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I’ve been to Cafe Shish Kebab (the sister restaurant to Cafe Istanbul) occasionally for dinner, but was told they had a lunch special that was – yes, I’m going to say it – pretty special. For $8.95, you get three courses – a choice of appetizer, a choice of entree, and a dessert of their choice. Other than dessert, there’s about 7 or 8 choices for each course. Excuse the harsh lighting, I took advantage of sitting outside when we were having unseasonably warm weather last week.
The first thing they did was bring out a loaf of Pide (Turkish bread), which is nice and crusty on the outside, and fluffy soft on the inside. They served it to me with some oil that had what I believed to be sun-dried tomatoes and other spices in it.
For my appetizer, I chose their Baba Ganoush, one of my favorite dishes at this location. The portion size was quite substantial, and the flavor was fabulous – nice combination of smoky eggplant and tahini that enhanced rather than overpowered the natural sweetness of the vegetable. The texture was nice and smooth, unlike the dip I had at their sister restaurant.
For my entree, I went with Chicken Shish Kebab. I’ve never had a bad kebab by them, and the chicken is suprisingly one of the more flavorful and tender ones – the juices served to flavor the buttery rice they sat upon. Vegetables are extraneous and honestly wouldn’t be missed if they weren’t there.
The dessert was a little disappointing – a tiny square of baklava that was sort of on the dry side. While it did serve as a nice palate cleanser, it was a bit of a letdown after the two fabulous dishes that preceded it.
Service was slow but my older waiter was very kind, as he always is when I come to their restaurant. Definitely worth the price of admission, but if you only have an hour for lunch, you may have a problem getting back on time. A great way to experience a great restaurant on a smaller scale.
If you’d like to go: Cafe Shish Kebab, 1450 Bethel Road, Columbus, 614.273.4444
More reviews by swampkitty can be found online at ColumbusFoodie.com.
Love this place! they catered our wedding, and the owners are incredibly kind. I would kill to be able to make bread like that pide.
ah HA. Didn’t know that Istanbul had a sister restaurant. Good Turkish food + not having to go to Easton = winning combination.
I know they’r run by the same people, but I think Cafe Shish Kebab is about 30% better. I love going in the winter – there are lots of Russians in furs. Not that I think fur is OK, but just interesting knowing the geopolitical tensions between Turks and Russians.
Thanks for the heads-up on the lunch special. I had been there for dinner a couple years ago, but never lunch. After reading your review, I went today with some coworkers for lunch. It was excellent. I had the doner kebab, which was so good.
It definitely was fairly slow, and wound up being about a two hour lunch when travel time was included (we work in Grandview), but was worth it for the food!
Definitely my worst experience in Columbus. Service was terrible. We had to wait for a while before we seated. Another long wait for our drinks. Waiters were busy chatting up other customes instead of taking our orders. The waitress refused to box our food saying they normally don’t do that. I have eaten much better turkish food in Columbus. i guess this restaurant should put out a board saying they welcome white people only. Pathetic people!