first meal will be when I get back to good ole NYC! -
Review from Marissa P.
New York, NYMy boyfriend and I were having a lazy night and not feeling like going out, so we searched for a Turkish place that would deliver to my hood. We found this spot. I should note that I grew up eating Turkish food (my mom's family is from Turkey) and my boyfriend is Turkish. We know our stuff.
We ordered red lentil soup, an adana kebab, beyti kebab, and baklava. The kebabs were just okay. We agreed it was strange, however, that both kebabs came with broccoli. Turks don't really eat broccoli. It did not mix well. And the rice tasted like Chinese rice. The lentil soup was decent. Baklava, however, was dry & apparently not baklava according to the bf it was some other Turkish pastry that he claims is crap. We weren't happy with our meal and it was expensive! -
Review from Shaun W.
Manhattan, NYSurprisingly good!-
Unlimited Brunch Menu
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Review from Brad M.
Woodside, NYAs I understand it this place is under new management so you can pretty much disregard any review pre-2012 and I'd guess the most recent reviews with complaints are likely a result of some previous expectation that no longer applies with the new mgmt. For some reason the new owners kept the old establishment's name.
Anyway, I had a gig at Sahara playing some live Turkish music so my experience isn't that of a 'normal' diner but I wanted to share a couple things: The staff was incredibly welcoming and inviting. We were asking them a bunch of questions about Turkish fod and culture and they were genuinely excited to share what they new. On top of that the food was excellent. We had a smattering of dishes from the menu and everything ranged from delicious to divine. Even the broccoli florets dressing our entrees tasted great.
I'm already looking forward to my next meal at Sahara and I haven't fully digested the last one. -
Review from Sheena V.
I came here again last week with a friend. Bottles of wine were 50% off. I would really like to give it 4.5 stars. The food was FANTASTIC.
We came in on a Tuesday night. The service was great, quiet ambiance, and it wasn't crowded at all. Basically, it was perfect for a relaxing weeknight evening.
We got a bottle of wine, the grape leaves, baba ganoush, and I tried the chicken saute. I am not a huge fan of mushrooms, but the dish was REALLY good! We had the creme brule type dessert (I wish I remembered the name!) which was also great.
I would definitely recommend coming here. I don't eat meat other than chicken, so I can't recommend the other dishes, but I have tried all the chicken dishes and have been happy with everything!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/3/2012
This place is across the street from where I live, so I have tried it a few times. I have dined-in… Read more »
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3/3/2012
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Review from Jules S.
One of my favorite neighborhood haunts. I usually order some variation of the following dishes -- saslu patlican (yummy eggplant in sauce), the shepard salad with feta, and the spinach pancakes. The bread is not be missed. I once saw Rudy Giuliani dining here.
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