Syd Eats
This epic restaurant has been a Ponsonby favourite for over 20 years! 🌯🥗 The falafel is absolute perfection 🫠🧆 … so crispy and crunchy on the outside yet moist and flavourful inside. The tabbouleh is also out-of-this-world delicious 👌 Everything is so fresh and lovingly made from scratch (with the potential exception of the flatbread itself). The atmosphere is relaxed and their one, wonderful lunchtime staff member is an absolute gem. Always makes me feel so welcomed and comfortable. Long live Turkish Cafe Ponsonby 🙌
Mckenzie Scott
Came with my family on the last night of our one month NZ trip. My parents used to come when they were younger before I was born. The food is just as amazing as it was 20+ years ago! Definitely recommend for a good Turkish feed 😄
Khurram Aziz
Turkish cafe is one of those places you can always trust to do a good job with food.
Haven't been for a while so decided to go over the long weekend. Was a bit skeptical when say only one person was managing the whole cafe including service as well as cooking.
Ordered the Chicken Shawarma Kebab which came pretty quickly and was really a delicious meal with chicken, hummus, rice and salad.
Lechelle Jatho
The food was fantastic, flavors are great and portions are really good. This has become one of our favorite places to eat and will be back to try more of the menu 😊 Staff are extremely friendly!
Kevin
Awesome place to experience great Turkish cuisines. We have been to true restaurants for many years. Never disappointed. The platter is the best option to try all different great food in one single dish. The renovation gave the place a brighter and modern dining ambience. Love it!
Bartholomew Pondsbury
Very friendly staff and great tasting food. Was apprehensive at first as I've had bad experiences with Turkish food in the past, but I will definitely be returning here. Very tasty and filling food at reasonable prices.
Tyrone Penning
Delicious example of gormet Turkish food, in a convenient location. Had a chicken salad which was perfect, complete with a range of condiments and balanced spices. The staff are friendly and congenial. Would definitely come back! You wont be disappointed.
Ahmed Al Ghusaini
Delicious food and great service. I tried it four years ago, it still tastes good as ever. We had the Bosses's special for two, everything thing tastes good.
Jerrin Pius
Really good food, good service and affordable. Great place for a group BYO and sharing platters. The menu has variety in taste and spice.
Sasha Aguirre
Really delicious food! Fast and service was very good, plates are abundant in food and they have a great menu
Jackson Ramland
Amazing food, the quality and quantity is brilliant. Have tried many options and everything is great tasting. The flavors and taste are great and if needed they are willing to substitute for you. The service is amazing and such nice people. A must visit while in ponsonby, park on the side streets.
Susan Markanen
Great place ... very nice staff and delicious food. And you can't beat the $12 lunch menu. I had a decent $8 glass of rosé with the Vegetarian Mixed Borek. Very happy!
Bina Cullen
Friendly service, lovely food at a great price. I would definitely eat there again.
Matt.
Fantastic food, great sharing platter options for big groups. The owner is champ too
claire bowering
Been coming here since 1988 and always has outstanding food. Can't go past the bosses special, an absolute feast and incredible value for money. Still remains our favourite restaurant
Raaa HaAaa
The BEST kebab in Auckland… no exaggeration it’s delicious and amazing
Stephen Rice
Great food been consistent over the years. Friendly staff. Good value
Dannielle Elder
This restaurant is my comfort place. I have been coming here all my life, and even had my 21st birthday dinner here.
The staff are always so welcoming, and their food is delicious. I always get their anatolia kebab and can never fault it. They do lots of takeaway orders so dont let the slightly emptier venue discourage you - it truly is a hidden little gem.
Simon Howells
Lovely staff, quick and friendly service and the lamb kebab was 👌 This place is as good as it was 4 years ago when I was last here. Will definitely be back.
Caffeinated Weka
The Turkish Cafe has a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern inspired menu with reasonably priced food. I ordered the shawarma kebab with lamb and saffron rice, tabouleh and pita bread. The chilli sauce was delicious and the rice was light and fluffy. A good lunch with friendly service.
Jessica Haigh
Did not have a great experience. Went in to get a takeaway order, I ordered the chicken & falafel kebab with fries. I waited for over 30 minutes when I’d been told my order would only take 10. I sat there and watched people who came in after me get served their food. I finally went up to the counter and asked and the girl just said it was coming with no apology. When it came the chips were soggy, oily and very sad looking. The kebab was really disappointing. Didn’t taste like anything and the pieces of chicken were dry and tough, the falafel was like mush. Ended up throwing it the bin half way through eating. The salad in the kebab had been over cooked so was soggy and slimey. The chef did apologise for the wait as I left which was nice. Overall will definitely not be going back.
Idel Kennedy
I booked a table of 9 here and every one of us were more than satisfied with both the food and the service. The portions were large, meals were reasonable and it was all delicious. I had rang a couple of days on advance to let them know i had a garlic allergy. Even though all the dishes have garlic, the chef said he could cater especially for me. I was thrilled when I was served to see they had made some garlic free hummus especially for me. It is not often that restaurants go to that extent so I was extremely grateful. Definitely will be going back. Oh and it's BYO which was great for us a big group. They also serve some nice wines.
Karen And Susan
Karen here, I went to the Turkish Cafe and Bar for lunch. Food was Delicious as it always is. We decided to sit outside as it was hot, I suggest they wash the pot plants in the morning after the night-goers. Would definitely come again.
Evannah Kenwright
I visit this cafe often as it’s right beside my work and it’s by far one of my favourite spots in akl!! The friendliest service from the manager there, he is lovely and the most delicious food. 10/10 so good
Sassy Radish
Located in busy and urban Ponsonby, i found this little Gem. Again like most places i go to i check if they have any vegetarian options. Which this place did so i decided to try it. They have plenty of options for vegetarians which really delighted me. Our food came, i ordered the vegetarian mixed borek, the flavour exceeded my expectation from the presentation of the food. Great traditional flavours that work together and compliment each other. They are also very generous with portion sizes, so for such low prices definitely worth it.
Eeram
Came here with 20 other people for a BYO, which is usually just general chaos and unfinished meals. Definitely one of the best BYO dinners I have ever had. Corkage is a sweet $3.50, and they had a brilliant numbering system so none of us got confused about our meals. I got a vegetarian mixed borek and the spring rolls and dolmades were unprecedented deliciousness. Got a lot of rave reviews from those that ordered the donner kebabs - they're massive! Service was very friendly and remarkably patient with our antics. Will be proposing this for future events yummo.
Hungus Girl
They used to be located in Newmarket but now found out they shifted to ponsonby. Small cosy restaurant serving Turkish/middle eastern cuisine. Place gets really packed in the evenings so best to make a reservation.<br/><br/>We ordered the mix platter for two. It was like a taster platter that included seafood and kebabs served with rice and salad. Huge platter and worth it especially with their generous amount of prawns, lamb and chicken. Nicely cooked and meats marinated well. They also have byo. Corkage charge was $3.50. Well worth to checkout even if you just want a light meal.
John Bound
A hidden gem. Great restaurant with great food! We ordered the mixed platter for 2 and it was absolutely divine. The grilled meat was tender and the rice and salad was flavoursome. It was a shame we were the only customers in the restaurant and maybe not a lot of people know about the place. Recommended middle-east food place.
James S Kohler
I came here based on the recollection that I had a very good lamb kebab here a long time ago. I mean about 5-7 years ago.<br/><br/>I was pretty surprised by the prices on the menu. There wasn't much to distinguish the food as it was advertised on the menu from any number of kebab restaurants in the same general area. Most of these places charge half the price, and it can't be said that this Turkish Cafe is twice as good (albeit, the dining environment is slightly nicer)<br/><br/>Shawarama/kebab was adequate in itself, nothing special and stuffed heavily with what could have been store-bought packaged salad for all I knew. The was also a generous dollop of hummus (again, nothing special, store bought for all I know) as well as a chilli sauce that fell into the same category. <br/><br/>The chicken was tender but certainly not exciting. The side of pita bread was also small and felt inauthentic. Staff were friendly enough but it was still quite slow for how empty the restaurant was. There was very little evidence of cooking and preparation taking place during the course of our meals being made.<br/><br/>I am sorry but I cannot recommend this place. Food in itself it was decent - very squarely on the average mark. But the price was not.  I think you can do better for almost half the price at any number of restaurants on Ponsonby/K Road. I am sorry to say this as I know it's incredibly difficult running a restaurant business.<br/><br/>But this place would need to up its game substantially before i'd even conider coming back.
Vitale Eti
Sadly, we managed to order two dishes that ended up looking and tasting nothing like we'd imagined. We ordered the Glevech and the Tavuk Soute. They weren't lacking in taste @ all, just both quite tomatoey. The lamb was slightly better than the chicken dish. Both dishes were listed as having pita bread and instead on both plates we received a couple small triangles of dry bread. As per the photos.
Neil Jones
Honestly Turkish Cafe has top notch food and service. The staff are friendly and very quick. Downside is that if there is a larger boisterous group of customers in then the lack of soft furnishings our wall hangings make it impossible to hear or hold any form of civilized conversation. Not that this should stop you from enjoying on of the best tasting Turkish experiences in the inner city. <br/>Been back on 06/05/16 . The true sign of any good restaurant is how well it is patronized. To say that here is very well patronized is an understatement . Excellent again .
USADINER
Great food, the tabouleh salad is the best I've experienced in NZ. Being a vegan I appreciate the organic free range options available and the halal certification was most pleasing
Jessica Li
Got a late lunch with a friend here and just managed to order in time (2.49pm) to get their lunch deals. I got a chicken thing which I can't pronounce and it was delicious, I thought the portion sizes were on the smaller size or maybe I was just really hungry 😂 the food came out really fast which was good and the service was super friendly as well. Overall I quite enjoyed the place because the flavours of their food just worked really well :)
John
Not been here in years. Service friendly. Hummus and bread nice, kids enjoyed the nachos, however the lamb on our sharwama was disappointing in that the meat was incredibly dry and should never have been served. However they did offer to replace, we declined. They did however reduce the bill appropriately which was good.
Fiona M
We went here for dinner last weekend. Being a public holiday, not much was open so we thought we'd try this place. We ordered a mezze platter, 2 wines and a vegetarian dish. The food came out about 15 mins later but we were a little disappointed to find out the second dish we ordered was also on the mezze platter. If we'd been told this we would've stuck to just the mezze platter. It was still good though, I just took the leftovers that were ok to eat later. Not sure if we'd go back but it was enjoyable enough.
Richard J
Went there last night only one table with diners , sat and sat , eventually asked for a menu .<br/>Then we sat for 20 minutes , nothing , no waitress , she vanished , so eventually we went next door to eat .<br/>Shame may have been nice but no service at all , the place next door was jammed full .
Lubbly Jubbly
It's a really nice looking restaurant with plenty of seating. In this case I ordered takeaways which was well packaged and available in the timeframe they said it would be
Sungsam7
If your looking for plentiful tasty Turkish food for a reasonable price this is one to try.<br/>The big bosses special platter for 2 @$56 was one my dining partner couldn't resist and on his own I'd add also! 1 tender lamb shank in mint sauce, a couple of lamb cutlets, a couple of moist chicken loin pieces, decent mix of seafood, rice, pieces of cube chopped pita bread, tabouli...get the picture? Massive and delicious. I had the smaller version still massive in taste though.<br/>Tried the lamb moussaka which must be eaten immediately while hot otherwise the fat from the lamb mince settles on your plate. The eggplant and potato both cooked and well. Not normally a huge fan of tabouli bit TC has one I actually like.<br/>We started with the Turkish dips amd pita bread enough for 4 people. Loved each dip and we didn't manage to finish the bread which was fluffy in texture.<br/>Service was swift and polite. It's Hubby's go to place for a feast of meat.
Las Akurugoda
Great place to have dinner with a group of friends. I would strongly recommend the boss platter to anyone with a good appetite. They have some great pizzas too.
Peta Campion
I tried the Falafel Meal here which was delicious and I will definitely recommend to friends. I enjoy the fact they have a few vegetarian meals & great service too.
RM
We had the mix dips platter which as nice but expensive for $28 I thought. The moussaka was nice apparently, the lamb shanks, the shisk kebab and chicken mains were quite acceptable, tasty enough and " refreshing."<br/>Lacking a bit in ambiance I thought although we did have a booth. Probably not a place I would return to in a hurry.
Chris Wilson
Having arrived in Auckland on holiday, we needed to feed 5 quickly and the Turkish Cafe definitely delivered. The vegetarian mezze platter and greek salad were spot on, freshly made and the servings were very generous. But what was truly amazing was the service ... we needed take away but the staff were worried the food would be soggy when I got it home (i was on foot!). So when I rang, they asked me to bring a large plate. They then made it fresh for me and .... offered me a lift home, all with a smile and no extra charge. And they were right, the food tasted better made fresh and not packed in plastic boxes!!! Amazing service, great food and proud owners of a great restaurant ... 5 out of 5.
Mandi Van Eeden
Not to much in the form of decor or ambiance. Not particularly the best service in the world. The food was great however.<br/>We had bread and dips and we had the People's choice shared platter, was really no fuss good food. Yum
Melanie Matthews
Great food, great service, friendly warm atmosphere.. awesome place to start off your night before checking out the Ponsonby night scene.
Jennifer Richmond
Good food, but very expensive and when we queried the total bill the owner/chef told us he was too busy to talk to us. Ponsonby Central just up the road and just as good.<br/>Hard to put up a rating as the food was good, but ambiance terrible.
Idling Bye
I am beginning to Question My Loyalty to the Turkish cafe<br/>I have had many enjoyable meals here, and<br/>I do believe (from experience) that its better than its Newmarket Protege, but<br/>the cost is creeping up, and on Monday night the Meat was verging on the "dried out", however in fairness<br/>the entrees of Calamari and Nachos I would recommend wholeheartedly, perhaps I did not choose my Main wisely ?<br/><br/>I often go there for the Baklava, after a meal elsewhere<br/>(I am not a fan of Indian, or Thai deserts) and<br/>Its very good Baklava.
Pm
very nice food, good value, polite people who work there.<br/>i would defiantly visit them during my lunch time.
Daniel Wang
I have been a frequent lunch-er/diner at the cafe. Simply awesome. Over the years they have maintained a very high level of service and consistent food quality. Also the place is still run by the same family. If I just be there with my wife ,we usually order the turkish mixed dips combination of hummus mamakado served with yoghurt and pita $25 for two people, as it's fresh simply big enough for two people and healthy, good for a light dinner.<br/><br/>So if you come here for a real dinner, you should try my favorite Donner kebab( $22) and Mediterranean lamb shanks($29) , <br/>the soul of middle east restaurant is all about kebab and lamp, so if you wanna see how good it is, you should try its kebab and lamb. The turkish cafe is good at it. The pita of Donner kebab is very soft as it's from traditional wood fired oven,the meat is very tender ,the combination of other sauce all wrapped in the large pita makes your mouth water. The Mediterranean lamb shanks($29) usually serve two lamb shanks, I'm not sure the exact sauce in it as the owner said it's a secret ,make sure you try the  slow-cooked tender lamb shanks and try me the secret ;D All the main food serve with rice salad ,hummus,so you don't need to order these. The very first experience to the middle east food is very different, and then you just get used to it ;) and I personally still do not get used to the turkish wine ;(
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