4. Restaurants

Cafe Turko

754 N 34th St, Seattle, WA, 98103
  • (206) 284-9954
  • Store is closed

Cafe Turko Menu

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  • Elaine S.

    We here over the weekend with some friends. My husband is turkish and we both have been interested in checking this place out. My husband had a pide (turkish pizza). We've had this several times before at various locations, but this is the first time that it was made with stew meat... usually it comes with ground lamb. Not the best but it wasn't bad if you have never had it before. He also ordered an ayran which is a sour/salty yogurt drink. Apparantly it tasted just like tziki sauce, which is not what it is supposed to taste like. As for me I had a doner salad. It was okay, nothing amazing. Their hummuses were pretty good. My favorite were the beet, traditional, and spinach (green one). I would pass on the sweet potato one if you were thinking about it. Not that great. I don't think we would come back here mainly because it is not the type of turkish food we are used to. But for people who never had it before, it might not be a bad place!

    (3)

  • Gina P.

    I give cafe Turko 4 stars because of their food being excellent, and their service being poor. This place is good,and I mean really good...so I'd definitely go back just for the yummy variety of tender lamb and the hummus sampler plate. That being said I'd do so by setting aside a few extra hours in the day as to not get stressed by the slower service. We came right before the lunch rush at about 11:30, which seemed like a smart move as well. Try the three dessert combo, you choose which ones you'd like. The orange cake the Birds Nest were my favorites! Enjoy!

    (4)

  • Ashley D.

    When we arrived we were seated immediately and although they were busy, the service was really friendly and attentive! The food was absolutely fantastic. I don't exactly remember which item I ordered, but my friend got the Beyti Kabob and it was stunningly delicious. The decor is warm, the people are so pleasant, the food is amazing. You have to try this.

    (5)

  • Jane C.

    YES! This place is sooo good! It's a cute little place located in Fremont. It is a shop/restaurant that is probably family-owned/operated. We were greeted when we walked into the place and no signs to tell you "please wait to be seated." We just stood there for a little until someone finally asked my fiance how many in our party. They didn't give us prompt seating as they wanted to save the bigger tables for other patrons that may come in later. So we just stood there while the server cleaned our table.. The service wasn't all the great, but they are definitely understaffed, so it didn't bother me too much. We ordered the grilled chicken & pide (almost like the chicken flatbread), the spinach hummus, and a doner kababi (?). When the spinach hummus got to our table I was super excited! Finally a place that doesn't gyp you of pita bread! The amounts were perfect! This was soo good we almost ordered another one! The Chicken Pide was good, but I preferred the doner as it was tastier and with more sauce. The chicken pide was cooked-well, but it must be consumed quickly in order to avoid the hardening of the cheeses. The prices were fair and average for what they had offered and the amount was great and on par with what to expect for the prices offered. Personally, I would definitely come back just for the hummus alone! Everything was fresh and in-house made! YUM!!! Happy Eating!

    (4)

  • David A.

    We stopped in here the last day of our Seattle trip and were completely wow'd! This is in a cute restaurant/rug hybrid shop, and the decor is eccentric (i.e. pots and pans of all sizes hanging from the wall.) The food was great (and gorgeous!) We got the hummus place, which was definitely the highlight. They were beets, sweet potato, spinach, and a traditional garlicky hummus. You could taste the featured ingredient in each one. For our main dishes, we got the Ali Nazik with Lamb and the Cappadocia Chicken Köftes. The Ali Nazik was very tender lamb with eggplant and a yogurt sauce, and the Chicken Köftes were ground chicken, vegetables, and spices formed into small patties and grilled. Very innovative! We also got Turkish coffee and Turkish tea (with cardamom). The food and hospitality here can't be beat. I recommend this place to anyone!

    (5)

  • Jesse C.

    Charming restaurant and Turkish goods store with a large selection of Whole Food Plant Based diet friendly menu options. Today I had the Lady Fingers Delight which consisted of okra and bell peppers (mostly okra) simmered in a spiced tomato sauce served with rice pilaf, salad, and garlic mint yogurt. The okra and sauce were delicately seasoned and delicious. A bit pricey for a lunch but okra is expensive up here in the north so I guess I understand. I finished my meal with two small pieces of some of the best Baklava I have ever had which was a perfect counterpoint to the bracingly strong Turkish coffee. I imagine one of the Donner sandwiches might have made a more filling lunch and I intend to go back to find out.

    (4)

  • Tess H.

    We shared the rainbow hummus plate and an order of Ali Nazik on Fire. All was delicious. The staff were friendly and efficient. Did not have to wait very long for food. Great neighborhood. Great food! Will be back!

    (5)

  • Sana A.

    best Turkish food in Seattle....and the little corner in the back is so adorable

    (5)

  • Ishan K.

    Istanbul in Seattle! Outstanding Turkish food and amazing service. 'Ali Nazik On Fire' the vegetarian variant of Ali Nazik is super delicious. Rainbow Hummus is also a must have.

    (5)

  • Karen L.

    AMAZING FOOD but one star off because of SLOW SERVICE My friends and I went there one Friday night (reservation made of course). We were there 30 minutes early but they gave us a table immediately. The owner (not sure but looked like one) was very enthusiastic and made sure everything was okay. But the younger employees were very slow with general service. It took a while for them to take our order, bring out food, and return our credit cards with a bill. It's fun to hang out there because the restaurant is decorated with colorful Turkish art but just sitting there waiting wasn't that fun. But really, the food is so good, I'm only taking one star off instead of two or three.

    (4)

  • Rob B.

    Great neighborhood restaurant. Friendly service, good prices and food, excellent flavors.

    (5)

  • Sarah C.

    Free turkish coffee with my check-in. I dig it. Love the atmosphere - market feel. With trinkets and etc. (it used to be a rug shop prior to becoming a cafe). The service however, horrible. It took forever to flag down our waiter and order, getting our food took a while and then also getting our check took forever. I was thinking we could dine and dash and they wouldn't know. (not that I ever would, but just saying). granted, it was busy on a friday evening - but they definitely need more help in the customer service category. The food was OK. Maybe due to what we ordered. I should have done more re-con work on what to get off of the menu. We had regular hummus for an appetizer - I wish we tried the spinach or beet hummus instead. The waiter made 2 suggestions and we ordered it. The Ali Nazak - the chicken could have been marinated better and the rice was a bit hard & also the Beyti Kebab. I was expecting a kebab - but it was actually like a quesadilla. My hubby thought it was good though. I may be back for lunch to try out the gyros.

    (3)

  • Julie P.

    I've been meaning to go here for a long time now and finally took my vegetarian eating husband here. His reply was "why haven't you taken me here yet?!!". Needless to say, we ordered way too much delicious food and were so amply stuffed with plenty of leftovers to enjoy later. I don't think you can order anything bad here because the food is that good and it seems to always be packed of other diners.

    (5)

  • D W.

    We ate dinner here for the first time last night. The food was really good. The bird's nest dessert was awesome. Baklava was not the best I've had. We will definitely go back.

    (5)

  • Steve L.

    After returning from Turkey a couple months ago my wife and I have been yearning for authentic Turkish cuisine - Cafe Turko fits the bill perfectly! We went along with one of our sons for an early dinner, ordered 3 different items and all were outstanding. Extremely friendly service, and typically wonderful Turkish hospitality. I had the Ali Nazik, my wife had the Beyti Kebab with Lamb, and son had the Köfte Kebab - all delicious! We also had the Rainbow Hummus Plate and finished off with Turkish Coffee and Chai (of course!) and Baklava. The Owners and servers alike were so welcoming - we are longing for our next trip back to Turkey!

    (5)

  • Sonia C.

    Check in on Yelp for a free Turkish coffee or tea! I thought that the food was quite good, but the entrees were a bit on the oily side. The yam hummus was good - smooth like baby food - and the warm soft pita on the side was excellent. My husband had the meat plate with all types of things on there. He found the beef meatballs the best out of all of them. I had the grilled chicken entree, which would have been better had it not been swimming in oil. Once drained, the chicken was very moist. Service was mildly haphazard - there was only one waitress serving the entire restaurant so it was hard to get her attention. I might come here again, but it's not at the top of my list.

    (3)

  • Solmaz S.

    I debated writing this review because I want little mom and pop shops to succeed, especially those from the part of the world from which I hail, and because (good) Mediterranean food is difficult to find in Seattle. But this place leaves much to be desired, so here it goes. First, my soap box: Turkish food is amazingly delicious and wholesome. The flavors come together in a magical way that invigorate the palate and satiate the soul. So I was very excited when the owner of this Turkish imports store converted his charming shop to a restaurant in my neighborhood. The good: the flavors of the items we ordered were, in general, pleasing. For the Turkish-naive palate, I'd say the food is probably considered good. We finished our lunch with baklava and tea, which were decent. I saw many people of varying ethnicities come into the restaurant, which in my book, is always very exciting, and often a testament to something working for people who know this kind of food. The place was full for a Sunday afternoon, so something is clearly working for its patrons as evidenced by the other good reviews. The not-so-good: with the caveat that I've been there only once, my overall experience was negative. The food did not taste as I know it from childhood, from traveling in Turkey, or from the handful of good Turkish restaurants that I've patriated in the US and elsewhere. The chicken kofte (ground chicken patties) were small and as dry as cardboard. The chicken pieces on top of my Ali Nazik were tiny and dry and looked like scraps of leftover chicken. (The rice and yogurt accompanying the dish were good.) The food is way overpriced, especially when considering its quality. As for the service, I could write a lot, but instead I will say that the service is really bad. My impression of the place is that the family cooks well, but that does not make them efficient or effective restaurant operators. They don't seem to know how to provide the service, seem unorganized and haphazard in their approach. We waited for a long time for our food and for everything else after that, and our waiter simply disappeared for a good amount of time. We asked for our bill about four times from two different people. And I saw some dubious hygienic behaviors. Did I mention that we had a constant drip of condensation from the pipes in the ceiling? Oddly, despite looking up for the source of the leak and physically moving our table multiple times, no one said or did anything about it. Regretfully, I will not return to the restaurant. That makes me sad because I really love Turkish food.

    (2)

  • Sara B.

    I ate here with two other people during the lunch rush and while I'm writing this mainly because the food was so impressive, I have to begin by saying that the people who have complained about the service here are full of it. Even though there was a line out the door, we were seated promptly, our food arrived quickly and everything I tried was absolutely delicious. I personally tried the hummus, fava beans and pickles. I also tried the chicken kofte, which came with little cups of yogurt sauce and a tomato sauce, and lamb ali nazik. I don't usually order lamb, but people, this lamb was juicy and so tender you could cut it with a fork. It was worth the guilt. I plan to return often.

    (5)

  • Andrew P.

    Delicious and authentic Turkish food - we came in with friends and ordered/sampled a lot of food and it all was amazing! The decor and atmosphere is excellent too and feels really like a small corner of Turkey. For the dessert we gad Turkish coffee and baklava (which was the best I ever tried).

    (5)

  • Anthony B.

    I saw this place while stumbling out of Blue Moon Burgers filled with that semi-sweet regret that only happens to a person after eating a whole burger, tots, and half a milkshake. And I promised to try this place and see if I could avoid a future night of bloat and regret. Yes the service is slow. The waitresses move about at their own pace and become far less attentive after your food is served. It took a good 10 minutes to complete our check out process. The restaurant is filled with very amusing and beautiful Turkish goods. And half of the building serves as a grocery/goods store. It feels very homey and authentic. That being said this place is bright, as someone who complains about bars where I can't read the menu this place is the opposite end of the spectrum! Eerie bright, like radioactive levels of light. I chose this restaurant because on this particular night I was craving some middle eastern flavors. And this did not disappoint. We started our meal off with pomegranate tea. Judging by their selection it could have just been Stash tea. But i really couldn't tell, and I really didn't care. I had the Süleyman the Magnificent and yeah no lie. It's pretty magnificent. Every meat I had was delicious, even the chicken!! But the winners were the meatball/kebab dishes. So much flavor and so tender. The salad was deliciously dressed and their mint yogurt sauce was delicious. They also have powdered spices on the side which I added in copious amounts. The only thing keeping this place from 5 star nirvana was the service and the lumens.

    (4)

  • Just S.

    Had dinner there with my honey last night. I ordered the mixed plate with 4 types of meats or Süleyman the Magnificent. Out of the 4 or 5 that was there I really loved the grilled lamb and grilled chicken. I thought the chicken meatball, köfte, and lamb and mint meatball, doner, were a bit dry but pretty decent tasting. I only had half of each. I also got the gyro meat type thing with tomato sauce on my plate. That was tasty too. I love the side salad they served on the plate. it was very flavorful! And the rice was very moist and the addition of the chick peas made it special! The yogurt sauce was to die for. I dipped the grilled lamb in it and omg I was moaning! My bf got the grilled chicken plate which he loved. I think I might order the same plate with grilled lamb instead of chicken the next time. We both had the Turkish lemonade with sour cherry and mint. It was very good! Freshly squeeze too! Tips: when you walk in make eye contact with someone and seat yourself but make sure they see where you're sitting. We waited at the door to be greeted or seated but the servers just stare at us and continue doing what they were doing until I actually put up my hand and asked to be seated after 10 minutes of awkwardly standing there. Saw other people did the same thing, one couple was standing there and then finally seated themselves but never got service until they actually walked up to the counter to get their own menu and told the server that they were seated there for the last 15 mins. Don't get me wrong they were really friendly and the food come out quickly. But they should be more observant or their customers. We flagged down 3 servers trying to get our bill. It took about 15 minutes after the first one until we finally got our bill. Our server seem to have forgotten and the two other ones didn't care because it wasn't their section. But aside from that mishap and the fact that the food was sooo good we would go back again just for that. But maybe now will have lower expectations of the service and just plan ahead to be there longer and maybe we can go pay at the till. Would've given it 5 stars otherwise.

    (4)

  • Diane S.

    I really wanted to love this place, and I did the first time we visited. I was excited to go a second time and try some other menu items. It was a Saturday night and their website says if it is less than 3 hours before you want a reservation you need to call directly, OK so it was just about 3 hours so just to be safe we called and made an 8:30 pm reservation, they said OK, no problem. We get there and it is completely full and no one looks as if they are even close to leaving, so they apologized and said it got busier than they expected because they forgot to look at their online reservations.....why have Open Table on your website if you don't check it? We had already paid for parking so we said him would we come back in 30 minutes, he said fine he would hold a table for us. So off we go, in the rain to have a glass of wine at one of Fremont's watering holes. After 30 minutes we head back and just as we get there two men walked in right before us and were given the last table...without a reservation. Needless to say we walked out and went somewhere else. As you can imagine this left a bad taste in our mouth (no pun intended) and I'm not sure when I'll feel like trying it again. Just be aware of the fact that they DO NOT honor reservations, so don't even bother making them.

    (2)

  • Winnie K.

    A cool place that made me feel like I've traveled to Turkey. The food was delicious and the menu was thoughtful. Must try the Turkish coffee.

    (5)

  • Pradeep R.

    Food is mediocre to good quality. Definitely not mind blowing. The ambience is what we liked better. They have a lot of Turkish cultural stuff hanging around, and some ornaments on display (for purchase?). Wait times can be long so be sure to get a reservation. Parking is not that easy to find but you might get lucky. Service is pretty good, and they will tell you if you ordered a dish that will take longer.

    (3)

  • Paris F.

    Not the quickest service but I have to say the food was delicious. Turkish coffee was just like the one I had in Istanbul. I just wish there was someone who can read my fortune from the coffee grind..

    (4)

  • B G.

    Delicious food, however the service could be on the slower side. We asked for more pita bread about 3 times before it finally showed up.

    (4)

  • Gayla H.

    We found this place on yelp and other Yelpers did not steer us wrong. We started with the hummus, which was tastier than any other hummus I have ever had. Perfect texture and flavor. I had the Gypsy Yahni and it blew me away...zesty tomato sauce with flavorful vegetables and a cool mint yogurt sauce to cool it down. It was delightful and impressive! My bf got the Beyti kebab with lamb. I've never had lamb that fell apart like a perfectly cooked brisket before. Wonderful! TLDR: Yahni and Beyti were amaze-balls. EAT HERE!

    (5)

  • Matt J.

    Delicious. Worth trying. I highly recommend getting the appetizer where you choose 5 different appetizers. Eggplant dishes are really nice. It is a little spendier than say a grimy udistrict indian restaurant, but totally justified for the food, cleanliness service, and ambience. Couple complaints: Kinda stingy with the bread, considering I just shelled $16 for an appetizer plate seems like I should get enough pita to at least make it half way through. I think you have to pay for extra bread. Food came out a little cold. They waited to bring everything out at once, I sat and watched as my dish chilled solo on the counter for 5-8 minutes.

    (4)

  • Andrew B.

    This place is heaven on earth. I will be back soon! Wow what a gem. Found this place by chance and I'm glad we did. Everything was delicious..I didn't love the mamoul but who cares, I can't compare something to my grandmas cooking and expect it to live up.. We had the muhamara. Get it. I could eat that everyday. Followed it with a couple sandwiches /pita wraps. If you're thinking of checking this place out, do it. It's delicious authentic and the staff and/or owners were very sweet. We really enjoyed ourselves. I want to go back right now! Yum!

    (5)

  • Vishwa D.

    Great food. Slow service. Honest staff, but very very very small portions for high price. Food is authentic and quality is good. Plain hummus is the best one. Lots of veg.options. two stars deducted for unreasonable price and tiny portions

    (3)

  • Khaled A.

    Awesome food with great prices Also the desert is pretty amazing Found by luck but will definitely come again Awesome turkish atmosphere and music Owned and run by turkish family so it is for REAL Dont miss it !

    (5)

  • Chelsea S.

    I love Middleeastern food and haven't had a whole lot of Turkish food. I came in on Friday night with a voucher to sample some of their food. When I first walked in I was a little surprised with the vibrant decor, the tables were packed, and they sell a lot of cooking goods and apparel in the restaurant. I got used to it after a while though. I was seated fairly quickly and the service was so-so most of the night. Being my first time here I wanted to try a lot of their dishes so I went with the large mezze platter. It was smaller than I would have thought for $16 but it was still very delicious. I selected the roasted vegetable salad, the beet hummus, the moussaka, the roasted eggplant with yogurt and tahini sauce, and they graciously let me get some lamb kabob for my fifth tasting option. That was really nice of them. It also came with a basket of their fresh pita bread and they have a tray of spices on each table. The moussaka was by far my favorite. It was so good, sweet and savory and not too oily. The lamb was good (although luke warm) especially when paired with the roasted eggplant dip. The roasted vegetable salad was actually probably my least favorite but still good. And the beet hummus was amazing as was the fresh pita bread served with it. The best pita bread I have had in Seattle so far. I'd come back although I think their prices are a little high. Their pita sandwiches and other salads looked plentiful for their price though. And their hummus was very good!

    (4)

  • George I.

    Very authentic, food was super delic. The owner is friendly - chatted with us, and recommended the combo meat platter. Was great. We used the Yelp coupon and saved some. One of my favorite restaurants in Seattle.

    (5)

  • Suz S.

    Wow wow wow. The yogurt sauce and the lamb and the spices. The brussel spouts were slight overcooked in my dish but otherwise it was a super delicious meal.

    (4)

  • Connie F.

    This may be my very favorite restaurant in Seattle. With one caveat, do NOT come here if you are in a hurry. This is a very laid back, slow paced place to grab some amazingly delicious food. You can't order the wrong thing, everything on the menu is super fresh, colorful, and super tasty!

    (5)

  • Heather H.

    The yam hummus and authentic in-house made sauces captured this girl's veggie heart. Being such a tucked away little shop in Fremont only made the place all the more alluring. Along with snazzy Moroccan lamps and rich carpets made more of a fun escape than cramming oneself into the Starbucks across the way. The owners are quirky and friendly as ever, very much a Turkish mom n' pop store.

    (4)

  • Raza H.

    Came across this place walking back from Gas Works Park and it was the best Turkish food I have ever had. The chicken pide was delicious and perfectly seasoned. They close early though, so just make sure to check the hours before you go!

    (5)

  • Kelly J.

    I Absolutely adore this place. It's a shop/market/cafe all in one. It brings you to an exotic land far far away (sort of).....the ambiance is vibrant and chatty. Super friendly staff so don't be afraid to ask questions. Have yet to try the many items on the menu, so expect me to come back.

    (5)

  • Derya S.

    What a gem, I seldom give 5* but this place deserves it! hands down! Having Turkish roots, I was excited to find this restaurant. I took a 30 minute detour just to have lunch at Cafe Turko. The place was packed, walking in, it reminded me going to a local restaurant back home. I loved the little extras to purchase. The food was outstanding, I had Mantí a local Turkish noodle dish, and soup. I had also Baklava and more too go :) I was excited to find Gazos, Suçuk and more on the menu! Now one thing what I noticed, a table next to me where complaining how long it took, well if you pay attention you see the girls do make everything from scratch. If you like a 2Minute meal, maybe stop by McDonalds. Good food takes time, this coming from a trained chef. And if you ever made Mantí at home, you will see how long it takes ;) Afiyet Olsun !

    (5)

  • Kent M.

    Super friendly owner guides you through some delicious Turkish dishes (not to mention Turkish history and culture). It was a really fulfilling meal. Oh, and the restaurant is in the middle of a store, so that's awesome, too! Feel free to browse the goods while you wait for your meal to be prepared. If you're feeling brave, you can get the Turkish coffee. It comes in armor. Yeah, it's that strong.

    (5)

  • Madeleine M.

    This might just be the best food I have ever eaten in my life. Everything is so good! I'm drooling just thinking about it. However, I had to give them 3 stars due to the WORST service I have ever witnessed! The waitresses appear to never have been trained in the customer service department. I swear I will never eat there again, but I will definitely order out;) ----------------Second Message-------------- Gencer, thank you for the taking the time to reply to my review. I think you are awesome! You are so nice to us every time we come in. You are thinking of the wrong person though. I have only been in for dinner with my friends a couple times, and the food is always marvelous. This message is not to sound rude at all. We received very bad service each time from the young female waitresses. They never came back to our table after they gave us our dinner. We never got a water refill, and I even had to get up to ask for the check multiple times. They did not help us at all. I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings. I just think the girls could use a lesson in good customer service.

    (3)

  • Shantel B.

    Pretty delicious food here. I very much enjoyed the kebab. Wish there was more food though.

    (4)

  • Andy M.

    Great food and atmosphere. My Turkish fiancee approves

    (4)

  • Adam A.

    Was in Turkey for a few months and went on foodie tours and binges. Turkish food is my favorite cuisine right now and I feel extra snobby about it. With that context I've been loving Cafe Turko! Breakfast dishes, the manti, the bird's nest dessert. I'll stay loyal!

    (5)

  • Lauren S.

    Wow, what a find! This place is part shop, part restaurant, and given the way they were interacting with each other it seems to be family run. We got the basic hummus appetizer. OMG! They put either balsamic or some other kind of rich dark vinegar or syrup on their hummus that is just incredible. The bread served with it was hot out of the oven and pillow soft. The rest of what we had was good, but honestly, the hummus was so good the rest kind of suffered by comparison. I think next time we will split the Rainbow Hummus dish and maybe one other thing instead. The Turkish coffee was also excellent, in the traditional small cups. Don't forget not to drink the last sip (it's all sediment)!

    (5)

  • Erik K.

    I've eaten here twice and the food was great both times! Then, last month they catered my Rehearsal Dinner. My wife and I were extremely happy with the food and quality of service (there was a mix-up regarding time that we would be arriving but they quickly adjusted and it worked out well). Approx 30 guests and we heard nothing but praise for the food being served. During our honeymoon, we went to Turkey and the food in Fethiye and Istanbul that we ate wasn't as good as Cafe Turko's! Highly recommend.

    (5)

  • L R.

    FABULOUS! I've traveled all over and some of my best meals have been in Turkey. I was thrilled to find Cafe Turko and share some of my favorite dishes with my daughters. My kids have a lot of allergies and the staff were very careful. This place is also very vegetarian friendly. They have a lot of refreshing and interesting beverages (I loved the iced cardamon green tree. my kids loved the sour cherry lemonade) as well as authentic Turkish dishes. The owner also brought out a few samples of things for my kids to try. That was an extra bonus. There is also a fantastic small gift shop filled with remarkably well priced Turkish finds. My daughters each found gorgeous sterling rings that were shockingly well priced. They also sold beautiful spice containers, ornate trays, small rugs, silk skirts, scarves, carved metal espresso cups, intricately carved jewelry, etc. These are the exact treasures that I hunted for at the Grand Bazar in Istanbul. And here they were being sold in Fremont for pretty much the same price as I might have paid for them had I found them in Istanbul. We were delighted that the owner sat down and joined us for part of our meal. We had a wonderful conversation and by the end of lunch, my daughters made me promise that we would return the following day (our last day in town) for our final meal of our vacation. As we left the cafe and wandered through Fremont, my daughters started telling me that we have to plan a trip to Turkey. Suffice to say that a meal at Cafe Turko is not only delicious, it also has the potential to be a fulfilling experience.

    (5)

  • Chris B.

    They have hired some new help that is just awesome. Service and food is now stellar!!

    (5)

  • Angela H.

    Just dropped in for some coffee and fell in love with the atmosphere! Coffee was excellent and the service was prompt and helpful, didn't get food on this visit but it looked delicious and I would love to return and check it out!

    (4)

  • Leah L.

    Just for the record -- they DO allow dogs :) I brought mine for dinner tonight (11/15/14). They are very friendly and the food is absolutely delicious. Can't wait to come back!

    (5)

  • Timothy K.

    Seattle has a new "best" Turkish restaurant. Sureyya (the owner) is not only a good cook and teaching classes on cooking, but she also has a nice personality. I ate sucuklu pide and ali nazik (you can see the pictures I posted) and both were delicious. They also put some spices in ayran to improve the taste. I will definitely go there again and recommend to all my friends. You may expect this review to expand in the future.

    (5)

  • H M.

    Very nice staff, delicious food. I do want to acknowledge the staff, when I mentioned a food allergy, they went above and beyond making sure that everything I ordered would be safe. The ambiance here is welcoming, and family friendly. I really enjoyed all aspects of the visit.

    (5)

  • Nermeen W.

    Great food and ambiance, and super friendly staff. I had a hard time deciding on what to eat because there were so many options to choose from. I ended up with the bamya. Definitely recommend it.

    (5)

  • Valerie N.

    Last night was my first time in Cafe Turko. The evening went from, "oh no, what have we done?" to, "oh my god this was worth it!" It was super busy. The waitress asked how many and I said 2 and she said it'll be a wait, enjoy the menu though! She then quickly ran off to help her tables, no big deal. A group of 4 showed up and apparently knew the owners, they proceeded to stand in front of me and basically nudge me out the door. Rude. A table for 4 opened up so they got seated first too. Double punch. I waited for maybe 20 minutes? Finally husband shows up, we get seated, and order: Rainbow hummus My husband got something with chicken I ordered the lamb with apricot and almonds I took a dare, I usually don't like apricots, this was amazing! I didn't even try to use the spices they set out for you, I didn't want to mess up what the dish already had going on! So worth the wait and slight frustration. It was also cool to check out the trinkets they have on the shelves and rugs hanging up.

    (5)

  • Jason K.

    I travel to Turkey for work quite often and while I don't expect this place to be like the places I visit in Turkey, I'm bewildered at how this place gets 4.5 stars. During my first visit, I ordered the meat sampler and all the meats tasted pre-cooked and like they had been sitting out for some time. I noticed was that there were no grills or skillets, i think everything is cooked or heated up in a small oven. That's a litlte strange to me since thats not typically how kebabs are heated up. I tried it for a second time, this time bringing a few Turkish guests visiting for work. I was hesistant to take them here but there are not too many Halal options in Seattle and they wanted to try Turkish food in Seattle. Needless to say they were not impressed either and were bewildered at how the Ayran drink could taste so different/wrong. Overall, the service was friendly, but I don't think anyone should mistake this place for authentic Turkish food.

    (2)

  • P B.

    My sister and I eat low carb and we were trying to find some place to eat in Ballard or Fremont when I came across Turko on Yelp. This place is really, really good. We ordered a salad and added chicken to it and it was still only $11, which is cheap to me. It was an added bonus that they took reservations. We were meeting at 12:00pm on Sunday and knew that most restaurants that served breakfast would be full (I understand that they also serve fabulous breakfasts). I made a reservation for noon but they had a lot of open tables anyway....but I felt much less anxious about having to sit around and wait once I had secured a table (I'm anal like that). :). FYI-when we left at 1:30pm there was a wait.

    (4)

  • Shirley B.

    Be sure to order twice because the first time they will forget your order and don't expect an apology. What kind of business are they running?

    (1)

  • Jessica B.

    I have fallen in love. Turkish breakfast is my new lifesblood and I come here every weekend and whenever I can on the weekdays. The owners are the NICEST!! But I'll get to that later, let me tell you about the breakfast that I love so much: 1. You walk in and just sit down, don't wait to be seated. Make eye contact and just say "Turkish breakfast please!". 2. Wait maybe 5 minutes and you'll have your plate of wonder in front of you, plus bottomless Turkish tea. 3. When you ask for a Turkish coffee, you'll learn that in turkey that's served AFTER breakfast. You might have to remind them that you want that, but it's worth the wait! 4. Just get up and wait to pay at the cash register when you're done. They'd never make you feel rushed by bringing you the bill. The breakfast changes slightly every time I go there and I'm always excited to see what new and interesting things will come on my plate: - 3 types of Turkish cheese - bottomless slices of bread from the essential baking company (I use this to make open face sandwiches of whatever else is on my plate -dried apricot - olives - did I mention the 3 cheese?? Because they're soooo goooooood. - homemade jam - hard-boiled egg - sometimes Turkish beef - tomatoes - zata (spelling??) The very friendly owner speaks fluent English and Turkish. At some points she has a conversation with everyone in the place at once! Not in a disturbing way, but you want to join the conversation and she lets you! Her sons are sweet and quiet young men from what I saw of one of them. The Turkish coffee is good. It tastes from the earth in a good, natural way. I liked it so much I bought the coffee (with cardamon) and a pot, etc to make it with. I asked her husband how to make it at home and he told me the following charming story: "Well, you put the coffee and milk in and heat it on the stove at medium heat so that when it starts to boil you can take it off and put it back on, then you pour pour it veeeerrrrry slowly into the cup to get the foam and then the rest really fast! Only at one time in a Turkish woman's life is it important to make good Turkish coffee. When I was being introduced to her family for their approval before our wedding (and all the elders on my side and her side were there) the bride to be is supposed to make coffee for everyone and if my elders didn't like her coffee, then we would not be wed. So it's a big event! Well, we chatted for about an hour, and then the time came for her to make everyone coffee. She was so nervous. And I was young so when the coffee came out I didn't know I was supposed to wait for the oldest to drink first and I had a sip of the coffee! It. Was. Terrible. She got so nervous she added salt instead of sugar! All I could do was wish to god that the house would be hit by a plane so no one else would get a chance to drink this awful awful coffee! Well, the elders starting drinking it and were "Oh, nice coffee... good coffee". And I think to myself "What?!" and look at her and she gives me this smile" They are a cute couple and it's an amazing restaurant.

    (5)

  • Melissa C.

    Been to this place a couple of times and had their catered food as well. The food never disappoints! And best hummus EVER!!! I personally love the beets hummus the most but you can't go wrong with ordering the Rainbow Hummus plate. I also really like one of their chicken dish which I forgot the name; it has some curried like sauce and it's amazing! I wish they can hire a couple more staff during weekends and lunch since the wait for table and for the food can be quite long... Definitely will come back :)

    (4)

  • Jillian D.

    Ordered from here for a work event and received rave reviews from the group. They went back for seconds and thirds! Thanks for making us look good and thanks to previous reviewers for the guidance.

    (5)

  • Deepak B.

    Superb food. Service can be slow sometimes. Almost the best Turkish food I have ever had.

    (4)

  • Benoit G.

    Went there on a Saturday night. We did not wait for long, the staff is very accomodating and the owner very nice and chatty. Delicious food served in a great atmosphere. It all feels very homey. Couldn't ask for more. Will go back for sure!!!

    (5)

  • Janice T.

    I truly savored the flavor of every dish I have tried at Cafe Turko. The family who own the restaurant will treat you like long lost friends or family if they have met you before. I recommend dishes that have variety like the humus plate; whether beet or yam humus you will be pleased! Appetizers are an excellent choice to start your meal with. A must Fremont dining experience, be careful where you park though as the parking police are very conscientious in this area

    (5)

  • Mehmet A.

    Great Turkish food in Seattle. Authentic serving! Try pide, lahmacun. They make it right there in the front of you. I didn't like the Gyro. It was not Turkish but my friends loved it.

    (5)

  • Jehan A.

    My sister and I had friends over for Iftar and Cafe Turko catered the party. The food was very good. It's halal and it's so flavorful. We had rice, kebab, and chicken. It's a family owned business, so the wife herself delivered the food to our building for a $15 delivery fee. She's really sweet and the delivery was on time.

    (4)

  • Jordan Y. M.

    Variety of food choices on the menu, great food, great ambiance! It used to be a rug store and the owner turned it in to a restaurant, so there are still vestiges of cultural merchandise. Really fun place to go with friends or significant others. My only complaint, as noted by other reviewers, is that their service can be slow and/or not attentive. Turkish coffee is a bit too strong. The fennel tea is very good. Yam hummus is yummy. I got the lentil soup which wasn't amazing, but it was good nonetheless. I will have to try the pides next time. My boyfriend got some of their entrees (the name slips me atm) but they were both delicious.

    (5)

  • Jun W.

    This family owned gem serves fantastic food! the service can be frustratingly slow but the food is all well worth the wait and tease! The wait staff seems to be fairly amateur but in the most adorable sense. eggplant moussaka is very flavorful and the best eggplant dish i've had in seattle! pides - really good crust chicken meatballs were oversalted

    (5)

  • Christine S.

    Absolutely amazing! WOW! I didn't think it was possible to have food that tasted exactly as it did in Turkey in America. The family that owns this restaurant is contagiously kind and they are very welcoming. The woman let us know that she makes everything from scratch every morning, and you can tell it's made with love. SUCH GREAT QUALITY. The **Yam Hummus** is fantastic. I'd go back just for that. The lentil soup is also very delicious! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Tesekkurler!

    (5)

  • Roxy S.

    It was recommended by my Turkish friend from work. The food was delicious added with friendly and nice service. It's not a fancy place but a charming looking place. Great price for the fantastic food that they have to offer. We will definitely come back to try out other items in the menu.

    (5)

  • Emily A.

    Came here for lunch today and I'm happy to know it's close to my work! Not only was the food delicious, especially the simple pita and kehfir, but they have a great little shop set up as well. My boyfriend was thrilled to find authentic middle eastern spices for sale, such as zaatar and sumac, which are apparently sometimes difficult to come by, let along authentic ones. I was more excited for the beautiful jewelry and rugs, although it sounds like they are doing a close out sale in the next weekend to get rid of the rugs to make more space for tables! Definitely going to check that out! We will most definitely be coming back!

    (4)

  • Marnie W.

    Having spent 2 hours sitting on the toilette after eating here I can only recommend that you choose an enema over this restaurant. The food was sadly uninspiring and the staff were not passionate about their product. When I asked if the female server wearing the hajib (who looked Turkish) had she been to Turkey she replied with a blank look and said, "Maybe." They do not make their own bread or pastries per the waiters. I asked if they made the main entrees here and where did they cook their meat? "We use the ovens." When I commented the food doesn't taste at all like what I have eaten in Turkey she said, "well, it's modified Turkish food." Gross. I wouldn't serve this to my dog. The vague answers and pathetic reply to concerns is nothing compared to wasting time, money and toilette paper on this place.

    (1)

  • Amy S.

    If you haven't been here - you are missing out! I never knew I liked Turkish food until I tried it here. I LOVE the pide, pistachio baklava and spinach hummus the best but everything else we tried was AMAZING! The service was good and they seemed to care about the customer. I fear that if I eat Turkish food anywhere else, it will never be this good. They spoiled me with wonderful, amazing food and good service. Great job!!

    (5)

  • Darcy G.

    I couldn't recommend this place enough! My boyfriend and I agreed their hummus was one of the best we've ever had. Also, their dolmas (grape leaves) were the best I've had in America. I like that they make them just like my grandma used to, and that they're served warm. Unique touch- they add an interesting molasses to them.. It's really good! Fun vibe too, the decorations are beautiful. I think what really makes them deserve the 5 stars is the genuine service. The owner came to us twice to make sure we were happy with our experience, and took the time to give his recommendations and answer all our questions. It's a home cooked experience that's hard to find in a city. Can't wait to come back!

    (5)

  • Bessie B.

    This restaurant was recommended by a friend, and I'm very glad it was. The menu has a vast selection of options for vegetarians. I ordered the platter of 5 mezzes, selecting regular hummus, beet hummus, kefir cheese and zaatar (similar to labne), antep patlican ezme (similar to baba ghanouj), and olives. Everything came on one long platter with olive oil and tasty seasonings drizzled across the top. Soft, warm pita bread was served on the side, sliced into handy bite-sized pieces. The generous serving of iced mint tea was very nice (ask to have it sweetened for a real treat). My husband enjoyed his meatballs with rice and salad. The only negative we experienced was that we had different people attending to our table, and service was a bit slow and unorganized. The check came while we were still eating our dessert, and once one of the waitresses carried off our credit card no one ever returned to the table, so I had to go and fetch someone to bring our credit card and receipt back. The food was so good, though, we'll definitely be back for more.

    (4)

  • Ellie Y.

    The food and atmosphere is a great experience. One of the most unique dining experiences in Seattle.

    (5)

  • John M.

    Ate here with the GF a couple weeks back. I was really hoping for something awesome given the reviews, but it was just ok. Not bad by any stretch but not awesome either. Their humous is good, but prefer plaka and munir in ballard.

    (3)

  • Lily L.

    Came in today with a party of four, tried many different mezza items, 4 entrees, and dessert. Great food and friendly service. Love that the food is halal. Also the tea and rose sharbet are excellent. Didn't try the Turkish coffee this time, but will definitely come back again and again. A new favorite!

    (5)

  • Will F.

    Exceptional experience all around. The decor is fantastic and the shop connected to the restaurant is a nice touch that gives the environment a more authentic Turkish experience. But the food is the real story. My whole family loved every bite, from the Ali Nazik to the eggplant beyti to the sultan's kebab. Everything was delicious and incredibly spiced. I also want to shout out to Surreya, the main hostess and chef. She is hilarious and super friendly. Everybody at the table agreed that we would come back just for her service alone! Definitely one of the most pleasurable dining experiences I've had anywhere. PS try the semolina cake!

    (5)

  • Camila S.

    Food was good, but the service was not. I've been there two times and both occasions my water was left unfilled throughout the entire meal. I wasn't checked on after the food arrived at the table.

    (2)

  • Ifrah A.

    The food was sooo yummy!! I got the Ali Nazik and it was just amazing. The eggplant sauce was unbelievably good. Trust me, I never would've thought that I could like anything with eggplant that much. Surreya, the head chef/co-owner, was really nice and inviting. She gave us a free mini hummus sampler which included spinach hummus and beet root hummus along with traditional hummus. I didn't know hummus came in such flavors but I'm so glad I tried them because it was like a party in my mouth. Yum!! I would definitely go again. The only real problem I had with this place was that a lot of their goods were ridiculously expensive. I mean I like to go check out store that sell turkish things and I get that a lot of that stuff is imported from Turkey but $12 for a box of turkish delights seems a bit much. Nevertheless, I still bought that box.

    (4)

  • Nancy D.

    The staff is really nice and the food is delicious! The menu has a great selection. Their soup is really good, food tastes fresh.

    (5)

  • Gretchen S.

    I found this place on Yelp after stopping by The Whale Wins only to find I had missed lunch. I had never had Turkish food and I am always up to try something new! After perusing the extensive menu, I decided on the Betyi Kebab with Lamb and the Zeytinli Pide. Both were Amazing! \ There was a distinct flavor throughout both dishes that I couldn't quite place; the same flavor was in the assorted spice mixes that are on the table to sample. Upon checking out, I found out it was Sumac; I had never had that before, but it must be what makes it Turkish. This is also a Turkish bakery! I took home a sampler of pastries for dessert later!

    (5)

  • Aaron H.

    Very tasty food and the staff is very friendly. We will be back. It's across the street from our gym and we are thinking that we will get fatter rather than fitter. The lamb was great and also enjoyed the variety of spices with each dish.

    (5)

  • Suehil A.

    Great family owned placed, cozy with great service! The food is amazing, I've been to Istanbul and the food is like I'm there, the Apple tea is a must try. Great place to have a meal and stay after for tea/coffee and desert.

    (5)

  • Farnaz A.

    The food is really delicious and the price is reasonable! We had ali nazik last time we were there and it was legendary!

    (5)

  • Jim L.

    I'm not sure if I've ever had Turkish food before, but I am now a "convert"! I was traveling for a 3 day trip to Seattle and my in-laws recommended this little "hole in the wall" restaurant in the Fremont district. My immediate family of 3 and my in-laws stopped by on 7/5. We couldn't have been more delighted. Both of the owners (husband and wife team) personally stopped by our table and explained many of the specialties and also told us how the restaurant had been transformed from a long time store to a restaurant, starting w/ 5 tables. They now have somewhere around 18 tables or so after just a year or two as a restaurant. The wife told us she teaches Turkish cooking classes at the local Community College and it shows that she really knows her stuff! The food was amazing. I had a beet salad, which whet my whistle for more. I then finished my meal off w/ an eggplant dish which was out of this world! If you're in the Seattle area and would like your dining experience to feel "old world", "family oriented" and cozy, then Cafe Turko should be your destination!

    (5)

  • Cecilia C.

    On a recent trip to Seattle, I saw a blurb in a magazine about this place. In our wanderings, we drove by it and I pointed it out: "Hey, I read about that place!" What had stuck in my mind was that they are very vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free friendly. By chance (very lucky chance), we ended up with time to eat there. We were starving. It was a beautiful day out so the front doors were wide open making it airy and summery inside. The decor was fabulous, music, dry food items, books, and arts and crafts for sale. Each table had an artistic platter of spices; I love that. We started with a kind of yogurt appetizer. It was so good! We each had entrées. I had "Ali Nazik the Fire: A captivating dish of flavors: Grilled eggplant in yogurt sauce and garlic topped with spicy baked vegetable potpourri... Drizzling and smoky with a heat" How could you not order it? It had 3 stars, which means very spicy, so I had the chili sauce put on the side so I could control the heat. I ended up cleaning my plate and ate all the chili too. So good! My girlfriend had a lamb dish and also cleaned her plate. We were so happy with all that food but our bellies were crying out for more! So, we ordered Beyti With Eggplant to split. It was cut up into 6 pieces. By then, my brain was starting to register the message "FULL" from my stomach, so I only had 1 piece. My girlfriend, however, polished it off. I can't wait to return to Seattle and go back here. Great option for vegan/vegetarian folks (& their carnivore friends). And reasonable prices. What more could you want?

    (5)

  • He M.

    Excellent Lamb ali nazik. Excellent spinach hummus. The best muhammara i've had in a long time. Slow to get the check. Knefe was not very good. Would want to go again to try more,

    (4)

  • ChiKurt S.

    The food was pretty good. But the staff were overwhelmed and the room feels like a cafeteria. Turn off the flourescent lights and use the concept of reservations to control the pace of your customers. Having 80 people in your restaurant isnt good if all 80 of them are waiting an hour for an appetizer.

    (2)

  • Sam K.

    I loved this little Turkish delight... I love the little details! A hummus plate wasn't just hummus plate, it was a platter of a varieties of hummus..beet, spinach, yams and regular... What a lovely set of flavors! Satisfied with every entree we ordered... Like it was made with lots of love by your Turkish mom!

    (4)

  • Kati P.

    WOW-WOW-WOW....what a find! We finally tried this restaurant that we've heard such good things about. We ordered the Meze tray which allows you to choose any five appetizers YOU WANT (not what they make you get) and all were super flavorful and yummy. The spinach hummus was divine. The salad we shared was terrific with a pomegranate dressing that was perfect. The drink menu was awesome and the 2 desserts we ordered were yummy although a bit tiny for the price. We definitely plan to go again as there are so many things on the menu for vegetarians to eat.

    (5)

  • H C.

    The restaurant is clean and open/airy. Wait staff attentive. Owner even checked on our meal. You can park near the troll and walk over, or just walk from wherever you hail. The chairs aren't that comfy, standard wooden tables and chairs. (Hey, worth a mention for folks who like a booth or padded seating). The food: Sweet potato hummus and spinach hummus were smooth (like baby food texture) and savory. My partner worked in the restaurant industry and found his chicken dish and lentil soup flavorful and well prepared. The only drawback is my own fault. Fremont Sunday market and food trucks are just down the street. I was wishing I'd eaten at one of the trucks. Because.... I'm greedy & fickle like that.

    (4)

  • Andrea B.

    Went here for a brunch today with some friends and was extremely disappointed. I read all the amazing reviews on yelp, so I was expecting at least a decent experience. I ordered the mother-in-law plate, and it was ok. My friends dishes were a little better, but nothing fabulous. I also asked the waitress which drink she recommended, because I told her I've never been to a Turkish restaurant before (but been to just about every other type). She came back with the smallest glass of tea I've ever seen, drank it in a few sips and paid $2 bucks for it with no refills. The tea was some kind of sugary powder mix they use. The service and the price of the food was what ultimately made me write this review. It was honestly one of the worst services I have ever received. We were the only people in the entire place. It took her about 10 minutes to bring us water, another 10 for us to order, food came out pretty quick, put down the food, and never asked us if we needed anything else (all 3 of our waters were empty). We were never checked on again, and had to go to the front 4 different times to ask for water twice, ask for the bill, and when we finally got the bill, the waitress awkwardly hovered over our table with her credit card machine and waited until we wrote our total and too and have them back. And that was it. The price for the food was not worth it at all. Small portions, only decent food, tacky atmosphere (which usually doesn't bother me, but this in conjunction with everything else it did), and horrible service makes me write my first 2-star review. Definitely not coming back here again. Do not recommend, and this is the first restaurant review I have ever written.

    (2)

  • Shaeysta S.

    Omg, omg, omg!!!! I'm obsessed with this place! The Turkish breakfast is amazing!!! The spices, the cheese and jam which is made in house, is beyond amazing!!! And the owners are absolutely adorable!!!!! Food is fresh, halal, they have a gluten free menu. This is for sure one of Seattle's gems!!!!!!

    (5)

  • Michael G.

    I am changing my previous review of 4 stars to 1 star after my most recent visit. I love good Turkish food, but the last visit was not even close to edible for me. I ended up leaving 90% of my plate uneaten, and I basically left feeling nauseous and ripped off. I asked if a dish was chicken breast and was told yes. Instead I got fatty and gristly tasting chicken of mixed colors which may have been a mix of breast and thigh. I was shocked at the low quality of this chicken compared to what it was priced at. It looked nothing like the picture of the chicken on their post cards at the cashier. They must have done some serious cost reductions in the chicken department. We actually had to move tables as our first table's spices were sloppy and lying on top of a few loosely spread toothpicks that looked possibly used... That is disgusting and inexcusable to present a table in that condition basically at opening time... Didn't anyone clean or prep the tables the night before or in the morning before opening? The rice pilaf also tasted absolutely horrible. I am still wondering how a rice dish could be ruined that bad. During our meal, there were never more than 2 other tables in the entire restaurant occupied, yet we were asked twice and made to feel uncomfortable when we sat as 2 at a four top table in order to stay out of the sun... No problem, I won't come back, and they can have another empty table in there... I also did not even get an item I ordered all together, but at least they did not try to charge me for that. Even the tea tasted bitter or perhaps stale. The prices are in general high for what they are serving, and the poor quality food and lackluster service made the visit feel like a huge mistake and total waste of money and also a wasted meal experience. I am finished with this place... Fool me once shame on you...

    (1)

  • Kate M.

    Lori and I were married at Seattle Pridefest yesterday. We found Cafe Turko's reviews on Yelp that morning, and wanted to have our celebration dinner there. At the owner's suggestion, we did not order off the menu. The food was AMAZING. Superb choice. It was like dining in a friend's home. They also offer cooking classes, which we will be signing up for in September when they resume. What an experience!!!

    (5)

  • Scott L.

    I had a fabulous lunch, tried a bunch of delicious new foods , and was thoroughly welcomed & entertained by the owner as if I were a guest in her home. Fantastic! I'm definitely going back - this time I'll try the soups.

    (5)

  • Tucker S.

    Good turkish food, great atmosphere.

    (4)

  • Dalila Z.

    If you'd like to experience Turkish hospitality, stop by here. After spending some time in Istanbul, I can confidently say this has been the closest replica I've found in the Pacific Northwest. The owners will enchant you will stories and history of their motherland, the colors of all the trinkets will bedazzle you, and the food will awaken your appetite. The café had a very inviting ambiance which will keep me coming back for more.

    (5)

  • George S.

    Had a great lunch here with my wife and daughter. The food was great and the owner was very friendly. We had a lentil soup that was fantastic and the hummus was very good. I would recommend the beet very good and something unique. Can't wait to go back.

    (4)

  • Lenny B.

    Decent food, but bad service. Water not refilled, long wait, unattentive staff...i swear im not a snob. Happened twice. Had to leave review the second time.

    (2)

  • Rocio G.

    We absolutely loved this restaurant! Super friendly family, great food, and a great environment/setting. I don't understand some of the negative reviews... it was our first time here and the owners made us feel like we were eating in their home. Such sweet, great people! Also, there are cooking classes they offer that sound great. The owner told us everyone chops, prepares, cooks the food together, and then eats the food they learned to cook at a big table where everyone sits. The cooking class costs about $50 - you learn how to cook good food, get to eat a delicious five course meal, and feel like you're in your grandparents' house. Again, you feel like a guest in their home, not a customer in a restaurant. We'll be back!! :)

    (5)

  • Jerry M.

    Greetings! We stopped by for a light lunch on a Saturday afternoon. The dining area is cozy and intimate. We had to wait for a table - my first indication that this would be good. We order the sampler platter that allows you to choose five appetizers from the small plates menu. We chose their traditional hummus, dolmas, a roasted vegetable & kale salad, moussaka and fava beans. Everything was excellent but I thought the hummus was some of the best I had ever tasted. They serve a classic Turkish coffee and wonderful tea. The tables are set with Turkish spices too. Enjoy!

    (5)

  • Vicki S.

    Super friendly owners, delicious turkish food made fresh daily by the wife who also teaches Turkish cooking classes at the local PCC Market. So far, everything we have tried here has been delicious from the various hummus offerings, dishes, and desserts. The prices aren't necessarily cheap but it's a worthwhile treat every once in awhile. It's also a nice place to sit and linger and not feel rushed. This is not a fast food type of restaurant. The service is pretty "slow" because you are meant to take your time here and slowly enjoy the food and company you came with if you didn't go alone. This is a favorite spot (e.g.: hideout) for me and my husband to go to for a casual date near our house. Kids are welcome but we prefer to come here without our two kids because of the calm and slow atmosphere. It really has become somewhat of a respite for us and there is always something new and delicious to try and enjoy over a warm cup of endless tea or turkish coffee which we found out is traditionally served AFTER a meal not during. I hope this place sticks around for a long time. Good call for the owners to retire their long-running carpet shop and go into the café/boutique business. Love it!!!

    (5)

  • Vaibhav A.

    A cute and small place ! good middle eastern food and Turkish tea. There is a shop to buy some middle eastern souvenirs as well.

    (4)

  • Breffni M.

    Oh Oh Oh Amazing. Fresh Fresh Fresh. Just let the chef decide what you should have. Reasonable, unbelievable tastes and delightful service. One should know that they are not in a hurry but even the tea was over the moon. Great story too. Was a rug shop for 32 years and not doing so well Mamma put four tables in the window, then there was 12 and now the husbands. Desk has been removed and it's wall to wall restaurant. Rugs have been pushed back to the walls. Superb food, flavors extraordinary. Food with passion and from the heart. Enjoy Breffni

    (5)

  • Jessica Day Z.

    After returning from a month long trip from Turkey, we needed GOOD Turkish food back in our lives. We found this lovely place & make the trip from bellingham every so often just for their amazing kebabs, lentil soup, hummus, & coffee. Would eat here at least once a week if it was in my town.

    (5)

  • Ellen Z.

    Giving Cafe Turko five stars for the food! I was in Istanbul last year and experienced authentic Turkish food for the first time. The owners are from Izmir, so the variants on dishes are even more delightful. Be sure to try the powdered spices on each table -- ask the owner who waits on you how to use them. We ended up asking for his suggestions when we ordered -- I don't think you can go wrong here. Like many have said, don't be in a hurry. Service is a little slow, but so what? And we were pleased to be the only non-Turkish people eating there on a Tuesday night. Going back for the "Mother-in-law's Breakfast".

    (5)

  • Neha M.

    Delicious food, homely environment and casual/ family-style service. i was impressed by the authenticity of the food and freshness of the ingredients. I saw the chef chopping kale mintues before it was on my table!

    (5)

  • Cynthy C.

    From the expertly prepared food that was absolutely delish' to the warm, inviting hospitality of owner/chef Sureyya, this place tops the charts!! Go for the hummus sampler (the beet hummus is to die for), move on to the moussaka, kebabs and Turkish pizza, and end with sweet treats and Turkish coffee. It's a culinary experience you won't forget. I've already marked time on my calendar for my next return to Cafe Turko -- it's THAT wonderful.

    (5)

  • Vili V.

    I had the most fabulous meal today for lunch. Not sure what it's called, but I ordered the first dish I saw being prepared, with absolutely no regrets. Tons of fresh vegetables (eggplant, onions, tomato, etc) cooked in spices, and extra-tasty rice topped with pomegranate seeds. Incredibly flavorful and fresh. Thank you!! The owner is friendly and engaging, willing to talk about anything and make sure you have a great experience. It's 100% authentic, and the best of the best.

    (5)

  • Chris L.

    I was in Istanbul Nov 2012 and since coming home I have missed Turkish food, Turkish hospitality, Turkish breakfast and most of all Turkish coffee, oh ya Turkish tea also. Cafe Turko was like being back in Istanbul. The food is great and very traditional and the coffee is beyond words. If you have never had Turkish coffee before, take it slow and enjoy each tiny sip! The breakfast was delicious and the atmosphere is very Turkish. A must stop if your in Fremont!

    (5)

  • brooke e.

    Amazing food. Amazing service. Their yam hummus is a MUST. I have tried most of their items and have yet to have something that wasn't excellent.

    (5)

  • Fouzi H.

    Amazing Turkish food right here in Seattle! The Owner is a long time Seattleite originally from Turkey who's been running a Turkish Import/Export shop for many years. His wife is an amazing cook who's been teaching classes at PCC for many years. She recently decided to try her hand at opening up a Cafe so what better place than to embed the cafe in the import/export shop. Now the cafe is slowly starting to take over the import/export business! They are still getting used to running a restaurant so things are not quite as smooth as you would expect from the lack of a printed menu to the food taking a while to be prepared. But boy is it worth these minor inconveniences. Not only is the food delicious but the ambiance of the import/export shop makes it a full experience. Highly recommend!

    (5)

  • Ryan G.

    This place is absolutely incredible. I spent years in the middle east and this place nails it. The other middle eastern places in the city dont even come close. The desserts are amazing too - we have eaten every single one. My absolute favorite thing about Cafe Turko is the chai - it is 100% authentic. No different than sitting in a mukthar's great room in Iraq. Absolutely amazing. Cafe Turko is also very reasonably priced. We just discovered it and will be there regularly. The breakfasts are legit too - I spent time near the turkish border for work and the breakfast at this place took me right back there.

    (5)

  • F. K.

    My family loved the food at Turko, but the service was seriously lacking. The wait staff needed to be waved down for nearly every interaction. We had to leave our seats to order our dessert. We had to ask not once, but three times for some turkish coffee which never arrived. Finally, we walked up to the cashier to pay and for some reason, she wanted me to recount every single thing we ordered before she put it into the register. Considering that there was a big line of people waiting to get in, you'd think that they would want to turn the tables quickly. That was not the case. So, it is with great regret that I have to give two starts to Turko. The food is outstanding and the service needs a lot of work.

    (2)

  • Megha A.

    Totally loved the food in this restaurant. We have been there a couple of times and whenever we have a question about the menu, the owner will himself come and explain about it. On our first visit, we were confused on what to order, so they gave things to taste... It was awesome...

    (5)

  • Kristina D.

    What a fantastic find. The Turkish coffee is beautifully presented and the perfect strength without being bitter. I highly recommend the rainbow hummus platter - beet, spinach, sweet potato and traditional. It's lovely and tasty - I especially enjoyed the beet. The ambiance is great, with Persian carpets and lovely trinkets for sale, and people enjoying conversation. I've brought a few out of town visitors here, and everyone has always left satisfied.

    (5)

  • Ushuaia F.

    For many yelpers cafe Turko may recall nostalgia of a forgotten home, to me it exemplified magic, drive and survival. Until recently Cafe Turko was the home of Istambul Imports Inc., a business selling rugs, textiles, jewellery and kitchen ware. The 2009 financial shockwave may have pulled the rug under many store owners' feet, but Istambul imports managed to survive. How did they do it? Do flying rugs and genies really exist? Whether a genie granted the owners a second chance or turned the survival switch on, the rug sellers turned themselves into cooks almost over night. The result of this transformation is undoubtedly inspirational. For store owners in need of advice on how to survive an economic downturn, they need not hire a financial advisor, the turkish family at Cafe Turko could teach them one thing or two. Although tasting their entrees, I felt like this transformation had not been completed yet, where cooking lamb's meat makes ends meet, I am hopeful that we'll soon see cooks turning into chefs, genie willing.

    (3)

  • Jennifer K.

    The food was great. The service was fine until they got busy. That is when we became invisible. Our water glasses stayed empty and we had to flag down the waitress to order dessert. Rather than giving us menus, they told us to go to the counter to make our choices. We ordered Turkish coffee with our dessert, but it never arrived. When my husband went to the register to pay, he had to tell the cashier what we ordered. She gave him an attitude because he did not know exactly what dish our daughter had ordered. As my kids and I waited for my coffee and for my husband to finish paying, one of the waitresses came to our table and prepped it for the next customer! Unless they get better organized, Cafe Turko will not survive. It's too bad because the food is really good.

    (2)

  • kyle t.

    Hidden authentic gem. We tried a variety of items and all were good.

    (4)

  • Lisa C.

    Met and exceeded expectations. Great casual vibe, super friendly owner. Lentil soup and dolmas were highlights.

    (5)

  • Alethea S.

    Really good. Had never had Turkish food. The waitress was very helpful. Started with the 4 different types of hummus. Loved! The beet hummus. I went with the lamb and apricot special. Very good. Didn't live the rice. Hubs had the stuffed bread thing with Turkish sausage. Yummy!!! Had the pistachio baklava and the semolina orange cake. Real good

    (5)

  • Sam G.

    GReally delicious place, great coffee.

    (5)

  • A A.

    I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is one of my favorite places to eat, which is really saying something for me considering they don't have alcohol. The owner is so nice and funny, and the rest of the staff is so so sweet. It has such a family atmosphere, almost like going over to someone's house to eat. They have such cool items in the shop area as well.

    (5)

  • Owen G.

    Delicious food! Can't wait to go back and try ALL of their delicious items! Service was a little slow, but the food was totally worth it.

    (5)

  • Greg P.

    I've been here twice, two very different experiences. The first was I think a Thursday. The three of us were served promptly, friendly service. I ordered the Bettyi kebab, which was amazing. It's kind of like a Turkish grilled stuffed burrito, sliced in dipping size. The second time was yesterday, a Friday, party of four. It took more than 10 minutes to even get water. Another 10 before someone came to take our order. It was mostly full but not packed. I noticed the servers were taking a LONG time at each table, explaining the menu, laughing with patrons. This is fine for slow midweek, but it's very unprofessional on the weekend when there are several tables waiting for service. Several passed us as we sat waiting expectantly, and when one arrived it seemed like an afterthought. I ordered the manti, a Turkish beef ravioli that was surprisingly bland. The sauce made it palatable. Same price as the kebab, but far inferior. Takeaway: avoid weekends, stick with kebabs. Also, you pay at the register, which isn't disclosed anywhere I saw.

    (3)

  • lori s.

    I have been coming here since before they had a fantastic food and coffee house! Sweet people, interesting and engaging. Everything they do there is top notch!

    (5)

  • Neiha A.

    This is the best freaking place on earth!!! I went there this afternoon, the food was good, the tea was good and the owner (Suraya) is amazing! She sat down with us at the table and we talked about food, in fact she also gives cooking classes.Their lamb was to die for and this food was so flavorful, truly a great experience and very authentic!! I am going back here with my hubby!!

    (5)

  • Dagi K.

    food was great very Turkish BUT WHY DONT THEY HAVE ATATURK PICTURE without him you cant call yourself a Turk

    (3)

  • T S.

    Yes, from the outside this place still looks like a a random Turkish rug store. But, head inside and get ready for the type of place that is just too hard to find in Seattle. This is homemade small-batch veggie dishes served at room temp (if seems odd to you don't go and don't go to Turkey, Greece or Lebanon because that is the way they serve the food) just like you'd find in Turkey. The dishes were all amazing. The eggplant dish was outstanding as were the dolmas. I think the food quality merits five stars--the veggies were as good as something that you'd be served at golden beetle or sitka and spruce.

    (5)

  • Archie L.

    .

    (3)

  • Gaurav A.

    Simply amazing. This place blew my mind with the quality food. The chicken entree was superb in taste. The owner was very helpful in suggesting us the right dishes.And as they say the proof is in the pudding, the place was packed on a weekday evening. Customer service is also great. We were confused about two entrees but ordered one. They were considerate enough to send us the sample for the other. I would highly recommend trying the place.

    (5)

  • Sahana M.

    My friends and I ducked in here for a bite as we were walking to Fremont Brewery. I was immediately taken by the warm homey atmosphere! I loved all the interesting artifacts hung up around, and the restaurant sells miscellaneous items (jewelry, cards, etc) as well- super cool. I got so excited by all their vegan options; there's plenty to choose from. But I think their menu may need a bit fine-tuning because some orders that were marked vegan contained cheese or egg. I ordered the hummus durum with the regular hummus and it was excellent. Get it. The acuka and pomegranate molasses are sensational. I've heard the yam hummus is a must, so if you like sweet/savory, definitely try it. I, myself, prefer savory/savory so I chose regular hummus. Though a tad overpriced, Cafe Turko is still definitely worth a trip because the food will not disappoint. P.S. the coffee smells fantastic!

    (3)

  • Magdalena K.

    I found my place for a tasty and healthy weekend lunch in beautiful Fremont! Since I moved here from California I have been looking for a place that serves good chicken salad. My favorite there was Chopped Salad from Sammy's Wood Fired Pizza . Somehow in Seattle it's hard to find good quality chains in central locations. Also other restaurants that serve salads, either use the gummy, deli quality chicken meat or they are way too overpriced (and still not that memorable). Not the case with Cafe Turko: I had Anatolian Salad with substituted chicken for boiled egg. That chicken was so tasty! They were different size chunks of nicely marinated mixed chicken meat with spicy outer layer. The texture was perfect: not dry at all and a little chewy. It came on a bed of greens with green and red peppers, cucumbers, black olives and lemon dressing. When I now look at the menu I can see that the salad should also have feta cheese, sunflower seeds, mint, parsley and dill. I didn't remember tasting any of these. It was already heavenly, but must have been even so much better with these ingredients. Hence one star less for my review. You can also get a free Turkish coffee or tea with Yelp check in. In my case I didn't want such strong flavors and went for interesting anise tea instead. The service was great too, although at times sometimes a little slow. I sat at a window table and the waitress anticipated that I wanted the blinds to go down with the heavy sun pouring through the windows. It was still a sweet spot to enjoy the solo lunch, look out the window and people watch. I even charged my dying phone with an outlet under the table! I am coming back soon: solo or with company, this is an excellent spot!

    (4)

  • Cecilia N.

    The food here is excellent. I ordered the beef doner beyti. The meat was cooked perfectly. My friend ordered the lamb beyti. I got to try some and the lamb was seasoned very well. The wrap was toasted and crisp. The splash of balsamic vinegar added a nice kick. We came when the place wasn't too busy. I had never been there, so I wasn't sure if we sat ourselves or they sat us. We stood there awkwardly for 10 minutes even though some of the staff saw us. Finally, my friend asked if we sat ourselves and they said sure. Pick a table. So we picked a table and it took a while to get some service. They forgot the drinks we ordered too, but they made it up by giving it to us on the house.

    (4)

  • Jeff N.

    Since moving to Seattle I have been looking for a great Turkish restaurant. I think I finally found one at Cafe Turko. First of all they had a çaydanlık, a double boiler tea pot and I was sitting very close to it and could smell the tea! I love my Turkish tea strong just like in Turkey... and it was perfect! We ordered an eggplant mezza and the lamb pide. Both were really good although they do not give you enough bread with the mezza. I bought some Turkish desserts to take home with me and they were great! I will definitely be back to have the Turkish breakfast, I love Turkish cheeses!!! There's an area in the back where they sell items from Turkey if you are interested. Service was excellent. Thank you for making this a great experience.

    (5)

  • Alina P.

    The most delicious selection of hummus rainbow platter. Really enjoyed it with my girls. Had the apple and pomegranate tea as well. Ordered the beef sliders. Ate here 3 days straight. The ricotta desert was great too. Not too sweet, it's just right. The price is reasonable. Decor is nice. Very Turkish vibe. Usually busy and service may be slow depending. .

    (4)

  • Kshira N.

    Probably my favorite place in Seattle. The hosts are so warm and friendly and generous. The food is fresh and delicious. Great vegetarian options and appetizers and amazing. I always get the sampler plate including beet/yam hummus, Labneh with Zaatar and grape leaves . The soup is pretty good too. The grilled chicken is tender and delicious. My husband's favorite dish is the Ali Nazik Lamb. They also have ethnic goods for sale and the decor creates a very authentic experience.

    (5)

  • Eva C.

    I am so happy I stumbled upon this place. I was searching for a new place to try for my mom's birthday because she specifically requested Mediterranean. We decided on Cafe Turko and we were not disappointed. This place isn't very big. There are a few tables, a cafe/bakery area, and in the back corner there are some retail items such as ethnic jewelry, clothes, and rugs. We were immediately seated and the waitress was very helpful with recommending different dishes. We started out with a hummus sampler and our waitress introduced us to the 3 different spices at our table. These spices were amazing! The hummus didn't need it but when you dabbed on some spice it made it even better. We were very impressed and cleaned the plates. My family ordered family style so we order about 3-4 plates and shared them. We order the Süleyman the Magnificent, Ali Nazik with Lamb, and the Beyti Kebab. The meats were so tender and succulent.The flavors are explosive. It's like nothing I've had before. The salad had a lovely vinaigrette dressing that was very good. Not too overpowering with just the right amount of zing. Truly an authentic Mediterranean cuisine.When you check in on yelp you get a free turkish coffee or tea. I opted for the coffee. It came in this beautiful tiny cup and it was pretty strong. I expected it to be bitter but the flavor was actually quite smooth and sweet. My sister had the pomegranate tea and that was very good as well and naturally sweet. My favorite part was when the owners turned off the lights, started blasting music and brought out my mom's birthday cake with the candle lit (we supplied the cake and candle). It was so sweet! They were singing and clapping and my mom was beaming with joy. This just goes to show that they are willing to go the extra mile for their customers. It really made our dinner special and memorable and my family constantly raves about this place.

    (5)

  • Kaitlin P.

    This is the best restaurant in Fremont! Everything is delicious. Highly recommended if you've never tried Turkish food before. You can't go wrong. The food is lovingly presented, very tasty and authentic.

    (5)

  • Somin Y.

    I just arrived at Seattle last night from New York. This morning, I was expecting to have a nice brunch at one of the popular coffee places in this new area, and suddenly, my friend suggested me to try this Turkish restaurant for brunch. I was like... "What? Turkish cuisine in Seattle?" Jumping to the conclusion, Cafe Turko went far beyond my expectation. Rainbow hummus - 4 types of hummus made of bean/garlic (regular hummus), beet, roasted yam/peppers and spinach - was amazing! I've tasted hummus in many different so-called popular mediterranean spots in the new york city, but I think Cafe Turko can definitely beat them. Freshly [homemade] hummus, I'd feel. Turkish pizza with feta cheese and sausage was a great choice too. The pizza was just baked in the oven, and its dough was yammy! Food, owner/servers, interior - everything here is local and authentic. You could find a small area in the back where they sell locally designed acceesories, quilt, scarf, etc. Pastries, dessert bites and herbs/spices are available for to-go too. I have only two days left in Seattle. Wish I'd have another chance to stop by before I fly back to new york - to try other dishes as well as small Turkish delights. Craving for Turkish food in Seatlle - this is definitely something that I had not planned and not expected in last night's flight from JFK.

    (4)

  • Denise A.

    This place is AMAZING! I had Turkish coffee previously, but never cuisine. I have to say the cuisine is absolutely phenomenal. We had the Rainbow Hummus Plate that consist of 4 hummus selections, yam, beet, spinach and regular hummus. The beet and yam hummus are completely out of this world! For my entree I had the Yumurtalı Pide, similar to a flat bread pizza. It was topped with feta and mozzarella cheese, olives, and an egg. The flavors are just unreal and when you use the seasonings on the table you really get to play with all the different flavor profiles.

    (5)

  • Stephanie H.

    Our family stumbled across Cafe Turko while new to the area and trying to find somewhere to eat after a long day of moving. My lamb from my wrap fell apart in my mouth. It was amazing. I probably could eat it everyday for the rest of my life. The spinach hummus is delicious. The turkish delight was similarly incredible. We'll be going back very soon.

    (5)

  • Michael B.

    Simply outstanding. I was visiting from out of town, had a chance to stop by and had the rainbow hummus appetizer, with combination platter suleyman dish and it was cooked perfectly. The chicken and beef were the stars of the show, perfectly spiced with a few Regional spices featured at every table for sampling. The pita bread was extremely fresh, possibly the best I've ever had. I never thought hummus made from yams and beets would be tasty but I was wowed by the experience. Service was also on point and I was seated and helped within 2 minutes. This place is a must try.

    (5)

  • Jessica G.

    I simply adore Cafe Turko! I honestly would have never discovered this place on my own. Friends of mine happen to live in the area, and Cafe Turko is walkable from their place. Otherwise, it's a bit hidden in Fremont. What a joy! Cute, privately owned, and ethnically delicious! The staff here is super nice and helpful. And the food...be still my heart! Probably the best beef kebabs I have ever had outside of Los Angeles. Served like a wrap, the kebabs are wrapped in pita and contain cheese, onions, beef, and tomato sauce. The side salad was also a huge plus! Order some extra pita with hummus as a snack. Mmmmm....so good. I love that they sell knick knacks inside, too. I adore handmade jewelry, and they have lots to choose from! You can also pick up some Turkish coffee! I came here once for my birthday, and they really go all out. Dim the lights, blast birthday music, and bring you complimentary hot tea and dessert. It's really a lot of fun! This place truly deserves 5 stars for friendly service and absolutely delicious food. But since it's family-owned and operated, the wait time to get food (and pay) can be lengthy. I try to be as patient as possible, but sometimes if you're super hungry or in a hurry, it's a bit taxing. Every time I visit, there are more customers, which is fabulous. But that also means longer wait times. Just be forewarned!

    (4)

  • Abe O.

    The Inegol and Al nazik is very delicious. This place is 5 stars IMHO. Humble ingredients that is prepared very well. Would definetly come back. Service was wonderful and very beautiful. ;)

    (5)

  • Sarah R.

    There is always a wait, but it seems to go pretty quickly. However, I wish they would get a seating area or something since people just crowd the doorway and even extend into the dining area which is uncomfortable for people trying to eat having others hover over them. The food was great! The rainbow hummus trio was delicious and my favorite one was the yam hummus - amazing. The lamb was also great and the pita bread was fresh and fluffy. The service here is not good, borderline awful. Both times we've been, we waited about 15 minutes before someone even came to bring us water and acknowledge us. Then about another 15 ish minutes before someone came back again to take our order. This type of service continued up until the minute we paid and left. I hope they improve this!

    (3)

  • Kathryn K.

    They actually deserve 5 stars for the food and 2 stars for the service. Amazing food, awful/slow service. The food doesn't really take a long time to come out once you've ordered it, but be prepared to be forgotten once your food comes. No water refills, no check in to see if you need/want anything else. The last time I went, I almost even walked out on my tab because after they dropped my check no one ever came back to get/run my credit card. I waited about 15 min before just leaving a $20 on the table. If I didn't have the cash, I would have just left. The bad service is really a shame because the food is so damn good.

    (4)

  • Ken O.

    I ate the chicken wrap, and the beet salad. Beet salad was flavorful and not over dressed. I really enjoyed the earthiness flavor you get from the beets and the slight saltiness from the sunflower seeds was just delightful combo. This salad makes you feel healthier every time you take a bite. The chicken warp also was very good. Perfect balance between meat and veggies, as the yogurt sauce just tied it all together. Great crunch from the veggies and the chicken was tender and flavorful. The price at Cafe Turko I find to be fair. The only issue I have is the service is slow and but the staff is friendly so it's hard for me to be upset.... But it's worth noting. I wouldn't take large groups here or if you are sort on time. Plan to okay with hanging out.

    (4)

  • Em G.

    Fresh and something new! Different take on the usual gyro. Lamb all the way! They also have Turkish style pizzas like long delicious filled calzones.

    (4)

  • Julia D.

    Outstanding food. Fresh, flavorful, and yes, outstanding. The beyti was soooooo good. We also got the yam hummus, which was unique and super tasty. Minus one star, because our server abandoned us and I had to go to the counter to order tea. Really great, overall.

    (4)

  • Saejin K.

    The food is good and the atmosphere is charming but the menu isn't 100% accurate so you should be careful and kind of make a fuss if you have any food allergies. My date is allergic to dairy and ordered the beyti kebab. We told the waiter that he was allergic and asked to replace the yogurt sauce, but then the sandwich came back with cheese all over it. We told another waiter (because our server was nowhere to be found) and all they did was apologize... My dish also contained goat cheese which I am very sensitive to, which was not listed on the menu. However, judging from the menu they seem to do a better job taking vegan/vegetarian and gluten allergies more seriously. What to get: the Muhammara is good. Beyti kebab was tasty as well despite the mix up. My friend also got some kind of meatball dish which was delightful (I want their tomato sauce on everything- yum).

    (3)

  • Lin R.

    This restaurant used to be a rug store until the owner's wife suggested that opening a restaurant would be more profitable. A third of the restaurant still sells rugs and other tasteful trinkets which gives this place a unique flair. The tables here are really crammed together but that part is negligible to how consistently great the service here has been. Admittedly, I haven't sampled as much of the menu as I would have liked because I got the spinach hummus the first time I came here and was just hooked! The entrees that I've gotten were good (but not on the same excellence level as the spinach hummus). I always tell people to try the chocolate Halva here (dessert). I recommend getting it without the chocolate drizzle on top or else it can become too sweet.

    (5)

  • Brittany Z.

    Great homemade, authentic Turkish food. Delicious hummus and spices at the table that sit in lovely swan dishes. The atmosphere is lovely, there's a lot to look at, and the food is delicious. However I was here with a few friends who have some stern dietary restrictions and both of their dishes came out not to order. They were clear when placing their orders, and I believe it's a combination of miscommunication and this place being so authentic that it lacks consistency among the chefs. That is no excuse for guests not receiving what they ordered. All aside, the food otherwise is actually very good.

    (4)

  • Michael K.

    This place is as good as it gets. The woman who runs it always seems to be here, which is probably why it's consistently so good She'll tell you, "we have the best food in the world." It's the truth. This is authentic stuff, you can watch the people slowly prepping the delicious food, kneading everything by hand. The Turkish coffee is fantastic, I order it with a slice of lemon on the side to squeeze into it. The lentil soup is hands down the best I've ever had. My goto entree is the ali nazik with chicken. It's juicy, seasoned to perfection, and the yogurt sauce is light and gives it just the right amount of tang. They have fantastic salads, I tried the one with pomegranate seeds in it and it was heavenly. You really can't go wrong. The pastries look divine but I'm never able to save enough room to try them. In a few weeks they are relocating a couple blocks east for two years because the building they're currently in is about to be redeveloped to make more office space for Google, etc. They are planning to move back once the construction is finished.

    (5)

  • Cassie D.

    Ali Nazik - Grilled spiced chicken served with yogurt and grilled eggplant sauce with Antep seasonings. Ask for availability, Ali Nazik means made with gentle hands. Best dish in the house!! I always remember because it reminds me of Abu Nazir from Homeland. Naturally. Get the rainbow hummus too!

    (4)

  • Fernando A.

    Best domestic Turkish cuisine! Fun atmosphere. Delicious food and priced right. Authentic Turkish tea is a must have, recommended after your meal. Eggplant Mousakka Sultan dish Hummus Baclava They close early on weekends 9pm so don't get there too late. Happy Eating!

    (5)

  • Carmen Q.

    Officially joining the Ali Nazik fan club. A cute authentic Turkish food place, at least, this is what I imagine what authentic Turkish food place would look like! I've been twice now, and service has varied, but both times the food has been absolutely amazing. Especially the Ali Nazik. If you enjoy hummus I suggest trying the rainbow plate. Two of us shared the rainbow plate of hummus and the lamb Ali Nazik and after shared a variety of desserts. We were stuffed! The meal was fantastic. If you've never tried any Mediterranean desserts before, this is the place. It's a good deal to try three desserts, our server was great with recommendations. Another time I came on a Saturday and the wait was about an hour, which was insane... but I guess that's the price you pay for great food!

    (4)

  • Kate B.

    I can't think why I ever gave this place 4 stars. The food is super delicious, fresh, and home made. The staff is friendly. It's like you are in their home. And I keep coming back here. So, 5 stars :)

    (5)

  • Lily L.

    Despite the slow service I experienced over the weekend, the food was amazing! I can't get over the sweet potato hummus! The beet hummus was also a favorite, but I wanted to order sweet potato hummus to go!! The restaurant was completely packed when we went in. I understood they wanted to keep the bigger tables for large groups, and I wouldn't have minded waiting. It just seemed inconsistent when another waitress seated my friend and me at a big table. Business is business I guess. I arrived before closing, so as long as I was seated and able to order before then, I'd be fine. Decoration definitely made me feel like I was in a Turkish shop. This family owned restaurant is doing something righr, because people kept flowing in even 20 min before closing. There was not a moment before I left that the restaurant was not full. The owner was the best in service and also serving as the maitre'd. He was very friendly with what seemed like regular customers and always spoke with a smile. I ordered the Gypsy's Yahni to see if I might like eating lamb again. I could still taste the gaminess, but I absolutely enjoyed the dish. I even purposely stopped eating so I could save some for lunch the next day! It has all my favorite vegetables: baked cauliflower, brussel sprouts, shallots, and eggplant. It came with beet salad and rice. For dessert, we had the Bird's Nest and Kemal Pasha. The latter is a baked version of India's Gulab Jamun, but is not only dipped in rose water, but covered with coconut shavings. The Bird's Next is ricotta cheese wrapped with shredded wheat and dripped with syrup and pistachio nuts. The taste is oddly familiar, but not anything I've tasted before. I thought the cheese would put me over the full feeling, but it was actually quite light. I was surprised and feel I could go for another now. :) I couldn't get enough of everything and with my dad LOVING lamb, I can't wait to bring him here!!

    (4)

  • Anna Z.

    Food: 5 Ambiance: 5 Service: 4 This is one of my favorite places to take people because it's different from any restaurant I've been to in Seattle. The restaurant is half store, with rugs and smaller Turkish goods, and half cafe. Last time I went, it seemed like they may be closing the store portion and expanding the cafe, which is a little sad for me since I thought that really brought out the character of the place. But the food will probably still be A-MAZING. I've gotten the sultan kebab and lamb doner kebab. Both were delicious. Both are similar is flavor. Boldly spiced and meaty. Depends on how you like to eat your kebab - wrapped or on a plate. The portions are pretttty good. I eat a lot and made a poor decision to share an entree once, and it definitely wasn't enough for me. So don't make my mistake and if you go with someone. Just order two things and swap. The hummus dip sampler is DELICIOUS. the whole table was fighting over the last pita. I've taken quite a few groups of people here when I was the designated restaurant chooser and it hasn't failed me. Fremont brewery is also right next door so once you're finished with dinner, you can take friends up the hill to the Troll and then down the street to the brewery for a few drinks.

    (5)

  • Awakomihs A.

    I had the pomegranate tea, chicken salad and lentil soup. The soup was a little on the cold side, yet the tea was scalding hot... The wait is a little long, so be warned, and eat quickly for other people once seated. However, the restaurant also sells jewelry, rugs and lanterns aside from serving food. I really enjoyed looking through the menu and being able to browse around the decor.

    (4)

  • Erica B.

    I had the chicken al nazik I think it was called. Very tasty and the yogurt was so creamy, but not sweet - a perfect compliment to the chicken and side of rice. I want to try out more on the menu. I'll definitely be back.

    (4)

  • Sowmya S.

    Great food and decent quantities. The ambience is very casual and simple. Parking might look like a hassle but it was not. There are couple of paid lots right beside. I parked at a small (almost hidden) paid lot where I had to pay using ONLY quarters for 5$!! Service was great. They were very laid back and friendly. They helped us with picking the dishes since not many of us were familiar with the cuisine. Loved the ali nazik and Chicken Köftes. Do try the different types of hummus dish! Although, I wasn't a big fan of the desserts there.

    (4)

  • Zhiqin W.

    So yummy!!! This is my first time to try Turkish food. I love this place so much!!! I'll come here again definitely!!

    (5)

  • Abhinav B.

    Excellent meal preparation. It was my first Turkish food. I had the chicken kofetas. They came with rice and salad with balsamic vinegar topped on it. The kofetas were not like anything I had before. Must try. The place is very popular and crowded. You might have to wait in line

    (4)

  • Faith D.

    Go directly to this place in Fremont. When you get there, order the Ali Nazik. It is the most sumptuous lamb that melts in your mouth, sitting on top of yogurt, placed next to a bed of rice. Talk about major foodie fix and happy belly. If you want a few small plates to begin your foodscapade, get the rainbow hummus. Try the spices too. I got the dolmas, love dolmas, but the rice wasn't cooked all the way...tad crunchy. I can easily forgive that oversight. Moving on... You won't have any room for dessert...but who needs room? Treat yourself to the Kataif (I'm used to it being Kanafeh). Tomato, tomato. Either way it is love on a plate after an already fulfilling meal. It goes splendidly with a cup of Turkish coffee. The employees are super sweet. They welcome you as if you are old friends. We all need greetings like these every once and a while. Delightful experience and authentic dishes. Turkish delight, to be precise.

    (5)

  • Onur Ö.

    This is the best place in greater Seattle area where you could experience what it feels like having a meal in a Turkish restaurant in many aspects from the hospitality to the taste of the dishes.

    (5)

  • Cyrus F.

    The staff is very friendly and the food was good. I actually was a little let down by their Turkish coffee though. I have spent some time in Istanbul and they were using the same authentic brand of it but the coffee was not prepared to the same standard. On the other hand the presentation was really nice!

    (4)

  • Reimi D.

    Hung out with some very special friends who were visiting Seattle from Portland. Spent the earlier half of the morning at the outdoor street market and then decided we were hungry. Went to Yelp and saw that not only were we pretty close to Cafe Turko but that the ratings were consistently high. We were seated right away, and since it was our first time here we decided to go with their Orient Express Platter which consists of 5 mezzes and a side of pita bread. We decided to go with the chef's selection and it was DELICIOUS! Hummus, what might have been the musakka, cauliflower with yogurt sauce (SO GOOD), an eggplant mezze, and one more...I can't remember. There was also some pieces of dolma. We also ordered the Aegean Greens salad, and for the entree we ordered something that started with an "i" and consisted of 4 flavorful meatballs with a side of rice and salad. We were completely satisfied with all of the dishes. Flavors bursting errewhere. My only complaint is that the service seemed a bit slow and unorganized. They weren't understaffed because I saw a bunch of servers, and they weren't super crowded, but they were all behind the counters, never making eye contact with the guests. We had to ask to have our waters refilled and it took a good 15-20 minutes for them to take our entree order and another 15-20 minutes to bring it out. I'm not sure if they were preparing for a big party or if they were trying to put a catering order together, but their attention was clearly not on the guests and definitely not on us. In fact we never saw the same server again. We constantly had to flag down the nearest server to get any attention at all. Had it not been for this they would have got a full 5 stars from me. It wasn't enough for me to hate on them though--my hubby and I were with good company so we spent the waiting time chatting and catching up. I bought an order of baklawa to bring home. Incredible. Just so delicious. Tiny but just enough to savor. Oh, and a big plus for me: clean restroom. To me, a clean restroom says a lot about a food establishment. So, awesome food, clean restroom, and friendly service when we actually got it which unfortunately was sporadic and not enough. Maybe it was just a bad day. We will still come back though, and if you have yet to try them, you should!

    (4)

  • Ro D.

    Cafe Turko is a great place to satiate your Arab/Mediterranean food craving. It is a small informal set up, the staff was helpful and accommodated our party of 8. If you like hummus get the rainbow plate as you get to try 4 kinds. The muhammara was very good as well. I absolutely loved the lahmacun - don't think I saw it on the menu but the staff suggested it and I jumped on it. The sultan kebab, suleyman the magnificent and Ali nazik were alright. I also liked the pides and the eggplant moussaka dish. Food does come out a little slowly especially if you are ordering a lot of dishes. But I only take that to mean that they are making everything to order

    (4)

  • Lucy W.

    Came here for a dinner with friends - very healthy and delicious! Loved the tea as well - so many flavors!

    (5)

  • Sandra L.

    Loved the food and ambience. I had a wrap and my friend had the ground chicken meatballs. Sweet Ottoman Lemonade. Service was slow however though the servers pleasant.

    (4)

  • Sheri F.

    Oh.My.Heavens. What an absolutely divine gem Cafe Turko is. My first time having Turkish food, I went with a friend who had been there before and two others who were also new to this food. We started with a warm hummus drizzled with a pomegranate syrup and warm, freshly made pita bread. This was the way hummus is meant to be made. I could've just eaten that for my meal. I ordered lamb meatballs that came with jasmine rice and a salad. I have no idea what dressing was used, but it was soooooo good! The meatballs were oval shaped and packed full of spices. I also ordered rose sherbet, a delightful beverage that has to be tasted to be believed. It is this beautiful pink color and tastes like a lemonade - but it doesn't, at the same time, and has small rose petals. And smells and tastes like roses. Incredible. I don't remember what entrees my friends ordered; I was too busy enjoying my own food. But I do remember my friend got a yogurt drink with mint served in a beautifully carved mug made out of pewter or sterling silver. And she kept humming in ecstasy every time she took a sip. I wanted to try a dessert but was intimidated by the selection. The only things I recognized were the ice cream and the Turkish Delight. I asked the waitress what she liked the most, and she recommended the Bird's Nest. It sounded so strange to me as a dessert - shredded wheat?! ricotta cheese?! - but WOW. My friend and her boyfriend shared the Sultan's Favorite which are 4 cookies in an orange syrup. She was ooohhing so much I thought we were going to recreate the scene in When Harry Met Sally. I was enthralled with the decor of the restaurant. Authentic jewelry and lamps hang along the windows and above the kitchen. After we were finished eating, we checked out the back of the restaurant where they sell these items along with books, carpets and much more, all brought back from Turkey. There are two paid lots nearby. The Fremont Troll is just up the street so a lot of the street parking is snatched up by the tourists and folks going to other places in Fremont, so pay for the paid parking. It will be well worth it. I paid $6 after 5 pm and it covered parking for as long as I wanted. They also have gluten free and vegetarian food here! And they serve breakfast - I wonder what THAT tastes like. I can't wait to find out! Food: 5 Service: 5 Ambiance: 5 Parking: 4

    (5)

  • SR H.

    Love their mezzes, especially the muhammara and roasted cauliflower. Sage tea is delicious and service is friendly. A great place to bring visitors.

    (4)

  • Tom M.

    I love this place. So authentic that you will swear Queen Anne looks like Anatolia and the Fremont cut the Bosphorus strait. Lunch is fantastic; the hummus platter a must. Make sure you get the Turkish coffee, which is authentic in every detail. But what I like most of all is the owner's Turkish hospitality and ingenuity (adding food and drink to the space and therby increasing the return per sq ft). This is my "pick" of the year.

    (5)

  • Veronica S.

    Great food and beautiful vibe. The food was delicious and made with authentic care. I highly recommend trying...well, everything. I had a little bit of everything and wasn't disappointed. Service was a bit on the slow side but for a relaxing meal it was nice.

    (4)

  • Eyad M.

    The dishes were amazing especially the Ali Nazik..service could be slow during rush times so plan accordingly.

    (4)

  • Tullio O.

    Servers were snappy and rude with an half empty restaurant, and service was incredibly slow (15 minutes for a plate of hummus?!?). Food was subpar. Their moussaka is just a bunch of badly seasoned and mushy (read: overcooked) eggplants. I don't get how this place has so many great reviews.

    (2)

  • Adrian V.

    Many moons ago I was on the run from a veritable swarm of ladies, and I had to duck into the nearest establishment for cover. Fortunately, it also happened to be a pretty decent restaurant. The staff were friendly and non-intrusive, and managed to get my pursuers off of my trail. In addition to being quite handsome, I'm a pretty fair sort of fellow, so I ordered the Abdullah Kebab(as I recall, I was under a lot of stress, having been chased through the streets of Seattle for miles and miles). While I wouldn't prefer Cafe Turko to Turkuaz, it definitely had more hiding places and required less time to reach by foot.

    (4)

  • David G.

    Best middle eastern food I have ever had, everything in the menu is amazing, the service is friendly and fast

    (5)

  • James W.

    Delicious, fresh, and authentic Turkish food. The owners are super charming, service can be a bit slow sometimes but more than made up for by the value and flavor of the food. This is probably one of the few places in Seattle where you can get manti, a turkish ravioli. Other favories (we keep coming back!) are the kebabs and the mother in law breakfasts.

    (5)

  • Nile N.

    This place definitely hits the nail on the head as far as legit authentic Turkish food is concerned. Try their Ali Nazik dishes which is comprised of an eggplant/yogurt sauce, and then topped with either veggies or meats of your choice. Your taste buds will be in heaven. The flavors work amazing well together. Makes me miss living in Seattle, otherwise I'd be a regular here.

    (4)

  • Matt H.

    Really inconsistent, especially on their takeout orders. It's really frustrating to order something, pick it up, go home, and then open the order only to discover tiny portions or they left out a key piece (like the sauce). We used to go frequently, but we've been burned too many times. There are better options in the area.

    (3)

  • Leilani S.

    We ordered the sample hummus plate and I got the grilled eggplant Dürüm. The Dürüm was ridiculously delicious. I highly recommend it. As for the restaurant itself. It was super cute and very festive. Will definitely be returning.

    (5)

  • Stefanie F.

    I am a huge fan of the food. I'm not a huge fan of the service. Unless it's from the owner, the girls who work there are not attentive to the tables. They work hard in the kitchen and make great food but in order to get the food out to the happy customers, they need to focus on the customers when they are there. Because the owner is so attentive and because the food is so darn good I give it stars. The atmosphere is very Turkish street market style, with copper pots, lamps hanging, a crafty gift shop in the back but looks kind of part of the restaurant. The tables and seating is café style. All tables with wood chairs. No booth style. They have seasonings on the tables housed in silver Turkish dishware. The kitchen is open for the public to see what the cooks are making. The owner does cooking classes and I would say she knows her stuff and makes incredibly and unique stuff such as: Yam Hummus, Beet Hummus, moussaka which is super fresh and chunky, and many lam dishes. We tried the plate where you can try 5 appetizers and we thought the bean dish was very acidic compared to the others we ordered. It comes with pita bread as well. ALL the hummus types are incredible. They have fresh desserts to try as well and are very good. If they can ensure better service I'd give it full stars. We used the yelp discount deal and free tea and they honored it easily.,

    (4)

  • Nathaniel B.

    I rate this establishment an extra two stars beyond the well deserved five! That's right 7 stars! Anyhoo, I love everything, the little import selections, the atmosphere, the food and drinks, and most of all the people people people! The staff and owner are great! Thank you! Ps. I'm still dreaming of the pistachio baklava I took home! Mmmmmmm

    (5)

  • Salimeh E.

    Very rarely do you come to a restaurant that blows you away with amazing service AND food....cafe Turko delivered!!!

    (5)

  • Chelsey M.

    This is a great little cafe that has a wonderful atmosphere. There were several different languages being spoken all around are table. I had the pickle plate which was delicious and tart. I also had my first Turkish coffee which made my hands shake the rest of the day!! I highly recommend getting the dolmas as well. I look forward to trying out more dishes in the future here.

    (4)

  • Daljit S.

    Service is a little slow but food is great! We came here for lunch and were not disappointed with the vegetarian selection. There's also a small retail in the restaurant with trinkets and fresh baklava.

    (4)

  • K C.

    A great example of a family owned business. Excellent, authentic Turkish food in a great atmosphere. Not just a restaurant, it is an experience.

    (5)

  • Vivian M.

    Walked in on a whim and paid $15 for six tiny pieces of mediocre take-out baklava. Having been to Turkey, I can say that this would be a crime there. What a complete and utter rip off!

    (1)

  • Noah B.

    Excellent food! Had the wedding soup and spinach hummus - just amazing. We went with the family, not too kid friendly, but ok. My wife and mother had larger entrees, and both were equally pleased. One star off of five because of service,not bad, just average.

    (4)

  • Rachel G.

    What an awesome spot! Been meaning to try this place for a while, but now that I live in walking distance I finally made it. Very friendly, family run restaurant. Everyone who worked there stopped by our table to say hi and check in on us. You definitely want to order the rainbow hummus platter, but it was the yam and beet hummus that won us over. I had the manti - a Turkish ravioli that was unlike anything I've ever had. Can't wait to go back and try more goodies!!

    (5)

  • Timothy P.

    I was having coffee down the street and the smells coming from this place were tantalizing. I had to stop in for a quick bite. I ordered a small and classic dish, especially in Germany. The doner kebob. At first I was concerned as the meat wasn't sliced off a rotisserie, more like thinly sliced meatloaf. Thankfully I was not dissapointed, it was every bit as tasty as I expected. This is a family run restaurant with people who are proud to serve good food.

    (5)

  • tony a.

    The owner took time to introduce the menu to us but it wasn't weird like table side guacamole. The food was incredible and the experience of eating here was lovely. We give this place 5 zatars!

    (5)

  • Ismet A.

    I LOVE TURKEY FOOD. successful restaurant. I would recommend to everyone #mealaverynice #familyrestaurant,

    (5)

  • Sonal K.

    Little Turkish cafe / shop / grocery store. The food was great- loved the rainbow hummus plate and the lamb Ali Nazik which I was convince to get since it has a fan club. The lamb was tender and delicious and the eggplant sauce was great too.

    (4)

  • Vaidy K.

    Great food and excellent staff who make you feel welcome. I also loved the utensils and interiors. Going back there!

    (4)

  • Thaddeus H.

    Go. Eat here. Now. Funky decor. AWESOME yam hummus wrap. Incredible. Amazing. Really good coffee. A delicious, fresh dessert. The owner is kind and sweet -- a superb, imaginative cook. If you dig small family restaurants with authentic, crazy delicious food...run to this restaurant with an empty belly and get your full on. Yum!!!

    (5)

  • Rina M.

    So cute!! The staff were sweet, helpful, and attentive. The food was delicious. The coffee hit the spot. They played an amazing birthday song for someone. This place just became a favorite I had the Anatolian salad and Turkish coffee

    (5)

  • Dwayne C.

    This is as good a Turkish food experience as I've had in the US, and it was as much about the warmth of the staff as the food. I started with the just right Turkish coffee followed by a recommendation from the manager for the meal. I wish I knew what it was called, but it was fantastic. Tender lamb in a yogurt sauce with rice and salad, and it's the favorite lunchtime meal. I had lunch there two successive days, both times trusting the manager to pick. Seriously, consider letting them choose your meal for you. The pide was excellent, as were the stories that accompanied it. Really, really authentic food, relaxed service, and a pleasant setting make for a great dining experience. All I needed was a view of the Bosphorus and I'd have sworn I was back in Istanbul.

    (5)

  • Mary K.

    A Turkish restaurant with good prices and excellent food. I can't wait to come back! I got a meat dish (can't remember the name) that came with a salad side and rice pilaf. So, so delicious. I also got the pickle plate, which is a plate of pickled vegetables. Also tasty. The apple tea, while hard to sip (my cup didn't have a handle, but oh well), was wonderful.

    (5)

  • BoRa Y.

    If u want fresh organic health food u should check this place. They have amazing food. we drive almost 40 miles for her foods. Worth for it. Dont forget to try ali nazik or sultan kebabi.

    (5)

  • Mark P.

    What a charming cafe. The owners were super friendly, and the food was amazing! The rainbow hummus was superb, and the Cappadocia Chicken Köftes were fantastic. I will definitely visit this cafe again, when I'm back in Seattle!

    (5)

  • Tim B.

    Heads up to anyone using their website to make a reservation. It apparently doesn't work and their staff didn't seem to care about trying to figure out another option. Fortunately there are many other much better places to check out in Fremont!

    (1)

  • H S.

    Mixed review... Would give a 3.5 if I could. Ambiance is casual but warm and festive. Service was terrible ( slow and inattentive), Food was pretty good but not great, prices quite reasonable.

    (3)

  • Nick G.

    Found this place on Yelp and went to check it out with some time to kill before heading to the airport. Ordered the Lamb "Lady Fingers" Entree and Yam Hummus. FOOD Everything tasted great, but the portions seemed a bit small for the price. Also, my food was hardly even warm when it came out. SERVICE Decent. Server didn't come by once after the food was served and it wasn't even busy (about 3:45pm). Though it was prompt in the beginning and the food came out fast (maybe too fast?). OVERALL I enjoyed the food, and I don't live in Seattle, but if I was in town again, I would probably try another place before coming here again.

    (3)

  • Daranee O.

    I love this place. It feels very European to me. The restaurant is airy and the ceilings are high. I love the special touches with the copper turkish coffee cups and the like. Like a European place the service is pretty good until it comes time to get the bill, and then you might be waiting a while. But the food is fantastic. Their rainbow hummus plate is to die for. Anything with cauliflower on the menu is fantastic and don't forget to try their moussaka. Finally, the desserts are good too. I'm particularly fond of the semolina cake. If you love Turkish Delight, the td here is delish.

    (5)

  • Avian N.

    This place is great. So much to look at, really cozy seating considering it's also a small gift shop, and the food smells, looks and tastes delicious. I shared a sultan plate with a bit of everything. The meats were delicious, the rice was soft... I am very satisfied. Also had the hummus late, awesome stuff. One thing to consider, it is a family run place. The kids of the family are the servers and can sometimes take a reeeeeally long time to get an order in or seat you. And they brought my Turkish coffee out at the beginning of the meal (it's meant to be a finisher). The two people next to us waited nearly an hour for their food. Despite this, the servers are very friendly, but don't all them what their favorite is in the menu because they get torn up an about choosing between mom's cooking. :)

    (4)

  • Judd K.

    This is a great restaurant in Fremont. The owners are cool and interesting, and the food is outstanding. I especially recommend the Sultan Kebabi and the mousaka. When you're done eating, there are rugs, flatware, and other Turkish goods for sale too.

    (5)

  • Steve P.

    Probably my new favorite stand-by restaurant, and definitely my fave place for middle-Eastern or Mediterranean food. True, the service can be slow, but in my experience it has always been friendly. However, the food is so good it more than makes up for the leisurely service. So many interesting flavors! Here's a plan: If you go with two people, I suggest you each get the mezze plate where you choose five items, and each choose five totally different ones. Then share, and enjoy the party in your mouths. The Mother-in-Law breakfast is also a fine way to start your day, no matter what time your day actually starts. Not cheap, but not super expensive either, and absolutely worth it. Go when you're not in a hurry, relax, and enjoy your meal. UPDATE 8/28/15: I have returned a number of times in the year-plus since I wrote this review. While the food is still excellent, the service remains very slow and has been that way every time I've eaten here. The servers are friendly enough, but they seem incapable of dealing with more than one table per trip to the floor and rarely look around to see if anyone needs something. And once you have your food, they seem to disappear. I have often seen customers have to get up and go find someone to help them. Waiting to get your check, waiting for someone to come pick it up, waiting for someone to bring your change - this can take 20-30 minutes. For this reason, I'm going from 5 stars to 4.

    (4)

  • Afsaneh K.

    Absolutely delicious food. Great atmosphere and awesome people. Me and my husband had lunch here for the first time and it was packed. We enjoyed talking to the beautiful server and their food. Will definitely come back with our friends.

    (5)

  • Jonathan L.

    I had high expectations of a place with 4.5 star rating. Giving it 2 stars because the taste of the food was alright, the ambiance was interesting, and they clearly labeled the GF items, but this place was a strikeout. Strike 1: Creepy guys in the back giving a once over to every girl that came through the door, then whispering to each other. Not even subtle about it. Strike 2: On a Sunday night (with only a few other guests there)... food served lukewarm at the same time as a starter salad (3 minutes after we ordered the meal). After asking to have the main dish warmed, it came back in under a minute (clearly microwaved). When I called out the server on it, she said "oh- we have to do that only for your dish". Pretty sure that was a lie, given how quickly my wife's dish came out. Furthermore, one should never "have to" microwave anything in a restaurant. Strike 3: Waitress didn't fill up my water glass, even after asking her to. She was too busy chatting with the other employees (who were also standing around). Later, we told her that we wanted the check, then she left without telling anybody about our request. Oops- guess she didn't want her tip either. Perhaps things run more like they should on a weekday night? Not sure I'm coming back to find out. Take a look at my other reviews- I'm not very picky and I don't give bad ones very often. This place just really disappointed.

    (2)

  • Hanifi S.

    This place is not only a restaurant but also a Turkish culture center.They designed the restaurant full of Turkish Tradition figures. There are a bunch of art craft and carpets and jewelry staff they show out there.Ambiance is good. Not a loud place. You can hear even the azan which is calling to prayer there. I tried Sultan Kebab and Beyti they taste really good. Unfortunately desert did not satisfied me. Try Turkish coffee or tea after your dinner or lunch to get used to Turkish Traditions.

    (5)

  • sibel s.

    As visitors of Seattle, the store front peeked our attention and we had to check it out! Food: simply the most amazing, authentic Turkish food I had. ( I am Turkish). Presentation of the food is also very nice, no wonder the chef offers cooking classes! Really, this place is a gem! Ciftlik kebap, Ali Nazik, Pides, the Eggplant salad were simply to die for! Its a family business and from the father to the son and the girls working there, everyone is super friendly and attentive. Make sure you finish your meal with some tea. I ended up going there a day later with my friend and his son and had another fiest before leaving town. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

    (5)

  • Ali S.

    My favorite restaurant in Seattle! I experienced authentic Turkish coffee here for the first time. It gave me a nice perk without the indigestion, tachycardia or 'jitters' of some unnamed establishments. Delicious, smooth and it tasted 'natural.' I had the pita with lamb which is like a Turkish pizza. Fabulous! To my surprise, I ate the whole thing and left upright with a smile. :-) I'm used to eating bread with ingredients that list like a bottle of shampoo. This, on the other hand, was real bread. I can't place it but it probably just had flour, eggs, water and salt. I finally ate bread made in a kitchen and not a lab. (What a concept!) Super friendly, subject experts that can answer the detailed questions of a connoisseur. I look forward to a day off sitting in the corner window seat with a view of the water and sail boats that looks just like a portrait of Anatolia. Thank you for the experience!

    (5)

  • Richie H.

    Really good. Didn't know we had a Turkish place till just a few nights ago. The rainbow hummus is fantastic, and the lamb dish I got was also very good.

    (5)

  • Stacy G.

    The food was delicious but the service was pretty poor. Our party of five ordered several of the entrees and beverages. The entrees where great but the teas were disappointing. Since when is STASH green tea considered a Turkish tea? We had a good laugh at our table and decided to focus on the food. Overall, it was a so so experience that could have ended on a more pleasant note if we did not have to wait 20 minutes for our bill. Actually, it never arrived, we had to walk up to the register and ask to be checked out. I might go back for take out, but won't be dining in again.

    (3)

  • Nikhil M.

    Nice place for authentic Turkish food. Had the Bekti kebab. The lamb was well cooked, juicy and soft. Never had such well cooked lamb before in the U.S. Try the bird nest for desert

    (4)

  • Anne E.

    OMG this place is so good!! We went on New Years, was able to reserve a table a few hours before which was nice. We ordered the Rainbow Hummus plate and some peach juice to start, the hummus is incredible and totally worth the price ($14), we downed the whole thing and they gladly have us more pita bread. The peach juice was really good too. We also ordered the Kebab, I didn't expect it to be this good, the best Kebab I've had in my entire life. I've been drooling to go back to Cafe Turko! The owner is super sweet and even gave our daughter a small purse from the gift area they have there, it was so nice of her! You need to eat here!

    (5)

  • Sarah M.

    Absolutely loved this place. The highlight was Ali Nazik the Fire. It's a veggie dish, but so fantastic it's well worth forgoing the meat. We also had the Kuzu Pide. Yummy option for anyone feeling less adventurous--soft, thick pita bread with cheese and toppings. Interior is fun mix of cafe and store. The service was good. Only two servers sharing all the tables, but didn't feel neglected. Didn't try dessert this time, but looking forward to it on our next visit.

    (5)

  • Vina R.

    The service was meh. I ordered a tea and an iced tea was brought. I asked if I could have the tea hot and my waitress told me yes but that I was still going to be charged for the iced tea as well as the hot tea. I hate to cry over $3 but customer service here is just a fail. My friend ordered mother-in-laws breakfast which was on point, cold. A boiled egg some tomatoes cucumbers olives cheese and dried apricots for $10. I forgot what I ordered but the rainbow hummus that we shared was delicious for $15.

    (2)

  • Ahmed E.

    They are understaffed the portions are tiny.. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone who knows how Mediterranean food should taste like

    (1)

  • Mark S.

    This place has the best Middle Eastern food in the city. I much prefer the Turkish versions of eggplant dishes over most any Greek versions I've had elsewhere. Everything here seems really fresh and not overly heavy, and the flavors are just amazing...an easy five stars.

    (5)

  • Kristen P.

    A very tasty and pleasant experience. It was as if we'd been invited to dinner in friend's mother's kitchen--very friendly and welcoming owner and kitschy furnishings. They also sell rugs, jewelry, spices, etc. Our party of five was pleased with everything we ordered, especially the lamb and hummus dishes. Plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options! We will come again to try the Turkish coffee.

    (4)

  • Lisa N.

    Beautiful imports from Turkey fill this cute little cafe/storefront, from pretty tapestries to fun hammered metal cups to delicious treats and interesting jewelry-- it's worth coming in and just looking around if you don't have time to stop and eat! I highly recommend that you do make time, however, because the food is fantastic. To drink we ordered the ayran (yogurt drink) which was delightfully tangy and savory and some cardamom tea. To eat, the rainbow hummus which comes with regular chickpea + spinach + beet + yam hummus laid out beautifully and served with warm pita (delicious) and the lamb beyti kebab which came with yogurt sauce and yummy pickled veggies. Everything was absolutely delicious and there wasn't a single bite of food left on either of our plates by the time the meal ended. Service was alright for a Tuesday evening and I especially liked the personal touch of the owners coming by and asking how we enjoyed our visit. This is truly a wonderful establishment and I definitely plan on returning and trying more delicious, healthy Turkish cuisine and perhaps picking up some cute wares on my way out! Bring a date, bring your best friend, bring your family, or just bring yourself. Totally worth it.

    (5)

  • D H.

    I've only had a few things on the menu, but this place is awesome. The mother-in-law's breakfast is the perfect meal. The chicken and eggplant dish is great - I don't care much for eggplant, but it's well balanced here. I haven't been here too many times, but I seem to recall the pitas being a bit fresher in the morning or around lunch time - my first impression of their pita was that it was the best I had ever had, perfectly baked. I went another time around 3PM or so and it was not quite as fresh, but still good. Just something minor to keep in mind, not a huge deal. The teas are awesome, as I've come to realize about Turkish tea. It's served in a smaller glass because it is very, very strong. But the rich flavor is what it's all about - you wouldn't want to drink too much of it or you might develop spasms.

    (5)

  • Stephen F.

    The food was excellent - I had the Manti, which is a Turkish version of beef ravioli. It was delicious and creamy and had a great tomatoey zing. Previously I had the beyati kebab, which was wildly different than most food I normally eat. It had incredible texture and the lamb was flavorful and tender. It's a great plate for 10 to 15 bucks at cafe turko.

    (5)

  • Michelle A.

    Great food. The turkish coffee with cardamom is the BEST.

    (4)

  • Alana E.

    The food was very good and the staff was friendly. I had never had Turkish food before but it proved to be very tasty.

    (4)

  • Marjorie H.

    A great restaurant! The food was wonderful. The dolmas were fabulous! The baklava was light and sweet. The staff was very nice. The owner was welcoming and gracious. Get there early, there aren't many tables and once it full it's a little chaotic.

    (4)

  • Phil G.

    This is a super quirky restaurant in Fremont. The guy who owns it is a former rug dealer and gave my wife and I a facinating history of Turkish rugs after our dinner. You feel like you're eating in the living room of a big Turkish family. Very hospitible and warm people and very good food.

    (4)

  • Deisy R.

    Oh my goodness gracious! The deliciousness of this place is beyond amazing. I think this was my first Turkish food experience, outside from baklava, and it was incredible. My friend brought me to this wonderful restaurant when I was visiting her in Seattle. I wanted to go see the Troll and this restaurant is down the street from it, so she suggested we go here. We ordered the Beyti Kebab and one of the Pide's (Pizza), I think it was the Sucuklu Pide (although I don't think it really matters. I don't think you could go wrong with anything you order from here.) Omg the Beyti Kebab was to die for, and just writing this review is making my mouth water. It is accompanied by a delicious yogurt sauce that is so perfectly tangy and delicious, and it is accompanied by a tomato sauce as well. If you go here the beyti kebab is a must try. The pide was also very yummy, and the crust was perfectly crispy. I ordered pomegranate juice which was quite refreshing. Of course I wanted dessert so my friend and I ordered baklava. She had pistachio and I had walnut. It was overly sweet, and this was nothing against the restaurant, I think it has much more to do with personal preference and I'm generally not a baklava fan, but I thought I'd give it another try. The ambiance of this place is also incredible, they serve coffee in the traditional Turkish cups and they have a lot of traditional décor. The back of the restaurant is a little Turkish shop, my friend said the restaurant used to be a Turkish rug shop before it was transformed into a little piece of food paradise. This restaurant seems to be family run, and all the staff there is really friendly. I would give this place 5 stars hands down, but we were served quite slowly and had to wait a long time. Other than this awesome, awesome, awesome!

    (4)

  • April J.

    Delicious, but expensive

    (4)

  • Nehal E.

    The food and the atmosphere is amazing!! I only wish that the waitresses would know more about the menu.

    (4)

  • Kristine B.

    Wonderful authentic food with exceptional and individualized service. We had peeked in the window the night prior noticing the interesting ambiance and made reservations for the next night. We never expected that entering through the front door would actually transport us to Turkey! Great place to celebrate a birthday too, they dimmed the lights and the whole staff broke out in native dance and song in honor of my friend's special day!

    (5)

  • Brynnen F.

    We had Cafe Turko cater a casual wedding party and the food was fabulous. Everyone loved it. Surreya was easy to work with and delivered the food herself. I love that everyone can find something they like. The fruit salad was just superb, along with everything else we ordered. The colors were varied and the presentation was splendid, the guests just couldn't stop raving. I love their food at the restaurant and having it at home was amazing!

    (5)

  • Tarik K.

    Really authentic Turkish food, hidden jewel.

    (5)

  • michelle m.

    After being away from Turkey for three years I was looking forward to someone else's Turkish cooking. I read great reviews and was happy to give them a try. First, there is a really nice family running the place. Unfortunately, my meal was a disappointment. I ordered menemen, a traditional Turkish egg dish with stewed tomatoes, peppers and onion. It was even described as such on the menu, so I ordered it. What I got was an onion omelette with two slices of tomato on top. It was fine, it just wasn't turkish. Majorly disappointed. I will be back though because other items looked good. I hope to give more stars in future.

    (3)

  • Tami Y.

    We agree with the other naysayers - service is absolutely unprofessional. The two young female employees couldn't be bothered to greet us and moved like molasses. It took forever just to get our drinks. Both owners were too busy chatting with their buddies when the place was fairly packed. We saw at least two other tables in need of attention. The specials weren't explained and the chicken salad was pretty sad (small portion, dry meat).

    (1)

  • Leon V.

    As a fan of Hummus this place had it made before I stepped in, come on. But I guess you can still screw it up some way or the other. I love the intimate service from the owner himself, the witty side comments that you don't really understand yet get, the hard-working waitresses and the food, damn, you had me at Dolmas! AND Dog-friendly, your night's going to be a hoot - seriously.

    (4)

  • Erik W.

    So good! Loved the atmosphere, service was quick and kind (not overly friendly though, something I like), and most importantly the food was amazing. Definitely check this place out if you're in the neighborhood and looking for some tasty Turkish food.

    (5)

  • Brent P.

    I'm struggling to rate between 2 & 3. The food here is good, but the service is really bad! Both times I've been here have felt like a disorganized cluster. I spent most of the hour i was here wondering if the staff knew I was here, am I going to get silverwear or water (eventually I got my own menu and silverwear, couldn't find the water so never got that), is eye contact avoided in Turkey, do I order up front, what's the system here? Either let me order up front and bring it to my table or have full wait service but this place seems to be a weird mix of the two. I'm fine either way just have a plan and stick to it, its unclear how the flow is supposed to work.

    (2)

  • Megan P.

    I was staying with family in the Fremont district and they mentioned this Turkish place down the way. It started out as a market and the owner taught cooking classes. They expanded and now serve a full menu, in addition to the original services. I must confess, this place was outstanding. The owners were personable and joked with us despite having just met us. They make all of the food there, including five kinds of baklava, and are willing to accomodate people's preferences and intolerances. So...the food. My friends had ordered beet hummus when I got there (they also have yam, spinach, regular) and it was sooo good! It had the perfect texture and sweetness from the beets that I could've eaten many plates of it! The pita bread was warm, soft, and deliciously authentic. I ordered their vegan pide, which is similar to a pizza. The marriage of flavors between the eggplant and tomato topping was superb and the crust itself was cooked to perfection. For dessert, we split a square of the pistachio baklava and, though I am not a baklava connoisseur, it was the best I've ever had. If in the Fremont district, this is a must try!

    (5)

  • Michelle S.

    Eating here was a really fun experience! When you walk through the doors, you feel like you're in Turkey. The interior is funky and fun: tables set amidst what looks and feels like a Turkish bazaar, with all kinds of goods for sale (but mainly jewelry and textiles). Our service was attentive but also European-style, where they left my friend and me alone for periods of time while we lingered over our tea, and later dessert, and talked. As in Europe, they don't foist a check on your table while you're still chewing. You go up front to the cash register to pay when you're ready. The food was SUPERB. Spices and flavors blend wonderfully, and everything tasted fresh and homemade. A tray holding three small, ornate dishes of spices sits at each table. Tea is served in beautiful glasses with metallic designs and tiny spoons. I had a Durum, a sandwich wrap made with puffy, warm, fresh bread. I opted for the yam hummus version. While yams are not traditional in Turkey (we heard the owner saying that most Turks haven't even heard of yams, much less eaten one), so this was something she created, but it was delicious. My friend had an eggplant dish that was like a stew, and it came with a side of Mousakka, plus a delicious fried rice that tasted like it had seeds and nuts in it, and a salad. It was also delicious. This place is also crazy affordable. My Durum was $7 and my friend's dinner plate was $10. There is no alcohol, but there is a wide selection of interesting beverages, including many flavors of tea, Turkish coffee, Turkish sour cherry juice, and Lebanese sodas. We were brought a small plate of complimentary pastries to share after we finished our meal, and we liked them so much we ordered two other desserts to share. (Bakalva and a shredded wheat pastry drizzled with honey and pistachios.) The female owner, a jovial presence, stopped at many of the tables to chat and talk about the food and ask diners if they had questions. She is warm and funny, and likes to talk about Turkish food and history. After we ate, we spent at least half an hour browsing the store. If you're into unique jewelry, but are on a budget, this is the place for you! There are a lot of glass-bead bracelets in particular, and a preponderance of Evil Eye jewelry, which is unique and fun. Most bracelets cost $8 -$14, and the owner assured us they are all from Turkey--not made in China. There are a bunch of other items on the menu I'd like to try, so I'll definitely be going back!

    (5)

  • Ellen L.

    My favorite place to eat. Great halal food, genuine people, fabulous atmosphere... What more to ask for... You won't find Turkish dishes like here anywhere in greater Seattle area. My kind of restaurant. I am regular from now on ;).

    (5)

  • Lisa C.

    Delicious food and good prices! My new favorite place to go when nothing else sounds good - check it out! I never even noticed the noise level, so that is a good sign, right?

    (4)

  • Derek P.

    Eh. I had high hopes. Coming from the American bastion of Middle Eastern diasporas (Metro Detroit), I guess I shouldn't have. Five bucks and two pieces of soggy, nearly frozen baklava later, I learned my lesson.

    (2)

  • Michael B.

    As much as I like different kinds of hummus, I usually expect variations such as yam, spinach, and beet to retain few differentiating tastes aside from the color. Thankfully, that is *not* the case at Cafe Turko. Not only is the rainbow assortment of hummus delicious, but each one retains the quality and taste of the vegetable with which it was made. Cafe Turko's attentiveness to vegan options and overall quality will ensure future visits in my future!

    (4)

  • Grant E.

    OMG their meze dishes are AMAZING! I loved every single bite! How do they get so much flavor out of such simple healthy food? For an entree I ordered the doner kebap sandwich which wasn't quite what I'd expected but which I'd also rate a solid 10 out of 10. Where else do you get fermented shredded beets (like sauerkraut except beets instead of cabbage) as a relish on your sandwich. I'm a total foodie and I've traveled to Turkey and I am DELIGHTED to find a medium-priced Turkish restaurant of this amazing quality right here in Fremont!

    (5)

  • Ali C.

    Thoroughly enjoyed the food and ambiance here. We ended up chatting with the owner for about an hour after our meal about the shop and his culture, etc. Extremely friendly and kind staff. Food was fantastic; fair portion sizes and the mixed hummus appetizer was delicious. Was visiting from out of town and will certainly recommend to anyone looking for amazing Mediterranean/Turkish cuisine.

    (5)

  • Stuart S.

    Great food, bad service. I'm quite conflicted because the food was amazing. My girlfriend and I ordered the Turkish soup, hummus sampler, and a vegan pide. Everything was great until the vegan pide showed up and was full of cheese. It was obvious there was a mistake in the kitchen that nobody wanted to admit. They didn't offer to correct the mistake after being notified, so we decided to get the check and bail out early. Again, great food, bad service.

    (3)

  • Raj M.

    A small piece of Istanbul in Seattle. Friendly owner, tasty kebabs and grand bazaar ambience. I tried the sultan kebab and spinach hummus plate - Both dishes were fantastic. Expect longer than usual wait times as the owner doubles as cashier and server.

    (4)

  • Rachel S.

    A true delight to stumble upon this cafe! The owner was charming and the Turkish coffee and teas were perfect. It took her a few minutes to give us menus so we were not sure if we should get them ourselves. Just wait a bit and she'll give them to you. She coaxed us into getting the hummus plate, which was all homemade and so delicious. We weren't sure if it was on the house or she was going to charge us for the hummus by the way she made it sound. In the end, we payed for it. The food was ready quickly- I ordered the donar pita, which was yummy. It wasn't the best pita I ever had but it was good. There wasn't as much meat as I was expecting. The others ordered the sausage pides, which I tasted and LOVED. Overall, the Turko Cafe has left quite the impression on me. We will definitely be back! The atmosphere is so charming and authentic and it's simply a fun place to eat. I can't wait to go back and order a pide (and buy a beautiful pashmina for $23 at the store connected to the cafe).

    (4)

  • Miss zoe P.

    We stopped by for Turkish coffee and pastry, so I have not had meals there yet but planning to stop by again. Prices are reasonable. coffee was good but too sweet for my taste and pastry excellent. However, I give it a three star for lack of service. The waitress girls seemed unfriendly and a bit timid. The Gentleman was very nice when he talked to us. But we felt like he was more concerned about his Turk friends and socializing with them. We hardly got any service! I am middle eastern so familiar with the exclusive culture but my white American BF felt ignored and rightly so.. I think if you have a resturant you need to attend to all your customers. We had to wait for a very long time to order and to pay eventho it was not very busy. I will try it again maybe that day they had friends who stopped by to say Hello.. :)

    (3)

  • Daniel B.

    I am from Turkey and the $50 breakfast was not good. Nothing was made with love as all Turkish food should be prepared. The only highlight was the tea! Never again.

    (1)

  • Benjamin F.

    Excellent food, great service, lovely people! Will come back next time I'm in Seattle!

    (5)

  • Amol S.

    The decor is really nice and the staff is very friendly. Even though the portions aren't big, the food is really fantastic. Certainly qualifies amongst the best Turkish restaurants Seattle has to offer.

    (5)

  • Jane S.

    So thrilled to find turkish food in my hood. And good turkish food too. Loved the coffee and desserts - and the owners and wait staff are charming. Will def be back.

    (4)

  • K K.

    DELICIOUS ! DELICIOUS ! DELICIOUS. So DELICIOUS that I think about the food I ate at your cafe, even when I'm not at your cafe :-).. will return .

    (5)

  • Divya C.

    We've been meaning to try this place and finally got around to it today. The food was excellent and the ambiance was very homey. We liked everything we ate and will definitely be back (often!). Go here if you're looking to spend a laid back, relaxed meal where you're savoring every bite. Not recommended if you're expecting express service and a quick meal.

    (5)

  • Ewelina K.

    The food here is supposedly really delicious. BUT, I can't tell you from my own experience because when I ordered food from them I didn't get to eat. Here is what happened. I asked the owner if she was interested in helping me with a nonprofit event. I was on a limited budget, but we could work out some dishes that didn't have too high of a food and labor cost perhaps. She said that she would love to do the order for 100 people for $10pp and that she worked with church groups so she was confident that we could work something out. I met with her at the restaurant and we agreed on a menu. She was praising herself for how this is the first time she is doing rice for a $1pp and how cheap each item was. When she got to the event with her delivery (late), I was confused by the three aluminum foil containers and two places (large plate size). It seemed like not enough, but maybe I wasn't calculating correctly in my head? Despite that we had fewer attendees than expected, we were not able to feed about 20 of them. We ran out of rice before we ran out of the two dishes. (The plates were some hummus and baklava...also not enough). I paid $1000 for food that I would have cooked at home for a party of 20. I heard from the people who ate that it was tasty though.

    (1)

  • Shawnacee t.

    Amazing!!! Loved everything I had. Dolmades, salad with the delicious pomegranate dressing, spinach hummus and a kimayli pide. Was so great with the mint iced tea. Go here and eat every bite will make your mouth happy.

    (5)

  • Isa. A.

    Well I wish I could say I tried the food, but the staff was so unwelcoming I left before I had the chance. I went in and waited around for 10 minutes and no one bothered to say hi or ask me how many were in our party. It was a pretty busy weekend night, but you still don't ignore people who walk into your restaurant. I finally went up to a waitress who greeted me by saying "Yeah?", and when I politely asked for a table for 2, she says in a sarcastic tone, "can you wait?". I asked very nicely how long the wait might be, "I have no idea, when some one gets up to leave". Wow, thank you, that was helpful. Seems like this place is still figuring out how to be a real restaurant, and needs to polish its service most of all. Doubt I'll go back.

    (1)

  • Michael H.

    Just tried this place with some friends and had a great experience. The food was delicious with many Turkish-specific items breaking up the usual monotony of a generic "Mediterranean" place. The owner is very friendly. Each table has little containers of several dried spice mixtures (thyme, plum, and red pepper) you can add to your food as you like. I enjoyed the lamb pide but my girlfriend's grilled chicken plate was even better. Definitely coming back.

    (4)

  • Julianne T.

    Oh my gosh! Delicious! Fresh and authentic. The owner is always there, cooking everything and taking care of the guests. Reminds me of Turkey a lot! Plus, the place is half store, and they have so many interesting, Turkish things.

    (5)

  • Anum I.

    One of the best tasting food! Turkish food is my new fav now! We had one bread filled with beef filling and cheese, chicken alezi I think and for appetizer it was pita with cheese! I was in cheese heaven after tasting it! Very reasonable prices. My go to for yummy food!

    (5)

  • Amy F.

    I have been aware of the Turkish Cafe near my office for some time now but I had never dreamt of visiting. I am have now learned that I was missing out on something fantastic right in front of me. The (presumably) owner is a delight and the food is by far the best Turkish food I have had in Seattle. The chicken dish I had was so tender it was hard to believe it was actually chicken and so flavorful it left me wanting more for the days following my visit.

    (4)

  • A B.

    Just ate here - the food was amazing, fresh and authentic. Still working out the kinks of a new place but very friendly people and delicious food. Get the beet hummus people!! Also fun that there is still imports left to shop through while waiting for food. Good for kids and vegetarians.

    (5)

  • Carolyn L.

    I would highly recommend Cafe Turko. I love the family oriented environment, browsing the gift section of the restaurant, and the open atmosphere. The food is absolutely delicious and I have never ordered anything I did not love (I have been about 5 or 6 times now).

    (5)

  • Meridena K.

    Everything is delicious! Came for lunch, rainbow hummus-all flavors were amazing, no way to pick a favorite. The pide with cheese & olives-killer! Dessert-the birds nest has a weird name but was soooo good, crispy shredded wheat with butter baked until crispy with ricotta cheese & honey. Woohoo! Will def come back.

    (5)

  • M I.

    So happy to have discovered this place! The quality of food was excellent. The seasoning perfect. We ordered a mixed mezze platter, including classic hummus, beet salad, kefir with zaatar, dolma (best I've had in years, possibly ever), and olives. Hubby had a Farmer's plate (lamb), and I had a lamb dish, which is normally a pita pocket but subbed gluten free bread. I rate all the mezze 5*, my dish 5 stars & hubby said 4* for his. I averaged to 4 stars because service could have been a bit quicker & generally more attentive, and I received a sage tea instead of the mint I ordered (it was good anyway). But the staff were definitely pleasant enough. We'll go back next time we're in Fremont. Might even make a special trip on the ferry just for Cafe Turko. It was that good & we've got nothing like it in Kitsap Co.

    (4)

  • Dean W.

    Not fancy. Authentic Turkish food. I try to eat something different every time I go and I'm never disappointed. If you love the food of the Eastern Mediterranean (Turkish, Greek, Lebanese) you'll love this place.

    (5)

  • Shehryar H.

    Never had a bad meal here. Have gone at least 4 times and have tried many dishes. The staff is friendly and will get off-menu items made as well if you ask for them. The decor is very ethnic. My wife and I are big fans. It is a good place for date night. Halal is a plus as well.

    (5)

  • Kim P.

    Everything about the food here screams 5 stars. The service is horrific. The food is perfect- as if you were eating in their home. The flavors are balanced and diverse. The waitstaff here, I just don't understand it!!! They are all younger, and some appear to be family, but all are indifferent and unobservant. Each time I've been in I will go without water and ordering takes forever and a day. I feel as though the food is worth it so I persevere. The owner is a jovial man who welcomes you as though you are on his doorstep. I adore him. Go there just to give him your money.

    (4)

  • Lindsey S.

    Incredibly slow service. 45 minutes after we sat down we finally got our food and it wasn't what we ordered. Their attempt to fix the mistake was in offering us the item with lamb (instead of chicken like we originally ordered). I opted for a salad with lamb--we were on break from work and it's been almost an hour now so I just wanted something to eat! The lamb was pretty gamey--the salad underwhelming. I had heard good things about this place but it was a big disappointment. I probably won't go back--despite that it's conveniently across the street from my office.

    (2)

  • Rick H.

    Dined here twice during the summer. Service seems generally OK. First visit was pretty prompt. Second visit, there was some confusion regarding a reservation and this produced some delay. Food is overall excellent. The pides are great. Our favorite dish so far has been the beyti kebab. I also had Suleyman the Magnificent, which was a pretty impressive sampler of different meats. Great place to get Turkish coffee, which as far as I could tell was prepared traditionally in a cezve. Reasonably priced.

    (4)

  • Saliha K.

    Cafe Turko is the best place in Seattle to get Authentic Turkish food. The owners are super sweet and always welcoming. They also sell items from Turkey inside their restaurant.

    (5)

  • Sabera R.

    My favorite Turkish restaurant in the entire world!!!!! I LOVE this place this place has given my tastebuds an amazing standard every time I try middle eastern good I compare it cafe Turko and honestly no one is close to when it comes to flavor and the texture of the meat absolutely worth every penny!! Go there or you're missing out on a whole lot of amazing food! I wish I was still living in Seattle or Pittsburgh had a cafe turko my life would be complete. I miss you cafe turko!

    (5)

  • Saleh R.

    We came here with my family for lunch. Cute atmosphere and good music. The server was really nice and attending. We place an order for several dishes, some of them were pretty good some of them were ok. If it was because of their good effort to play some birthday music I would have game them 4 star but I told them it as my moms birthday so they went out f their way to play a birthday music for her and brought out a free baghlava and a candle. We ended up buying some neckless also and the waiters was pretty nice about giving us discount. Overall a good experience for small mom and pop shop. Lastly.. The Turkish coffee could be much better..:))

    (5)

  • Jenna D.

    - Great ambiance - Has a small gift store with Turkish cultural items - Pretty quick service at about 8 PM on a saturday - All food was delicious, Pita bread came out hot - Authentic spices on the table from turkey, waiter described each one to us after w

    (4)

  • Mada A.

    Delicious food, great atmosphere.. Every dish tastes great! Don't hesitate to go there and don't forget to finish your meal with baklava and Turkish coffee. Definitely best Turkish food in town!

    (5)

  • Mia X.

    Delicious food! Love the Ali Nazik and Kofte. I wish I lived in the city so I could go back there more often. Food and service are both phenomenal.

    (5)

  • Suz S.

    Cute and authentic, casual service, laid back. Moussaka wrap delish and fresh Bread dish with sausage, feta and moz, small but tasty! Like a flatbread. Worth a trip if you like Turkish food!

    (4)

  • Courtney B.

    Turkish coffee and amazing halal food, couldn't really ask for more. (Except for unlimited refills of Turkish coffee, but it's probably best for my health that they're not...) Beyti kebab is great, it is my top food choice here. They also have lots of different kinds of hummus options. I've been here soooo many times and I'll keep going back because of the food, drinks, atmosphere, and location.

    (5)

  • John F.

    This restaurant offers a great atmosphere and yummy food. The flavor of spices, garlic, and taste of quality halal meat is exceptional at Cafe Turko. Be sure to study the menu and options. I would recommend that you finish your meal with tasty pastry and a cup of Turkish tea or coffee!

    (5)

  • kim h.

    this is one hell of an eclectic place with amazing turkish food. this is your typical seattle restaurant. it is extremely mom and pop. I mean your table will probably wobble, the decorations are dusty, and there's a mini market in the restaurant of turkish goods. the food is great. we got the spinach humus and i had the lady finger dish. the lamb was like butter. it just melted. i can't wait to go back! the service is a little odd and not spectacular. you have to consider that part of the charm of this place.

    (4)

  • Mojdeh S.

    How I heard of this place: Our good friends chose this spot for their rehearsal dinner, the night before their Fairview Park wedding in the spring rain. Type of cuisine: "Café Turko offers an extensive, authentic menu of Seasonal Dishes and Traditional Turkish Favorites..." Ambiance: An eclectic, slightly eccentric space, reminiscent of our dining experiences in rural Turkey, where trinkets are collected and sold among the mismatched tables and chairs available for diners wishing to sit back and enjoy a meal with their chefs. "Our goal is to provide you a unique environment to dine and enjoy the legendary Turkish tastes and hospitality while smelling the tantalizing aromas coming from our open kitchen." What I ordered: The menu was pre-selected for all the rehearsal dinner guests by the bride & groom and included a diverse assortment of colorful and interesting Turkish foods. What I loved: A favorite at our table: the hummus! Many who have visited to or had lived in the Mediterranean raved of it's flavor and texture - just as it was in Israel and Turkey. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Wholesome Aegean Musakka, an eggplant dish consisting of eggplant, onions, green peppers, garlic, tomatoes, Turkish red pepper paste, parsley and olive oil and spices melded together. And a sweet bite of baklava, with a strong miniature glass of tea with which to celebrate this new union ended our meals. Why I loved it: Simple, wholesome and perfect to serve a large group of rowdy wedding guests. Cost: Average

    (4)

  • Siddharth C.

    Loved the food. The restaurant is a little too small . The service was good . The hummus platter was out of the world. A fun place to hangout with a few friends .

    (4)

  • Megan Y.

    This restaurant is SO GOOD! When I went here I was a little skeptical because I wasn't familiar with Turkish food, but I am so glad that I went. I tried the Ali Nazik with Lamb & the Beyti Kebab with Beef Doner. Both dishes were incredibly delicious. I also got Turkish coffee free of charge for I checking in on Yelp. I did read previous reviews about their service being slow, but I thought their service was excellent. They had several staff members that walked around to refill waters and check to see how everything was going. It also didn't take very long at all for the food to come out after ordering. This is definitely a place that I would recommend!

    (5)

  • Bryan C.

    Food was awesome, reasonably priced, and atmosphere was cool with Turkish decor. Lots of great options for carnivores, vegetarians, and vegans alike. Would have given it 5 stars had the service been better. Waiting staff was not very attentive. We had to wait quite a while for menus. Had to get up and snag our own silverware and napkins. Waited so long for our check that we just ended up just going up to the register without it.

    (4)

  • Emily V.

    The food was great but some of the handling of food was questionable. I saw a lady preparing food with gloves on but eating and texting at the same time...I would go back because the food was amazing.

    (4)

  • Alex K.

    There is nothing I enjoy more than finding a locally owned, family run restaurant that delivers good food at fair prices. Cafe Turko is a welcome relief from the hundreds of overpriced, overdecorated high end Americana joints that dominate this city. I suggest coming in when you have a little extra time, as the service can be slow, but that is just part of the overall experience. To start we ordered the yam hummus which was unbelievably smooth and creamy. It may have been my favorite dish of the night (and it was served with fresh warm pita). My girlfriend ordered the lamb ali nazik dish that came in a yogurt sauce that was to die for. I don't usually care for lamb but this was so tender and well cooked that the usual gamey flavor didn't overwhelm it at all. I had the beyti which I can only describe as a high end hot pocket/quesadilla combination. That doesn't do it justice. It was FABULOUS. And the salad that came on the side was dressed to perfection, perfectly setting off the richness of the dish. For dessert we had a sweet nest cake that was both light and decadent. We finished off the meal with some Turkish coffee, which was a first for us. Neither of us drink coffee so we split a tiny little shot. It was rich and unique in flavor, the perfect little end to an incredible meal. I can't wait to return to explore more dishes on the menu (combo hummus plate?) and support this local business!

    (5)

  • Ionut-Gabriel B.

    Good food, loved the lamb with okra, and the apple tea. The sweet potato purée with garlic reminded me of a similar tasty dish made of beans with garlic. The spinach filled pastry was also good.

    (5)

  • Amanda F.

    Very impressed with this place. The food is amazing. Went here with my friend visiting out of town on Wednesday and they were very busy (waited about 30 minutes or so). It was definitely worth it. I had the Ali Nazik with lamb. So flavorful and fresh tasting! We also shared the spinach hummus which had great garlic flavor. My friend had another lamb dish with apricots and said it was excellent.

    (5)

  • Yusuf A.

    Top place, great food and customer sercice. The food is prepared right after the order, so it comes fresh and tasty. I love it.

    (5)

  • Ellie G.

    Good food, awful service. It's slow and disorganized. I waited over 30 minutes for take-out with a veggie wrap. When I asked the waitress about the status of my order, it had been ready for a while, but no one had come to get me. Then I waited 10 minutes to pay for it, even though several employees saw me at the register...they just didn't come over. It was bad enough to keep me from returning, even though the food was tasty.

    (3)

  • Elle K.

    I shopped here when it was a charming Istanbul import store. Ever since they changed the store into a cute restaurant, I was curious to try, but it took a long time ( more than a year!) for me to actually check them out. I enjoyed cafe turko very much and I regret not visiting them any sooner. This family owned restaurant screams its charm as you walk in. It is decorated with lots of beautiful crafts and authentic decors/ The foods were great and desserts were even more amazing ! Hummus ws especiallu great. Must try! For dessert, they had walnut/pistaccio baklava,andn there are cute mini sized ones, so I took one of each kind.

    (4)

  • Zoey C.

    I've been here twice now and probably won't be back. Here's the breakdown why: Pros: - Prices are reasonable. I can usually expect to pay at least $10 for lunch anyway in this area. - Food was pretty tasty. I ordered the Spicy Chicken in a pita shell. Cons: - SERVICE. Let me clarify... Some folks around us were receiving amazing service. We, on the other hand, were not checked on during the entire meal. Not sure why we didn't qualify for the same premium service. (this happened on 2 different occasions) - Where to pay is very confusing. Do you pay the bill at the table or at the counter? No idea. We ended up just going to the counter because we didn't want to wait another 30 minutes for the waiter to come back to our table. - Food ... I was still hungry after the pita. Again, my biggest reason for not going back is the lack of customer service. I guess if they like what you look like, you might get better service?? Not sure what the qualifying factor to get better service is...

    (2)

  • Ian R.

    Once upon a time, I resigned myself to the fact that, after visiting Istanbul and eating their glorious foods, the chances of finding anything similar in Seattle would be bleak, at best. Then came along Cafe Turko, and now my temptation to fly over to Istanbul to relive that experience is finally tempered (along with their continuing political unrest). Cafe Turko isn't all about food, and you see that as you enter. Part of the dwelling is dedicated to selling elements of the Turkish lifestyle, whether that be through Turkish bottled/canned goods, clothing, and jewelry. It's reminiscent of the shops you might see in the Grand Bazaar. But alas, I didn't come to Cafe Turko to shop - I came to see if the Turkish food would elicit a sense of nostalgia for me. And......it didn't, but in a good way. Cafe Turko created a whole new set of memories for me in the Turkish food realm by preserving the concept of fresh, bright vegetables, and using flavors that might be different from what you'd find in Istanbul proper. After all, Turkey's food and culture was influenced by as many empires and countries as one could name. Here was the list of foods that I could fit in my small budget: * Lahmacsun - as Anthony Bourdain once described, "it kinda looks like a pizza." Paper thin dough that sits beneath ground meats, tomatoes, lettuce, and various sweet & savory spices. Roll it up like a blunt and consume. * Lamb doner. The highlight of my evening. Unlike the thin, tortilla like breads they use in Istanbul, Cafe Turko uses a full pita and fresh vegetables, with hummus spread at the base. The lamb was some of the best [italicized] I've ever had. Just looking at the lamb, you could tell it was pulled apart very easily with tongs, since it was so tender. The meat was dark and juicy, and extremely well spiced. The lamb would have been better coupled with rice so that the dense pita wouldn't get in the way so much, but that is a lesson learned for next visit. And yes, there will be a next visit, and another next visit, and anot.....you get what I'm sayin'. Hope to see some of you there, enjoying the awesome cuisine with me.

    (5)

  • Daren D.

    Mmmm! I'd sort of been meaning to visit here for awhile. And that finally gave! Right in Fremont just off the bus stop, this was super neat to walk into. To me it was kind of like water and oil crashing into eachother, they don't quite mix but they can still coincide. I prefer both to be charming in their own separate ways but a mesh of a restaurant and store sure don't hurt anybody if that's what was chosen - especially if both have wonderful charm and visual appeal. Momentarily, I was greeted and seated at a small table. It's good to note that the small walking space between tables is rather tight and the notion of a customer or server 'bumbling into you' can happen - which is what I think an owner did and he swiftly, yet kindly & slightly humorously, apologized. The other girls were pretty friendly and maybe soft-spoken just a little bit. Picks of the moment were the Orient Express Platter (picks: beet, yam, hummus, a salad type annd... something-something) with side pita bread. These were soo smooth and tasty! I especially loved the beets; it felt hearty and just right for level of micro-chunks. I also tried Dolmas for the first time: whoa! Contained dense mushy bundles of cool-to-touch herbs and chewiness stuff. I also went for that small, charming cup of coffee. 'Told it was rather strong, sure, I'll just sip it throughout my brief Turkish journey. It's interesting! I wonder if some sugar would be nice or ruin it. Having seen many of the amazing pictures of foodie goodness, I'll have to make it back some day.

    (4)

  • Drew H.

    My favorite Turkish getaway in Fremont. At first I feared this would be another watered down, Americanized restaurant - I was happily proven wrong. The decor, welcoming staff, and amazing food proves that they care. It's hard to find restaurants who do care - and when they do it's a transcendental experience.

    (4)

  • Natalie W.

    We came across Cafe Turko on Yelp when we were looking for a place to eat in Fremont. I got the Ali Nazik, which was the chicken rice plate. The chicken was a little dry and hard on the outside, but overall really good flavor. I checked in on Yelp, which offered a free Turkish coffee or tea. I asked the waiter if I could try the Turkish yogurt drink instead and he said yes. Yay!! The waiter also kept checking back to ensure we liked our food. Overall, super pleasant lunch.

    (4)

  • Seattle E.

    Our favorite Turkish restaurant! It's cute, quaint, and family-run which adds to it's charm. The food is delicious and authentic and the staff is friendly! However, the service could use some help in time management and efficiency. Food is worth the wait regardless. Follow #eatsofsea on Instagram for more!

    (4)

  • Michael M.

    Great food. You'll love it. Terrible service. This is a family operated business and the kids are not motivated to earn their tips. Expect to waste an hour. Expect to be forgotten. Expect to hunt the waiters down. Expect your check-in free coffee or tea to be acknowledged and then still not taken off the bill. What saves them is great, great food. Only recommend if you have a few hours to kill anyway.

    (3)

  • Samantha S.

    Love everything about this place! Fresh and delicious food. Quick and friendly service. Their homemade hummus and pita is THE BEST. Lots of great vegetarian options too. My favorite restaurant in Fremont!

    (5)

  • Susan C.

    Previously Istanbul Imports, a LAST DAY OF BUSINESS!! ALL RUGS MUST GO GO GO NOW, NOW!!! for several years type of place, the mom and pop owners decided to punish themselves by opening up a restaurant that offers more dishes on their menu than Justin Bieber's got haters. The brightly-lit restaurant is expansive and has a coffee shop vibe, with part of the store selling little Turkish home furnishings and chachkas. A long counter displays desserts, and wooden tables are decorated with little bronzed dishes containing Turkish spices. I opted for the Grilled Chicken Durum (wrap) while my friend had the Abdullah Kebabi. We also got a start of Spinach Hummus. These were chosen based on the server's recommendations, as we were too lazy to look at the entire menu. Key word - flavorful and tart. Generous amounts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar thrown in with the Spinach Hummus, and a unique citrus-y spice sprinkled onto the chicken. The chicken was also very fresh and nicely roasted. The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender. Everything was fresh and full of flavor - unlike any other Turkish/Greek food we've ever had in Seattle. And at $9 per HUGE chicken wrap, it wasn't a bad deal. The lamb was more like $14. And, if you think your food isn't seasoned enough, there are little tins of seasoning on the table, which - as the owner explained - are for meats, chicken, or spicy hot. Towards the end of our meal, the jovial owner came over to make small talk, and upon discovering my friend spoke highly about Turkey, presented us with a travel brochure to his homeland (to keep), as well as a huge laminated picture map of all the Turkish holy places (not to keep), complete with a picture of St. Nick (it was some holy site). We learned where his wife (the Chef) was from, where he was from, how far it is from Istanbul to his wife's hometown, the characteristics of Turkish food from north to south, and that Cafe Turko also gives cooking classes. Things got a little confusing when it came time for our bill: we never got our bill. And I had an expired coupon for the face value of $8, as well as a Yelp check-in offer for a free tea, which I'm not sure were deducted, as the final price seemed pretty high. I'm not sure the owner had informed the cashier about the deductions. However, as my friend was paying and was pleased as Turkish punch about his meal he probably would've paid double...or purchased a Turkish rug from the place...

    (4)

  • Christy K.

    Food was excellent! As good as my Turkish mother-in-law's food. Highly recommend! Ate Ali Nazik, hummus with pita and manti. Friendly staff too!

    (5)

  • henry s.

    Cafe Turko is a must try restaurant... It's like going back to Turkey and the staff is very helpful. The good is excellent!! Ohh by the way they have really rich gluten free menus Definitely ll back and highly recommended.

    (5)

  • Ariel B.

    Incredibly awesome place! Highly recommended! The pita bread is fresh, warm, and so enjoyable. The lamb is spectacular. The Turkish Coffee is a real treat to sip. The service is slow so expect to wait a bit and make an experience out of your trip. :) Enjoy it with friends or family, enjoy the ambience and vibe, enjoy everything on the walls, and enjoy the sensational food... :)

    (5)

  • Brian L.

    Had a nice lunch here. The environment and decor has authenticity points, and it would appear that all the people working there are Tukrish and likely in the same family (or two). Because of that there was the teeniest bit of communication difficulty with the server, but nothing major. Think of it as going to another country and trying to order or ask questions. Same difference. The food. Is good. My friend and I thought to try the Yam Hummus as many people talk it up. It was good, even though I don't like yams, lolz. I imagine the hummus sampler is awesome though. If the quality of the yam one is any indication it's probably a safe bet. We split a salad and a döner as well. The döner was very tasty. Messy. On the small portion size and by small I mean normal for most of the world and small for the USofA. But the meat is really nice, and the combination of veggies and sauce is great. The salad is pretty much a salad, nothing too special, though I guess it depends on which one you select. Be sure to use your check in to get a free coffee! Though I didn't use mine, I am told that you may or may not be able to redeem it depending on who is working and how difficult the language barrier is to hurdle. Fun place for a casual lunch or dinner!

    (4)

  • May N.

    Amazing food, such a pleasant surprise to stumble upon. Lamb beyti was tender and extremely flavorful. The salad complimented the dish well, giving it a balance. Service was great, so nice about making recommendations for me and my friend who were unfamiliar with Turkish food and overwhelmed by the menu. They all had a very laid back, friendly approach and just seemed like fun people. Atmosphere is super cute, it made us want to take a trip to Turkey. All in all, I think this place has made it onto my list of favorite restaurants! It is definitely a place I would take someone from out of town if they want to try something different and more cultural.

    (5)

  • Achal P.

    Very good food and service!! Loved the simplicity ! Tea, soup, hummus, entrees, desert all Good!! we were lucky to find seating right away. The place filled up fast and a line formed soon after. Go early in the evening.

    (5)

  • Jill P.

    Turkish lamb plate w rice salad pita bread and Turkish coffee ! Awesome awesome awesome ! Clean, clean , clean warm service and authentic Fremont eating in Heaven here!

    (5)

  • Shazia S.

    Amazing food with lovely Atmosphere ! Servers were friendly and Food was fresh and on time !! Turkish coffee was on point !!!

    (5)

  • Laura T.

    Someone here cooks food with a lot of soul. It;s not follow the recipe to a T kind of food but it's always been tasty and we love it. Their menu has lots of options for vegetarians, their salads are nicely dressed and have plenty of veggies (rather than just leaves). Recently I think they got an upgrade because they have much fancier plates and even some changes on the menu. Euphemistically I can say that Cafe Turko has an eclectic style and decor. Eclectic here means charming and adorable. Lots of folks come here in the evenings but the service is fast and I've never seen them turn down people. Sometimes they seem a bit disorganized but friendly. All in all, I whole heartedly recommend Cafe Turko whether you're looking for some seasoning to your life or for a veggie friendly place.

    (5)

  • Novaira M.

    This place changed my opinion about Turkish food ! I had had not great encounters in the past, but after eating here - i'm a fan ! Everything from the appetizers, the pides, to the rice plates were full of flavor and delicious ! I can;t wait to go back and also try their desserts - which I ran out of room for. The prices are great too - the appetizers are in the $5-$10 range and they have a sampler option where you can order 5 appetizers for $16 (we did that and it turned out to be a great way to sample the variety - enough for 4-5 people). The pides are around $8, wraps are $10 and plates range from $12 - $17. Oh and I forgot to mention - the service here is great too ! It's a family owned and operated business and the owners came especially to greet our party and took great care of us. There are a lot of vegetarian options on the menu and also some vegan ones. The meat here is halal. There is pleanty of street parking nearby. The store also sells items like turkish delight, spices, lanterns, rugs etc.

    (5)

  • S C.

    I love this place:) The owners are sweethearts and they put their passion into the food being served. I would totally recommend the lamb here, i have not had tender lamb anywhere else in WA besides here! I have brought most of my close friends to this restaurant and they leave loving the place:) Benefits: halal, prayer area, excellent food, and nice owners Cons: service can be slow when busy and/or your in a large group that wants separate checks (hence 4 stars)

    (4)

  • Bridget L.

    Our family found this Fremont restaurant when looking on Yelp, so THANKS! It was a great meal. I haven't eaten Turkish food before and was a bit nervous, but should not have worried. The owner stopped by and chatted. She teaches Turkish cooking classes at the local college too. We ordered the rainbow hummus and had a lot of fun trying the different flavors: sweet potato, beet (my favorite,) spinach, and traditional. We all ordered different things and three of them were the pides - turkish pizza with lamb for our boys and vegetable version for me. Yum! My husband had a chicken wrap and wished he'd ordered a pide. Service was great and we'll be back with my family when they visit!

    (5)

  • David A.

    great family run restaurant with real Turks! The food is very good quality and flavor. Fun spices. The surprise is half of the menu is also gluten free as well. Meat and veggies qualify. Great staff and the turkish coffee is great.

    (5)

  • Alexey D.

    Come to Cafe Turko in Fremont to eat kebabs, drink Turkish coffee and enjoy their baklava.

    (5)

  • Andrew K.

    A hidden gem! What an awesome surprise Yelp find after biking from downtown to the Fremont area. We had the kefir (lebneh like) app as well as the rainbow hummus, which was very good, but really is only a sampler. I don't remember what we had for a main dish (not the Ali Nazik), but it was also good. The woman who ran the restaurant was friendly (more to us than the help, it seemed). But a great authentic (ok - how would I know - never been to Turkey - but it felt authentic) Turkish restaurant. I think they are moving soon down the street, a few hundred feet away.

    (4)

  • Steve L.

    I moved to Seattle at the end of August and was informed by my landlord that the refrigerator was on its last legs. Naturally, I made this an excuse to spend my first two weeks here in power-foodie mode. I was so happy to see a Turkish restaurant with staff speaking Turkish and all kinds of names of foods on the menu that I had trouble pronouncing. Excellent. I ordered the Yam Hummus (cayenne/spice) as a starter. This $6 hit is a little bit high for what you get but is something I can stomach given how inexpensive the actual entrees are (and you get a free turkish coffee with cardamom spice if you check in!). I'll definitely be back but won't be getting the hummus appetizer. Should've gotten the Karsik Kebab sampler rather than the straight-up single-shot kofte kebab. The service was strangely spotty -- sometimes very responsive, sometimes seemingly forgetful. As Sarah C. and Kim H. said, it's definitely a marketplace atmosphere with a mom-and-pop feeling. The food is 5 stars, the service is a 2.5-3, so I'm settling on four stars overall.

    (4)

  • Dan S.

    *What an amazing experience *Food is just loaded with incredible flavors, for sure get the 4 hummus sampler, the Yam one was amazing *I had the Spicy Chicken Wrap, incredible balance of tastes! *The woman who runs it is hilarious and will also cater in your home and show you how to cook Turkish Food, I am hooked

    (5)

  • T T.

    This is what an ethnically distinct restaurant should be, pleasant staff and native decor on top of the authentic food. Makes it feel as if you're in Turkey. As brief primer, Turkish cuisine is one of 3 main intl. historical culinary influences along with Chinese and French. While we have a good sampling of the other two spread over the region (albeit French is unfortunately $$$), it's really nice to have a meal direct from the spice route once in a while.

    (5)

  • Justin Y.

    Not bad, but I believe I ordered the wrong dish - the chicken pide. I had never had Turkish flatbread pizza before, so I thought that this would be interesting to try. It was, but the pide was overly cheesy and I received far less chicken than my brother, who ordered a chicken wrap. I was a little bit disappointed, since the chicken was good! I just didn't get enough of it. Overall, the bread/crust was pretty good, but once again, the bread to cheese to chicken ratio was off in the opinion of a meat lover like me. If you stop by here, I would recommend you not getting the pides and sticking with the waiters recommendations on what is most popular.

    (3)

  • Andrew H.

    The beet hummus never had a chance after my first bite. A cozy and casual restaurant that serves up generous portions of great Turkish cuisine.

    (4)

  • Cin-Yee S.

    Warm and inviting Turkish place, with extensive menu that includes Turkish breakfast. Ordered the grilled eggplant appetizer, shepherd's veggie pita pocket (generously filled with fresh veggies, olives, and diced hardboiled eggs made) and Suleyman the Magnificent platter (everything tasty, but the chicken and the lamb in tomato sauce especially so). Also enjoyed the delicious Turkish peach juice and Turkish coffee. Loved the atmosphere and the items available for purchase. Service was very friendly and hospitable - like going to your friend's house for lunch. Located in Fremont, so parking can be tricky.

    (4)

  • Tim B.

    I didn't pay close attention and was mesmerized by the awesome Fremont Brewing beers I had been buying in the San Juan's while we were there, and later on in our trip when we visited Seattle, I wanted to check out the brewery, but I didn't realize they don't serve food, so after a few pints (with the kids), we needed a place to eat that was close, and that was kid and vegetarian friendly, and Cafe Torko popped out. This place is the real deal. There were not a lot of people in there when we came in, but it filled up as we ate our meal. Turkish food is not super common, in fact, I don't know that I have ever been to a place that billed itself as Turkish, so I was excited to try a new cuisine and experience something new. And boy, was the crew hungry! We started off with some humus, the regular, the yam, and the beet. All where very good, I enjoyed every one, though my wife and kids did not care for the yam, so I got to eat that one myself. The regular hummus was what yo might expect, and quite delicious. The beet was interesting as well, but didn't leave an impression on me. We got the kids the Pides, which are sort of like pizza boats, bread with toppings and cheese. This was bit adventurous for our the boys, they ate some of their Pides, but did not devour them and I got to sample some of the Pides as a result. They are like pizza mostly in basic ingredients, but have a more middle eastern bent. I got one of the lamb dishes, I think it was a special since it wasn't on the menu. It was served with rice and a yogurt sauce, and it was delicious. The lamb was tender and perfectly cooked, and the yogurt sauce was right on. We also ordered some of the Turkish Ayran yogurt drinks for the kids. They wanted them in theory, but they were a bit exotic for for the boys. My wife an I ended up drinking them, they remind me of a less thick Rita without the cucumbers and tomatoes. I don't know if I would order the Ayran again though. The service was good, and the pricing was reasonable for what you get. Plus it is near the bridge troll. I would come back next time I am in Seattle.

    (5)

  • Tina S.

    If you love middle eastern food, you MUST try Cafe Turkos. They have the best hummus I've ever tasted! I don't know the names of the other things I had but I'm sure you cant go wrong with any item on the menu. The cafe itself used to be a rug shop and the family still has colorful rugs, lamps and other goods on display & for sale too. It gives the cafe an authentic & warm feeling. The owners are GREAT by the way- so kind and attentive- they make you feel very welcome. I would make a special trip to Seattle just to eat at Cafe Turkos again.

    (5)

  • Suhani C.

    I went here for a special meal and while the food is fine, the staff has some serious attitude issues. Not greeted with a smile, and it wasn't just one person, but all of them. They need a serious course on customer service 101.

    (2)

  • Ari A.

    Very authentic Turkish food in a great family atmosphere. Reasonably prices and very pleasing. Service was a little on the forgetful/slow side, but the food made up for it. Highly recommended.

    (5)

  • Julia V.

    This place will blow you away! I drive by here alot and have never actually gone there because I wouldn't know what to order so I've been kind of waiting for my Turkish friend to take me...and one day my Turkish friend and I found ourselves in Fremont wanting brunch so we had to! We were welcomed and even though the interior looks odd for a restaurant (rugs everywhere, plus jewelry and other nicknacs for sale) the ambiance was so inviting. We sat by the window, great for people watching, and the waitress spoke Turkish with my friend and she ordered for us. What I got was called an omelette, however it looked more like small cut veggies in egg batter that was put on low heat in a pan. So it was kinda like a round egg pancake... but ohmygosh what I saw and what I tasted were so opposite! This "omelette" tasted amazing, the tomato and red peppers brought some kind of flavor out in eggs that I had not experienced before. Brunch was phenomenal! In addition we had Turkish tea, a bit strong for my taste, so I asked them for more hot water to dilute it and it was fine. With tea we had these birds nest looking pastry, again, bomb. I have only good things to say about this place, I will probably only go there with my Turkish friend since we, actually she, got special service since they were speaking Turkish the entire time but yeah...if you have a Turkish friend to go here with, I highly recommend you do!

    (5)

  • Von T.

    After heading to Fremont Brewing with some friends and discovering they don't yet serve food, my empty stomach demanded a jaunt to some place for a bite. Walking in was a bit unconventional, but just grab a menu and find a table and you'll be served without issue. I wandered the shop/cafe till I caught the gist of what was about to go down & maneuvered my way through the maze of dining patrons to the cash register. There I found whom I presume to be the owner, who was extremely gracious in helping me navigate the menu & hooked me up with a free Turkish coffee while I waited for the takeout. The rest of the staff was extremely warm & matched my expectations for service near perfectly. Getting to the food, utterly delicious & fairly-sized portions, so completely satisfied. The taste was traditional from my experience, and well prepared. Eggplant moussaka was a delectable main course, with a crisp Anatolian salad & cauliflower dish for sides. The only misstep on their part was forgetting the baklawa dessert, but that was an easy & pleasant fix given Fremont Brewing was only a block or so away. I'm looking forward to another visit, and dining in next time! The coffee serving dishes from the shop were only $21, so I'll be picking up a set in the near future (once I've mastered how to make Turkish coffee...).

    (5)

  • M Y.

    The food was good enough but the service was terrible. I waited a long time to be sat even though they weren't busy at all. The heavy-set middle aged woman (owner?) was moving slowly but was friendly to everybody but me. I felt like I didn't exist. I had to ask for water because she didn't fill my glass while greeting and serving water to people who arrived after me. She never checked on me while checking on the table behind me and before me. What gives? I ate as fast as I could and got the hell out of this ridiculous place. I was going to come here for dinner with my friend, but hell no, I'm glad I didn't ruin her day by bringing her here.

    (1)

  • Jesse H.

    What to do when you have 30 mins until your chocolate tour begins? Find an amazing Turkish restaurant, throw that schedule out the window, and catch the tour on the next hour, that's what. I found Cafe Turko with a nearby Yelp search and convinced my sister and her boyfriend to be adventurous with me. None of us had ever eaten Turkish food before. Upon checking in I purchased a $10 for $20 deal and snagged a free Turkish coffee with cardamom. It was too bitter for my liking, but came in an adorable tea cup. It also left what I can only call coffee sludge at the bottom. Fun to look at, not to taste. We whet our appetites with the beet hummus - delightfully sweet, bright pink, topped with pomegranate seeds, and served with warm pita. I got even more excited for the following dishes. While waiting for our food I admired the copper mugs, tea cups, jewelry, and other hand-made items in the store. The uniqueness of the items and displays reminded me of being overseas. For lunch we shared the Zeytinli Pide (pizza) and Cappadocia Chicken Koftes. The pide was topped with mozzarella, feta, fresh and brightly colored peppers, olives, and tomatoes. The koftes were not as impressive. These crispy, flattened balls were a bit bland and had a dry, eggy texture. Not the moist and flavorful Indian koftes I'm used to. However, it was served with a delicious and acidic salad, brown sticky rice, and more pom seeds. The only things to complain about were slow and unaware service at times. We had to wait 10 minutes to order more pita and he also forgot to give us silverware. The staff was pleasant, but needs to be a bit more attentive.

    (5)

  • Ameera N.

    Amazing! The best Turkish place I've found in the U.S. so far. The Ali Nazik dishes are insane.. I had the chicken one on one day and it was sauteed chicken on top of garlicky yogurt and smokey eggplant. My favorite was the vegetable one though - imagine smokey, roasted, stewed vegetables on top of a bed of garlicky yogurt. It was by far my favorite thing at this cafe and I've been googling feverishly trying to find a recipe so I can make it at home. The hummus was surprisingly good (I usually find that Turkish hummus doesn't taste as good to me as hummus made by Arabs... but theirs was spot on in my opinion) and their bread was warm and soft. The pide was fantastic - I had the sausage one and loved the flavors. Even their side salad they serve with their main dishes are packed with flavor. Cute decor, very mom and pop type of place. They're reasonably priced as well, both times I have been here it's never cost more than $25 for two people. I'll definitely make it a point to visit when I'm in Seattle again.

    (4)

  • Rasha A.

    Awesome food Great music & lovely staff Unique decoration and there's a small Turkish shop sell great accessories & carpets

    (5)

  • Dana S.

    This was the most authentic Turkish food I've had this side of Turkey, and their Turkish coffee, too--it was spicy, thick, and perfect. Also, they make their own gluten free pita bread. Yes, GF PITA!!! We got the okra and lamb, and the lentil soup, and both were fantastic. The dolmas were crazy good, and the pickled veggies were too. Not to mention their shop is fun to browse in, and you get to watch the ladies in the back making your food and gossiping in Turkish.

    (4)

  • Tom T.

    The menu has a wide variety of items and the quality of the food is excellent.

    (4)

  • Clover A.

    Turkish Delight indeed! We met for our ladies brunch and really did have an entirely lovely time. My daughter came with and when she asked what 'Turkish' meant in relation to the drink menu (can Turkish Peach Juice be that different?) I told her it meant 'delicious' and boy was that an apt prediction. I really appreciate a restaurant with the menu available online, I like to plan ahead or I'll sit for an hour and mull it over at a new place. I was set on a few items as I was on a little food adventure (diet) but when they suggested we add an appetizer plate (Orient Express) with three choices and the beet hummus was truly divine. The regular hummus was also really delightful as were the other things I tried but that beet hummus was a YES. We had gone for breakfast and I had my heart set on the Sucuklu Omlet - turkish sausage a light sprinkle of feta and eggs. It was quite good, served open face like a pizza rather than a traditional omelette. My daughter got the decadent Halwa & Ekmek, basically perfectly toasted pita bread with melted vanilla halva and chocolate drizzled on top. YUM. I *may* have tried it a few times, food adventure be damned. I also had some Turkish tea and we all agreed the service was warm and friendly if a bit disjointed a few times, it was easily due to our high-demand crowd. I will be returning for dinner as soon as I can, once I am unrestricted as I want to put all those delicious tempting pastries in my mouth at once. Okay, maybe only 5 at a time.

    (4)

  • Laleh J.

    Yes and yes! This little cafe had been on my radar since it opened, and I wish I had gone sooner! It's a small mom and pop cafe with authentic Turkish food, and EVERYTHING my mom and I ordered was delicious. Try the hummus plate (came in 4 flavors- regular, yam, beet, and spinach) with freshly baked bread (the yam hummus was just amazing- I would really love to learn how to make it home). Tea was excellent, hospitality was great, and most importantly, the food was delicious. I will be coming again!

    (5)

  • Iryna C.

    I shall agree with many reviewers - the food tastes authentic and soo good, the service is friendly but way tooo slow and sloppy. We even had to ask to refill our water glasses on a hot day. In spite of bad service I still would be back because of the food. I have been to Turkey. This place's food is as close as you would get in Istanbul. Additionally the place has a unique twist to its food. I loved different types of hummus. I loved Turkish coffee. I hope the service gets better though ;)

    (4)

  • Besho A.

    Amazing staff. I tried knafeh, katayf and turkish coffee very good and they have a big varity of desert next time I'll try the food. I'm sure it'll be amazing too. The place was very nice.. and I like the idea that they have a small shop..

    (5)

  • Sam D.

    Food was good. Lamb was cooked great. Terrible service. Multiple occasions the wait staff forgot to bring food or drinks we asked for. We waited 15 minutes for our checks even after we asked for it. Saturday night at 6:30, so it did get busy, but I would think they could scan a credit card to get us out and accommodate space for the people that are waiting to be seated. No complaints with food, but they will not be seeing me again. This is Naan-sense. Yours truly, Disgruntled and inpatient customer

    (3)

  • David F.

    My wife said that the restaurant could use a restaurant consultant. I agreed, but I doubt they would take the advice to heart and implement it. The place is run by a large middle aged man. Let's call him Pasha. Pasha exerts his control, a bit too much. The front of the house is disorganized. There were nearly 10 staff members there, with three serving. Two were experienced, but undermined by Pasha. We arrived on a busy Saturday night with no reservation (I'm not sure that would have helped). We were acknowledged and then promptly forgotten. Two other groups that arrived after us were seated, including a couple to a four top. After waiting 30-40 minutes, we were finally seated in the back under the harsh fluorescent lights. It took another 10-15 minutes for someone to take our order. Our tea came promptly, and then our appetizers a few minutes later, and immediately after that our entrees. Our table could barely hold it all. I would have appreciated a small break between courses. We finished our food, which was pretty tasty. And then the wait began again. It was easily another 30 minutes before a bill came, while our empty plates remained on the table. Meanwhile, Pasha slowed down. Initially, he had the energy to work the front of the house. As the evening wore down, he sat at his throne (the computer workstation) at the back of the house, spending lots of time in long conversations with the staff. The staff seems torn between loyalties to Pasha and wanting to serve the customers. They are undertrained and don't know how to run a restaurant efficiently. Pasha doesn't know how to train them well, or won't. I liked my food (including a tasty lamb dish), but won't hurry back. Perhaps it would be better at a different time. The service and ambiance lacks.

    (3)

  • N H.

    Mediocre Turkish food. Not authentic at all. Nothing special. I really don't get the outlandish reviews this place has obtained.

    (2)

  • J K.

    Yum. I'm usually a little scared of places like this because I never know what to order, but this joint takes Mediterranean food to the next level.

    (4)

  • Amber B.

    This truly felt like a snipit of Turkey itself. The decorations and atmosphere was much of another world. I loved it. I had a free coffee from trying to check into yelp. Turkish coffee is much stronger & smaller than american coffee, but to my surprise I loved it. My friend and I just split the Rainbow hummus plate. They provided us with gluten free bread and even refilled our bread when our hummus to bread ratio was getting off. All of the servers were kind and quietly attentive. I would recommend the Beet hummus. The Yam hummus was a bit sweet for me. The spinach hummus has a very distinct flavor that I enjoyed. The regular hummus was classic and delicious. We came early in the morning and stayed for a few hours. The place filled up the later it got and every meal I noticed looked delicious and authentic. It is in a nice spot close to the water and close to the main drag of Fremont.

    (4)

  • Joey L.

    I started my early dinner with a bowl of the lentil soup. It was seasoned perfectly and included bits of potatoes and carrots. For my entree I chose the Sultan Kebab which consisted of grilled doner kebab with garlic and yogurt sauce and seasonal herbs. The side of rice had a delicious seasoning I had never heard of. For dessert I topped off this fantastic meal with some Baklava and Turkish coffee.

    (4)

  • Holly H.

    I always stay in the Fremont Arts District when I visit Seattle and after spending a full day in the city, I tend to arrive in Fremont well after the dinner hour, tired and hungry! Having recently (and sadly) cut meat & sugar from my diet, bar and/or Thai food are risky choices for me so I decided to extend my walk around the neighborhood to see if I might find something a little different. Turko's was my beacon in the night! Their menu is extensive & friendly for food sensitive people like me. I planned to place a to-go order, though despite the later hour, I felt so welcome I stayed to eat. The food is incredibly delish and tasted even better as the place was so cozy and buzzing with friendly chatter, with a few older gentleman indulging in baklava & Turkish coffees night cap. No one felt like a stranger. Can't wait to return to this serious Fremont gem. Thank you for keeping it real and friendly, Turko's!

    (5)

  • Aydin E.

    Beautiful. Foods are delicious. I would advise everyone to see Cafe Turko. A nice place for those who want to eat home cooking.

    (5)

  • Gary S.

    What a sham. A huge disappointment. We thought this was the real deal from reviews. Apparently there's no accounting for taste. -cheapo salad in great quantity was added to the turkish mezzo dishes. One is the Ksr and another a chili bean salad. The Ksr had almost no pomegranate balsamic vinegar in it too. What a huge disappointment on classic dishes that are hard to mess up. The Ksr was the worst. I put all the salad leaves to the side of the plate and the shameless staff didn't even blink. THEY NEVER ASKED US IF WE LIKED OUR FOOD, BTW. Sliced canned black olives over the hummus! Not the regular Kalamata's in the photos. That brought beet hummus instead of yam. Since the service time was so bad we didn't say anything. The lamb kebob was gray, seemed reheated and tasted like Sunday roast. It was totally edible, but we didn't go for sunday roast -- just salt and probably werstechire. No spices. It came in a terrine and seemed reheated. Meat was grey, center and bottom of ice-cream mounded rice was soggy. They had no cardamon tea - the funny thing is they said they had no cardamon at all -- I'm guessing there was a lot of under seasoned food. I thought the orange semolina cake would be amazing, until I had our regular food first. It was obvious I shouldn't order I specialized dessert at a turkish place that can't serve good lamb kabob or faux mezze that is really cheap salad greens. Service was really bad. We still tipped over 20%. No water refill until we got our bill. God bless the people who had 4 and 5 star experiences. This place reminded me of a turkish family running an American/Anglo-Brit restaurant in London.

    (1)

  • Alex L.

    Remarkable food and incredibly warm service. The servers are delightful and the owners are a blast. The food is truly fabulous but the wait staff makes the experience even better. l come once a week! My favorite dish is Ali Nazik (with lamb), of course. The hummus rainbow plate is inspired and delicious. I love the lemonade with sour cherry and mint. Check out their catering, too!!

    (5)

  • Chiqui B.

    We walked by this place several times while in Seattle and every time the smells coming out had us saying, "We have to eat here!" This was our last stop after an all day binge eating/sampling/drinking excursion so we decided to go with something light. I ordered the Sureyya's Ekmek with meat and cheese, and it was definitely cheesy. Hubs had the lentil soup. Both were ok and lukewarm. The bread was a bit on the floppy side. I did enjoy the seasoning on the ground meat. It was like nothing I've ever tasted before. We initially sat at a four seater but one of the servers moved us to a tiny ass wobbly table squeezed in between two other groups. Um, no. They have to do something about the seating here. They could do away with the "market" they have in there and put better tables in that area. Seriously, our meal plates and drinks barely fit on our table top. Plus, I didn't even see anyone remotely interested in the stuff they had in their "shop". Seems like a waste of space. It was quite uncomfortable and made for a rather unpleasant experience.

    (3)

  • David C.

    Hate to give a poor review. Honestly the food was awesome. Well worth going out of your way to eat there. The service brought the score down. Waitresses, there were two. They came by, brought water then the food and never saw them again. No more water, no offer for dessert. Couldn't even flag them down. One had a friend visit and decided to catch up rather than tend to tables. The other was all over the place trying to take care of everyone else. Was there for over an hour just for lunch, trying to get service. Food made it almost worth it

    (3)

  • Ryan J.

    The food is out-of-this-world good, and somewhat reasonably priced. It's usually so busy that it's impossible to make a reservation or get a table without waiting at least 30 minutes, but that's because the food is so good! I went with a group of 3 a few months ago and we waited for about 30-40 minutes, but it was worth it. Service was slow and it also took us probably another 45 minutes to get our food, so that's why this isn't a 5-star place. However, if you have 3 hours to comfortably spend on a great-tasting dinner, I highly recommend.

    (4)

  • C. A.

    I love this place. Vegetarian options here are delicious. My meat eating friends were very pleased as well. This place is family owned and sometimes they get a bit slammed and service can take a while. However, last time I was there we were actually served very quickly. I just go in knowing it's a good place to enjoy their fresh tea and talk with a friend and I'm always so glad I did. Fun imported gifts and jewelry can also be found here. Try it!

    (5)

  • Chiho H.

    Sometimes they don't understand you, but still good Turkish here. Good location and you can feel Turkish way of treat.

    (4)

  • Jenn L.

    DROOL. I finally made it out to Cafe Turko with some coworkers for my one year work anniversary, and this was probably one of the best meals I've ever had. The menu is enormous and slightly overwhelming, but the owner was more than happy to stop by to answer any questions and give suggestions. We decided we absolutely had to try the rainbow hummus as we all love hummus and it comes with 4 different kinds--spinach, chickpea, beets, and yam. I loved every single one, and don't know if I can resist from ordering every time I come here in the future. Definitely get an extra order of pita bread (which is pillowy soft perfection) because you'll want to finish every last bit of the hummus! For my entree, I had the Sultan Kebab which is thinly sliced beef with tomato sauce that comes with salad and rice, and it was perfectly seasoned and delicious. When I return, I would absolutely love to try the Süleyman the Magnificent entree which comes with 4 kinds of meat! Oh, and because you'll obviously overeat here due to the irresistible food, I suggest you have some Turkish coffee to prevent the imminent food coma. If I could have one do-over from my last visit here, I definitely would have had the Turkish coffee at some point throughout the meal so I didn't feel like napping on my keyboard and immediately changing into sweatpants for the next 3.5 hours when I went back to work. They also have a ton of dessert options which were way too sweet for me, but I'm not a dessert person by any stretch of the imagination (anything sweeter than a skinny vanilla latte and/or flavored froyo tastes like diabetes to me), so don't take my word when it comes to dessert--everyone I was with seemed to love their 'serts!

    (5)

  • Mercy H.

    Oh my!! The food was good! You have to go here! We ordered the Beyati kebab with beef doner and grilled eggplants with a side of rice. The rice is amazing and very fragrant! The food was delicious! The service could be better. After you're done, you don't get the check. No one tells you you will get the check or you need to go to the counter to pay and the counter is at the back of the restaurant and semi-hidden. The server was wiping our table even though we were still sitting there waiting for our checks because we did not know we needed to go to the counter to pay. Their service definitely needs some refining but the food is so good that I would come back again to try their other dishes!

    (4)

  • Alex T.

    Dogs are NOT allowed here. Just in case you dog obsessed people are wondering. I ordered the Jajeek lebni and Süleyman the Magnificent (mixed grilled meat plate). The Suleyman has grilled chicken, köfte, döner and lamb and tomato sauce. It was delicious and filling. The price point is a bit high ($17) but it's the closest thing to Pappa Hassans that I can get in Seattle, WA. The lebni was more different than I imagined, not as salty and thick but it worked with my dishes and the pita bread. Service was excellent! The server was welcoming, pleasant and made sure all our dining needs were met throughout the evening. It's a family owned and operated business that evolved from a grocery store into a restaurant when the Chase bank at the corner of the shopping center took over a former middle eastern diner a while back. I am glad they did because the stuff here is delicious and satisfying!!! I can't wait to go back!

    (5)

  • Emre K.

    A good Turkish restaurant. They are new, so it will take time to become very professional in what they are doing, you will notice a little clumsiness. But the owners are nice people. And the food is quite good too.

    (3)

  • Abigail S.

    I lived in Turkey for a year, so while I'm certainly no native, I can say with some degree of confidence this is very authentic, and of course so delicious. Süreyya, one of the owners was wonderfully gracious and friendly when I visited. Everything was incredibly fresh and again, so authentic. Cozy cafe with great trinkets for sale from Turkey. The best!

    (5)

  • Vincent L.

    I just happened to walk by this place during the Fremont Summer Solstice Parade and witness somebody walking out holding a delicious gyro type wrap. The first thing upon entering is the sweet smell of freshly made assorted baklava. Café Turko is a small place that is part restaurant and part store. Nice, friendly, family-owned business. I cant wait to go back! I ordered a lamb wrap and some pistachio baklava. The food is absolutely amazing.

    (5)

  • Howie R.

    The food was pretty good, but the service was not great at all. The family working there are super nice and are trying hard, but they just seem inexperienced and informally trained to run a restaurant. There was an awkward 15-20 minutes after finishing our food that we waited for our bill. If we didn't ask for our bill, I'm sure we would have waited well over a half hour to receive it. My dad ordered a chicken gyro and it was great. I ordered a lamb plate and it was pretty good but my food was barely even warm.

    (3)

  • Jeremy M.

    This Sunday, our family breakfast felt like I was in Turkey when we visited Cafe Turko. Oh what a delicious food and wonderful hospitality by Chef Sureyya. The authentic food, warm atmosphere and wonderful hospitality really made a special memory for Mom and my best friend and his family. Will sure to go back and try other yummy dishes.

    (5)

  • Peter K.

    Fantastic tasting food. The owner is a wonderful man who really welcomes his guests. I love this place and will definitely be back

    (5)

  • Anne S.

    Best Mediterranean restaurant I have been to in Seattle! I love that their menu is so extensive and has lots of great vegetarian options. Their prices are very reasonable for the quality of food that is offered. Everything tasted so fresh. The menu says that everything is housemade, "from pickles to sauces" and you can taste it! My boyfriend and I came on a Friday night around 8 pm and there was a bit of a wait. It was OK though, because I got to browse through the Turkish gift shop (Istanbul Imports) while we waited. The place seems to be family-run and our waitress was very sweet and helpful, not to mention gorgeous! We had dolmas and the fava bean salad for our appetizers. The fava bean salad was excellent, with a very fresh lemony flavor. The dolmas were pretty standard as dolmas go; perhaps a bit more flavorful than the average. I had the eggplant moussaka for my entree, which was delicious! The feta on top really complemented the stewed eggplant and tomato flavors. The rice it came with was very fluffy and served with chunks of perfectly cooked carrot and garbanzo beans. The side salad would have been just your everyday side salad had the dressing not been AMAZING. It was a yogurt dressing with lemon and dill that I must try to recreate at home. We shared a few small items for dessert, including a "bird's nest": a shredded phyllo dough pastry filled with a sweet ricotta cheese-type filling. YUM! They have quite a variety of desserts here that go way beyond the standard baklava. I didn't even feel guilty about our dessert sampler because our meal was so full of fresh, healthy veggies. Also, their portions are very reasonable: not too big, not too small. This is really one of the tastiest places I have been in Seattle for such a reasonable cost. You can tell their food is made with love!

    (5)

  • Christine M.

    Absolutely fantastic!!! The owner is so nice. The food was amazing. We had 'my mom's dolmas' which were so flavorful, Succuklu Pide which was a flatbread with cheeses and mildly spicy sausage, and Manti (Turkish ravioli). Everything was so tasty. Great atmosphere too. We will be back.

    (5)

  • Aditya D.

    I would like to give this place 5 stars to help out the new restaurant but I haven't given any other restaraunt 5 stars so I wont start. Maybe I will revise it later. Love the atmosphere - friendly home made food and very tasty. I had the stuffed pepper, eggplant and yam hummus. Yam Hummus! - never heard of it before but it was excellent. I also had cardammom tea -another new discovery. I think this place would be very convenient for a quick light lunch or dinner. I am planning on coming back and stopping off for coffee and to try some of the very tasty looking desserts that they have.

    (4)

  • Carrie G.

    Fun place, just don't get the table under the leaking ceiling. We were quickly moved to a better table. Friendly, helpful .staff. Food was great.

    (4)

  • Evan R.

    Excellent atmosphere and the service is excellent.

    (5)

  • Dawn F.

    Delicious, AUTHENTIC, Turkish food and drink. Food is made fresh each day. I've tasted many dishes and liked them all. I practically swoon over the roasted eggplant and the eggplant moussaka. The yam hummus is great, too. The owner, Sureyya, is fun to talk with, too.

    (5)

  • Mindy J.

    I love this place! I have been to Turky and it s so nice to have an affordable Turkish cafe! It also is a small Turkish deli, so I guess I have a place to buy my apple tea and replace any teaa glasses I accidently break. The food is freshly cooked and very authentic. You can even see the cooks preparing your dish in the kitchen. It s a family run place and service is friendly but extremely slow. I guess what is to be expected if your food is freshly cooked for you. It s nice to have an authentic Turkish meal here in Seatle.

    (4)

  • Renee G.

    Came here with a friend and we both had a great time from the moment we stepped inside. The service was extremely warm and welcoming. It was as if we stepped inside someone's home, it was that friendly! Food was really tasty, too. I'll definitely be coming back very soon to try out more dishes.

    (5)

  • Scorpio P.

    Very good food and a nice variety of items to choose from on the menu. It is a family run business and you do feel more like a guest in their house than that you are eating in a restaurant.

    (4)

  • Jen A.

    Amazing! Everything was cooked well and very flavorful. I love the down-home-cooking vibe of this place too. Like other commenters have said, yes, sure, the young waitstaff weren't completely on the ball and seemed a little bored, but it didn't detract from the overall awesomeness of this place.

    (5)

  • Senjuti B.

    Great food! A bit noisy and you may have to wait to be seated, but food is worth the wait!!

    (5)

  • Nazan K.

    Seriously yummy food. Whatever comes in your plate, whether is is yogurt, bread, side or main dish, it tastes fantastic. Ingredients are picked with utmost care and then cooked to perfection. I did not leave anything in the plate, only could ask for another one. Atmosphere is unique, owners are friendly. Great place for brunch or to grab a bite any time in the day. My 4 year old also loved exploring the remainder of the place where there are gifts for purchase and original decoration.

    (5)

  • Ola A.

    delicious food, nice family, cozy place. Simply the best turkish, or halal venue I've ever been to.

    (5)

  • Jeff H.

    Attended with a foodie group. Every dish was flavorful and enjoyable. I will be back!

    (5)

  • Beth H.

    This is an awesome little place to visit. Welcoming and warm, like being invited into a family kitchen and the food was absolutely delicious. I had the Doner Kebap Drm and a kisir taboule made with pomegranate molasses. Both were lusciously fresh and tasty. My friend had chicken pidé that had a wonderful crust and smooth filling. I will definitely be revisiting to try more of their broad menu and enjoy the welcoming atmosphere.

    (5)

  • diane k.

    This may be my favorite place to eat in Seattle. Seriously. If you want an incredibly delicious and hearty homecooked Turkish meal-- you've found your surrogate Turkish mother's kitchen in Fremont. This establishment is actually a store that sells beautiful Turkish jewelry, scarves, accessories, wallets, cards, etc (great for gifts) and also has a full kitchen! The place is family owned and the owners are friendly and kind. The food is seriously incredible though-- we had the lamb plate (comes with rice and salad) as well as the moussaka/eggplant, hummus (beet and sweet potato hummus-- delicious), and the babaganoush is AMAZING. Pure 100% authentic, home-cooked goodness. I can't wait to go back!

    (5)

  • Manda P.

    Yummy food and a delicious atmosphere. Homey feel right when you walk in. Open space and comfortable decor. I would take anyone here- friend or family visiting, date night, small group of friends. Didn't need beer or wine with the meal because the tea was so tasty. I had: 1. grape leaves which were perfect except for a little salty. 2. Wholesome Aegean Moussaka- grilled eggplants with spices and a red pepper paste- this dish was so dang yummy!! served cold and with pita break, the paste is the consistency of marinara but way more delicious. The eggplant was a good pairing. I also found out this was their highest ordered item (i have good taste!) 3. Ali Nazik - Grilled Chicken served with Grilled Eggplant and Yogurt- the chicken was grilled in spices that are just plain good, but then adding a little herbs/spices from the little dishes each table gets made it even better. The yogurt sauce that goes with it is as good as tzatziki if not better :) Overall great experience and the hostess sat next to us with some people (friends, family?) and engaged us in some great conversation and told us silly things about how Turkish people eat. I had already planned to have custard down the street for desert so I did not order any, but they looked to die for.

    (4)

  • Rim E.

    this place is a hidden gem , great authentic food, love their veggie options , the pies and the different kabob plates, don't forget about the Turkish mint tea and the yogurt drink ... it's an experience service is great also

    (5)

  • Eytan H.

    I'm not sure that we got what we ordered but what we got was excellent.

    (5)

  • Natasha K.

    Best Turkish food ever! Visiting this establishment was a great experience from start to finish. The owner of the restaurant greeted us warmly and made us feel at ease. Right away, she seated us and offered us some delightful Turkish coffee spiced with cardamom. Everyone in our party was new to Turkish cuisine, so our server made sure to guide us through the menu and make some great recommendations. We ended up ordering a delicious Turkish pizza topped with ground lamb, a spicy chicken dish, and some lamb curry. Before our entrees came out, the owner gave us a sample of her homemade "rainbow hummus." Amazing! Four kinds of hummus, including spinach, beets, yams, and original. All tasted incredible. When the entrees came out, we were already ecstatic. The food was extremely flavorful and filling--the portion sizes were generous and left us all satisfied. All in all, I highly recommend this restaurant. Go there today!

    (5)

  • JULIANNE E.

    The food is very authentic Turkish; and I feel as if I am back there. They even show you the dishes like thy do in Turkey. The yogurt is deliciously different from Greek or regular yogurt, and the stuffed dolmas (a thin skinned pepper and tomato) tasted just like the ones I used to get in Turkey. I also tried the sweet potato hummus and the cold moussaka, both excellent with delicate seasonings. I am so excited to have this in the neighborhood and can't wait to try it again. Very friendly as well.

    (5)

  • Ali A.

    This is our new stop for lunch. I recommend you their eggplant salad. This is really good. I came here with my family and our friends.The round table made it easy for chatting. For about $15 you get a great variety of food to choose from: Turkish pastries, cold appetizers, dessert and humus. I especially love the desserts they have, kadayif and baklava. Definitely a great space on the weekends with friends.

    (5)

  • Martina F.

    Loved the atmosphere and the lentil soup. Very tasty and homemade. Will be back for sure for breakfast.

    (5)

  • Ted G.

    Such a great place. Such great owners. Came here for breakfast. Fantastic cheeses and pastries. Looking forward lunch/dinner here soon.

    (5)

  • Kyla W.

    My husband and I love this place! We had lunch there today and the atmosphere was great, service was very friendly, and the food was authentic and delicious! We will definitely be going back regularly. For lunch we had the rainbow hummus plate to start, a definite must! Our favorites were the beet and yam but they were all fantastic. The warm bread that comes with it is the perfect combo. We ate the whole thing and were fairly full after just the starter so it may be better to share with 2+ people. Then, my husband had the Zeytinli Pide and I had the Eggplant Muossaka Plate. The entrees were both delicious but we probably only needed the eggplant to share, we were very full after all this food. It was too delicious to leave any though. With everything, we also enjoyed a cup of turkish tea. Next time, we want to try the Orient Express Platter and the lentil soup among many other tasty looking options on the menu. Thank you to Chef Sureyya for bringing us your delicious food!

    (5)

  • Christopher B.

    I've been to Istanbul and eaten some truly superb breakfasts and this one was disappointing to say the least. First of all, the service was slow and I had to ask for the "unlimited" tea which should have been flowing from the start. As it turned out it was never refilled. The tea itself was much weaker then the Turkish tea I had in Istanbul. Also, they advertise 3 cheeses but only plated 2 unless they were trying to count yogurt as a cheese. Only one of the 2 cheeses could be considered Turkish as the other was sliced cheddar. The salami was mediocre at best and didn't come close to resembling what I tasted in turkey. I'm pretty sure it was just regular beef salami that you get in the store. The bread was 1 heated pita. In Turkey you get a big variety of different types of bread. There were boring sliced cucumbers, olives, and a hard boiled egg. HARD BOILED EGG? Save your money and make it at home. Literally it would take no skill and would definitely be better and cheaper. This breakfast plate might fool Seattle locals but it has a long way to go to even be considered ok when compared to the authentic version.

    (2)

  • Jay G.

    I am really happy to live walking distance from this place. I am pretty much hooked on the yam hummus. I also really enjoy having pomegranate seeds on everything. Really friendly service, and a good place to buy scarves too!

    (5)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :10:00 am - 9:00pm

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Lunch
    Parking : Street
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : No
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : Free
    Has TV : No
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : Yes

Cafe Turko

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