914 Kildaire Farm Road
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 651-9608
Interior View
Complimentary Bread and Olive Oil Dip
Lamb Shish Kebab - $13.99
Turkish Doner Plate - $14.99
This is a review of a restaurant that serves Turkish Mediterranean food called Istanbul located off Kildaire Farm Road in Cary, North Carolina. It located in a space that was originally a Pizza Hut. They are open every day from 11 am until 10 pm. Their sanitation inspection grade is currently 94.5 which is good though while researching the restaurant I found that in the past they have a habit of storing raw meat above their bread. Only during the last year has their grade been above 90. We were unaware that our favorite Turkish restaurant Bosphorus was closed for remodeling until the 10th. When we drove there we saw a note on the door so we were in a hurry to find a substitute and I chose Istanbul. We visited around 3:45 pm last Saturday. The first impression was that they need to hire landscapers to trim the trees, bushes and tend to the leaves in the parking lot. They had quite a few customers for what is normally a slow time for restaurants. We were immediately seated at a booth. They have lots of booths and many large tables. The tables have white tablecloths with the dreaded white paper on top.
We sat for about seven minutes without being offered even a drink. The unfriendly waiter finally showed up to take our order. We waited another eight minutes for something to arrive at the table, it was the bread without our drinks. Finally, after several more minutes the hot tea that we ordered arrived. We asked the waiter for some water too since it takes time for the tea to cool before you can drink it, but we had to ask a waitress for it since it hadn't arrived. Thankfully, she delivered it immediately. I didn't care for the bread nor the dip. The bread was tasteless and the dip was in desperate need of some spices. It seemed like a low-quality olive oil due to its lack of richness. According to their sanitation reports their bread dough is frozen. The tea was very tasty and about fifteen minutes later our food arrived. I ordered the Lamb Shish Kebab which is number 22 on the menu. It's described as grilled marinated lamb chunks served with pilaf and pide. It also came with a bit of salad, some dipping sauce and a half of a grilled tomato. The lamb and the sauce were delicious, but there were only ten bite-sized pieces. It was very tender and I enjoyed the taste of the marinade. While lamb is expensive I still expected more food for $13.99. The photo of this dish on their menu has more lamb, so that's why I was immediately disappointed when it arrived. Mine looked like one kebab while the menu photo shows two. This is a light dish so it would be better suited for a light lunch if you are hungrier you'll need to order an appetizer to be full. I didn't care for the salad which has pickled cabbage, shredded carrot, onion with some spices, iceberg lettuce, and a very small drizzle of dressing. I also didn't enjoy the pilaf which tasted sour to me and I was shocked at how small a portion they offer. Hubby ordered the Turkish Doner Plate number 38 which is only offered on Saturdays. It's described as lamb meat, onion, black pepper, oregano, lavish and grilled vegetables. It's a larger portion of meat for a dollar more. I wouldn't recommend it for those on a low salt diet, it was very salty though tasty. We asked for more dipping sauce for both of us but the waiter only brought one serving so we had to share it. The tiny bowls weren't even filled to the top. We weren't asked at any time if we needed anything or if everything was ok during our visit. Every time we needed something we had a hard time flagging down one of the two wait staff. The staff made us feel unwelcome so much so that we don't plan to return.
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