There is more Turkish food in Manhattan than I realized
Ha ha.. really mixed reviews again
I wonder what happens that people have such varied reactions...
You will see what I mean
Taksim Square Restaurant
Categories:
Turkish,
Middle Eastern,
Mediterranean
1030 2nd Ave(between 55th St & 54th St)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 421-3004
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
Lexington Ave./53 St. (E, M)51 St. (4, 6, 6X)59 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
- Hours:
- Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
- $$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual, Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
75 reviews for Taksim Square Restaurant
Review Highlights What's this?
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"Zucchini pancakes are delicious - hot and crispy." In 5 reviews -
"Tons of flavor on melt in your mouth lamb." In 25 reviews -
"Taksim's cacik and stuffed cabbage leaves are also great starters." In 4 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
75 reviews in English
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Review from Tash R.
Manhattan, NYWhen I first walked in at 12.20pm on a Friday I thought I had chosen a place that wasn't that popular and scared me a little as I had clients joining me. However, after about 10 minutes, the restaurant was full - great sign I think.
Food was tasty specifically the lamb Adana - only issue was I wish I had ordered sides because it was only meat! -
Review from Krupa A.
Hyde Park, NYI was staying at the Waldorf Astoria for the night and wanted to find some middle eastern food so found this using the yelp app. The tzatziki and homemade bread were the real winners. The falafel was meh, and I wish they served it with a salad instead of fries.
There are better places on 9th ave for ethnic food in midtown. -
Review from Eppy C.
Portsmouth, NHOrdered for delivery as I read other reviews about the homemade bread. I asked for extra "Turkish bread" with my hummus and was given 4 in total at no extra charge. Unfortunately, as another reviewer complained, they delivered our Zucchini cakes without the promised yogurt sauce, leaving them virtually inedible. The hummus wasn't impressive. The only highlight was the Elephant Beans, which were decent but still needed a little something more to make them truly delicious.
Probably won't order again, even though the girl on the phone was nice. -
Review from Steve E.
Manhattan, NYPretty mediocre place in midtown. Came here right after rushing to the post office to drop off tax returns on tax day. It was pretty empty and tried a couple of different dishes (hummus and falafel) and wasn't very impressed.
The service was pretty slow also. We asked for bread and water and it took 20 minutes for it to come out. It appeared that the waitress was either very forgetful, or very slow. -
Review from Satish P.
Harrison, NJNice decent place. Seating was little congested thought. Had chicken adana. -
Review from Daniel C.
Midtown East, Manhattan, NYFood's pretty good. No ambiance.
My wife and I got the meze platter and the chicken kabobs. Both are solid. -
Review from Emily M.
Taksim, you're fired. The new management at Taksim changed the recipes. The last three times I've ordered the food has been consistently disgusting, so we are done ordering from there for good.
The iskander kebab is shaved lamb on top of cubed bread topped with canned tomato paste. NO seasoning, NO spice, NO flavor. Tonight, it was also cold in the middle. The moussaka took the cake tonight as the most offensive excuse for Turkish food I have ever seen. There was NO meat and NO tomatoes. Just plane brown smashed eggplant soaked in oil served alongside plane white rice. Absolutely no seasoning whatsoever. I happen to like smashed eggplant, and with a good deal of salt, it was edible, but it was NOT moussaka. As a loyal customer of Taksim for years, I had ordered these dishes many times before, but the last three times, I have received this dreck instead of their previously delicious dishes.
Taksim used to have freshly made Turkish food. They even used to display their daily creations in the restaurant in butcher's case. They removed that butcher's case, probably around the time they stopped making fresh food because they no longer had anything to display.
Taksim has proven that they are down for the count unless they can go back to their original recipes. Until then, they are dead to us. All hail Sip Sak.Listed in: A quarter century in Midtown1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/26/2010
If you like Turkish food as much as I do, you should really try this place. It is a more casual… Read more »
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3/26/2010
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Review from Khamieh A.
Brooklyn, NYI've been a fan of Taksim's for a while, sometimes making the trek from Staten Island just to go to the restaurant. I saw all these rough reviews and to make sure nothing had happened to my Turkish haven, I recently went in for dinner.
Luckily, there was no cause for concern. The food remains consistently good, the service staff reasonably attentive (come on, this isn't the 4 Seasons). Taksim has the best ezme anywhere in the city, you take that with some hummus and their delicious grape leaves... Excellent! Add some tabouli and you have a real healthy, really Turkish meal for yourself. And since you've been so good, indulge in their desserts -- each better than the next. With a cup of tea. Mmmmmmmm!! -
Review from Stephen C.
New York, NYBest thing about this meal for two, "it cost less than a hundred bucks." And why is that a good thing, "the food was really good and the Turkish wine we chose even better. Staff was friendly and I even ordered dessert (which I almost never order dessert). Nice spot to walk into when walking home at the end of the day. -
Review from Katie K.
Brooklyn, NYI was just here again the other day, and I was reminded how damn impressed I am with Egzi, the complete and utter GEM of a waitress who remembered me after she had only served me once, SEVERAL weeks prior, remembered that I had ordered tea that first time she served me, and that I couldn't have wheat. She goes out of her way every time I come in to make sure the other staff knows that I am gluten intolerant, and I never have to say one single thing about it. It's so lovely to feel taken care of like that! I have a feeling that I'm not the only one who is treated so well, as there are many regular customers here.
I also have to add a PS to other gluten-intolerant peeps out there: Egzi took the initiative on her own to find out that the puddings have a little bit of wheat in them to thicken them, so those are now on my no-no list. Too bad :-(
Still, I wanted to raise the stars from my review below to all five...this is one of my favorite places to go in the neighborhood because the food is consistently good, and the service rocks.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/5/2012
A nice, less expensive option in midtown to get a healthy meal, with a relaxing atmosphere, classy… Read more »
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2/5/2012
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Review from Monica C.
New York, NYAvoid!!!
The service is extremely bad, and the food is not tasty.
The lamb is over cook and there's no HOT SAUCE!!!???
I've had much better Turkish food in other place! -
Review from Be L.
Santa Monica, CAWonderful!
beautiful honest, wholesome good food. Lamb kebob dinner was superb and well priced. PERFECT in every way.
Lovely atmosphere and warmhearted staff.
Best meal Ive had in the neighborhood,over a two yr period. Im a single woman and I always appreciate being treated well when dining alone.
I left feeling very happy.
A real gem! -
Review from Paul B.
Long Island, NYMy wife and I have eaten at Taksim many times, however, following what happened this weekend, we will not be returning...
Plain and simple, I ordered the chicken adana sandwich (for $11), to go. On the menu, the sandwich comes with fries. The waitress then tells us after ordering, that when you get it to go, it does not come with anything. The price should be less, right? WRONG! They still charge the same $11 for eat-in or delivery, except that when you get it to go, they don't include anything but your overpriced $11 sandwich.
Does this make sense to anyone out there??? -
Review from Vanessa V.
Portsmouth, NHThere is better Turkish food in the area... pretty much everything we ordered was meh. The falafel was wrapped in a tortilla (weird) but otherwise probably the highlight. The zucchini pancakes were soggy and didn't come with promised cacik which left them bland and one-note. The hummus was ok but the focaccia-like bread was too dense. Delivery took almost an hour which explains why everything was lukewarm and soggy.
Won't be ordering again. Back to Sip Sak... -
Review from Eric G.
When I studied abroad in Florence, one of the only after-hours foods we could get were Doner kebabs. I think it's safe to say I became pretty addicted. Ever since I came back to the states, I've been on the hunt for these damn things and it's almost impossible to find. I must say though, Taksim's Doner sandwich was the closest thing to what I ate in Italy. I wouldn't say it was as good, but it definitely wasn't disappointing. I really enjoyed it.
I'd definitely like to venture away from the Doner sandwich and try some other things on Taksim's menu, as it all sounds really good and I'd like to try more Turkish food. I definitely wanna go back and dine-in as opposed to getting takeout next time. -
Review from Jen B.
Brooklyn, NYIn defense of their falafel - it is different, but it is good especially for midtown east where I can't find a falafel for lunch. The sauce is not sour cream it's yogurt. It comes with hummus which is nice and that strange wrap style is easier to eat at work. As for it's authenticity maybe I'll update this review after I make it to Istanbul.
The rest of the food looks awesome too, just never had the time to stay for a full meal. -
Review from Stefanie D.
New York, NYI can't say enough good things about Taksim as a great work lunch spot. I haven't tried everything, but I've tried enough to say this place is solid. They've redesigned the layout to allow for more tables, so there is never a wait for a table anymore. With the redesign came a few changes. They lost the best hostess ever and replaced her with a few spacey waitresses, but they're moderately attentive and get the job done.
I usually order the greek salad with grilled chicken, which costs upwards of $12. It's a delicious filling salad (I get the small size) I also love the chicken kebab platter (grilled chicken kebabs, yummy roasted potatoes, great rice and a delicious seasoned mesclun salad comes with). Falafel is above average here. Fantastic hummus. Great borek. Yayla soup is good, and lentil soup is great.
The prices have climbed a little recently, and they're getting spotty with their complimentary turkish delight at the end of the meal, but it's just a great place. The one creepy waiter can't really keep me away.
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