Deniz Turkish Mediterranean Cuisine

Calamari salad is excellent, comes with an incredible home made bread. This was my first visit, I definitely plan on coming back with the Mrs. For a special night.

This place is just mediocre/​average. The prices are affordable and the ambiance of the restaurant is pretty chill and a good lunch restaurant to try. I wouldn’t recommend this place for Mediterranean. Tristan and I got a yogurt dill appetizer (served with pita), chicken adana kebab platter, and a chicken & mozzarella cheese w/​asparagus platter. The dip and pita was solid, but wasn’t anything astounding. My chicken platter, I wasn’t even sure was chicken. It smelled and tasted more like lamb, but the salad that comes with it is amazing. Tristan enjoyed his chicken dish, but liked the potatoes a lot more. Service was timely and they were very patient with us.

What do you like more falafel or pilaf rice? Here you don’t have to choose, they’re both excellent. The same goes for the chicken. I’m not crazy about their baba ganoush, but you can’t have a Mediterranean buffet without it either. I don’t want to make it sound like it’s bad though, it was alright.

I have Seamless-​ordered from here a handful of times, and while the food is tasty, there’s a few consistent problems with this place. We can’t give them a try any longer :/@
The prices are too high for a «non organic menu» — also the biggest issue is with the delivery crew. Every time we have ordered, they don’t even try the buzzer and they call us, then speak in 100% Spanish and we can’t understand anything that they are saying (I wish I spoke fluent Spanish but I don’t). We then have to call the restaurant and explain that they need to buzz in, then meanwhile the food is getting cold etc.
I have no problem with the fact that English is not their first language, it’s more that they don’t even try to use the buzzer. We live in a very secure building and they simply MUST buzz in for us to open the door. There’s no other way to let them in and we shouldn’t have to take the elevator down because they aren’t trained properly. The directions are clearly written on the directory. Their delivery crew either doesn’t even try to use the buzzer OR has no idea how to. It’s not their fault, but it is the responsibility of the restaurant manager to hire the right staff, or properly train people, this is a fundamental requirement of any NY restaurant.
⁴⁄₄ times we have ordered from here this has happened. We are done.

I have no idea how I should start this review. This place was incredible! I am a sucker for good Mediterranean food and this place made my taste buds tingle. I was more focused on the food rather than layout but I did look around and like the placement of the tables, wall decorations, and I like the bathrooms. The bread was probably the thing that impressed me the most surprisingly, I was stocking up soo much carbs before my penne vodka was ready. The spinach/​cheese rolls, falafel calamari were all spot on. *Keep in mind I came with a group for a birthday dinner* I did regret getting pasta when I could’ve had the kabob or the stew two of my friends had which did taste better than my pasta. I definitely will come back to this place, my friends and I already agreed on it. Can’t wait to come back :)

Just gave them another chance and its was a big mistake. As usual, service is a word unknown to this restaurant. Ordered lebni received three soups instead. Had this been once I would not be this annoyed, but this is consistent — you never get what you order whether online or when dining in. I feel sorry for their chefs — they do a good job, but it’s completely wasted because managers and servers don’t know how to put orders through.

I have eaten here quite a few times since i live nearby. The ambiance is great and the food is pretty good overall. My favorite is the Lamb Shank entrée, definitely a good choice.
I have had their chicken soup which was ok, a bit too creamy for my taste.
the wraps are a good grab and go bite but they arent very tasty.
I do think that they can do better with their bread, it always tastes a bit old and stale
All in all, a decent choice for turkish in the area.

Great food, the lamb was delicious in a sauce with peppers and onions, kind of like lamb stew. Seasoned delicious. Served with rice. The hummus appetizer was ok, a bit bland. Sangria refreshing for a hot day, Dessert was rice pudding which was ok. The entrée was great so I would return, price was very reasonable.

Deniz is a mediterranean restaurant located in the heart of Fort Greene. It’s a pretty large restaurant well suited for big groups with a number of sidewalk tables during the warmer months. They also have a large bar for drinks or if you’re waiting for a take out order! The menu offers many Mediterranean appetizers (hummus, babaganoush, stuffed grape leaves), salads, and entrees (chicken and lamb gyros and kabobs, falafel, seafood). Favorite picks: chicken and lamb gyro, hummus appetizer, and chocolate soufflé! The service is prompt and friendly and the prices are commensurate with the neighborhood. They also provide catering options and host private parties (up to 100 people).

I’m really trying to remember how I wound up here in the first place tbh. Oh… yea…it wasn’t my choice.
I’m not a big fan of Mediterranean food but since I oh so adore lamb I agreed to try this place out.
List of items:
Calamari– ummm okay nothing too fancy but it was quite edible
Eggplant salad– so terrible I had to take it back (I almost never do that)
Hummus– good hummus nice substitute for the eggplant
Lamb– seasoned well and very juicy
Rice– I’ve had better
My date had some mashed potatoes that were tasty and he stated he liked his chicken. Our drinks were very good too! I don’t complain much when I MYSELF don’t pay for the meal and this food still did it’s job. No rush to come back I can do without…

Hands down the best!
Food is always cooked perfectly. I’ve used this place for several catered event and it’s incredible. Everyone loves it and that’s about 150 critics so far!
Go here. Support this business!

After having an incredible dinner here, I am going to raise my rating.
We began with the baba ghanoush, which is delicious and creamy and smoky.
Then…my friend ordered the Ali Nazik kebab (lamb served over hot baba ghanoush), which was quite good, and I had the Yogurtlu kebab. WOW!!! The Yogurtlu was amazing. Lots of large chunks of lamb over some croutons, a flavorful tomato sauce, yogurt, a large spicy green pepper (which I placed to the side), and a roasted tomato. The croutons soaked up all of the sauces. Very flavorful dish with a big variety of textures. I have a very large appetite and could only finish around ¾ of the plate.

Unfortunately, I was feeling pretty sick the day we came here for dinner so I had to play it safe with my food choices. I went for the chicken soup and the ceasar salad even though I would have loved to have tried some salmon kebabs.
I’m a firm believer that you can tell a lot about a restaurant from the quality of their more basic options and this was proved true with Deniz. The soup and salad were both great. The soup was thick in texture (but somehow had a lighter watery appearance) and the red bell peppers added extra flavour to the chicken, which was plentiful. The salad was a huge portion and the lettuce was crispy and fresh. There was a bit too much ceasar sauce for my liking but it wasn’t too much of an issue as the sauce was light and not super-​strong to taste.
My boyfriend had the chicken sautee and loved it. I sampled a small bit and it was truly delicious with an amazing combination of flavours. The chicken was of very good quality.
Prices were great and I’d recommend the general area of non-​touristy downtown Brooklyn for anyone wanting to experience a true New York community. There are lots of excellent restaurants here that are literally half the price of their Manhattan competitors.
Service was good. Would return.

This was my second time coming to Deniz and I knew there was a reason why it had been about five years since I first ate dinner there, I just couldn’t remember why. The food is meh and overpriced, though I’m guessing that the rent is expensive in this sought after pocket of Fort Greene and the owners have to recoup profits somehow.
I had the mixed meat grill which is $ 20. It comes with chicken gyro, chicken shish kebab, lamb shish and adana (kafta) kebab served with rice and salad. The chicken kebab was well marinated and moist and the rice was very good – it had kind of an almondy taste to it. The yogurt sauce was liquidy and had no flavor. All of the other meats were just okay. I didn’t even bother taking my leftovers home.
Service here is fine and this is a nice place to sit outside and people watch. The food, though? Meh.

I have no clue how this restaurant is still in business.
I am no Turkish food expert, BUT Istanbul is one of my favorite places ever, I like to visit when I can and I am pretty familiar with Turkish food (often homemade via friends and family).
I think that en masse every item is sub-​par at Deniz, shockingly (This includes the bread, hummus, salads, lentil soup, grape leaves, ezme, falafel…). I have truly been upset each time that I have dined here. I mean, the bread (?!), seriously?
There are other pretty good Turkish restaurants in NYC — but they are all in Manhattan.
It would be a dream to have a yummy, authentic Turkish restaurant in my neighborhood. I hope that dream comes true in the near future.

The food was great. I would come back anything. Good authentic Turkish food. Make sure to have some raki. The rice pudding was a great way to finish the meal! Oh! Don’t f forget to order some Turkish coffee.

Deniz is one of my favorite Turkish places in Brooklyn … And by favorite, I mean the only Turkish place I know in Brooklyn, but don’t let that stop you from reading! My friend and I– I’ll call her Scooby Doo– came here after a crazy indian color fest on a boat, after a fun long shower washing all the color off (alone of course), after friend-​zoning a lovably annoying zombie who I never imagined would actually join us in this wonderful meal, and it was certainly everything I dreamed it would be– loud, obnoxious, banging on the table (now now…), Scooby singing sonnets about her star crossed lover after half a drink, me wondering why I couldn’t think of any flamboyant love stories AND wondering why the Kadayif had mozzarella (?) cheese in it… Silly BV, Kunefeh is for cultured people!
My manti was yummy as always but I couldn’t quite finish it– so I decided donate a piece to the center of the table… by accident… Hehe. Then Scooby Doo kept telling us to «try these fries, they’re amazing!» Which made all of us suspicious, so I suspect pieces of her dish were secretly dismantled around her… The zombie’s lamb dish seemed like a bad choice but he kept chewing and chewing with a big dumb smile and saying «it was great» just to impress me. He is never getting out of the friend zone. The other guy who pretended to be a wine connoisseur, so astute that he could SMELL that they brought him the wrong wine– was so secretive about his dish and what he ordered, that I never could understand his Deniz experience that day. He was eating like that smart kid in math class who always covers his exam so kids like me wouldn’t copy him. Fine then, he probably ordered a whole plate of «amazing fries» and was too embarrassed to admit it. He then proceeded to «help me take a picture» of his yummy looking chocolate lava cake and instead started hacking into my phone and looking at all of my sexy pictures. Maybe this was NYC style BFF behavior. Or maybe he was just a douche. Who knows.
All in all, I enjoyed watching my cognitive skills skills go downhill just by watching Scooby and co. getting drunkish, which is always entertaining. The waiters were all so friendly and good spirited to put up with our mildly obnoxious behavior, and one was even patient enough to explain each and every item (like 10) on the dessert tray when I decided to test his quick recall. He was even so helpful to alleviate the horrified look on my face when I saw cheese coming out of the kunefe and reminded my redneck self that it was Kadayif that I had been thinking of. «All y’all look alike!» I said… to the dessert tray. (Hey! I’m brown, a globe jamun if you will. I have immunity).
Thank you for reading. Try this place, it’s amazing.

We were hungry but as I never eat my entrée after having starters (appetizers), we went straight for it.
We had the marinated Ribeye medium rare (14 oz.)…$ 24: served with steamed vegetables and French fries and a heineken. Hehehe. Wanted to replace fries with mashed potato but we had to pay for the mash as a separate side.
We also got a mixed Grill… $ 20: combination of chicken, gyro, chicken shish kebab, lamb shish kebab and adana kebab serve with rice and mixed green salad.
Our food was tasty but as usual I had to get a doggie bag. Americans serve really large portions boy!
Mustapha our server was good. Their credit/​debit card machine was down but fortunately we were told this at the beginning and had to leave to make a quick ATM stop.
Overall this is a nice spot that I’ll recommend.
The End.

Until recently, my experience with Turkish food has been somewhat limited (falafel, gyro, hummus and other items that aren’t merely Turkish, but native to the Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern region generally). But then I made a Turkish friend, and he has coerced me deep inside a wild world of lamb and spices.
Since you make my world just a little bit brighter every day (yes, you), I’m going to share the most important piece of newfound knowledge with you (and because I know you’re pressed for time, I’m going to leave out all the things that he’s educated me on that have nothing to do with Deniz*):
You want the Yogurtlu Adana.
I’ve seen it called other things at other Turkish joints, but essentially it’s a lamb adana kebab topped with a garlicky yogurt sauce. The kebab has been cooked in butter and tomato sauce, and it’s then laid over bread that soaks up all the delicious lamb juices and any stray sauce. This is what’s good.**
If your lady friend is as skeptical of lamb as mine, hide hers in the Manti. Manti is sort of like gnocchi, but stuffed with seasoned lamb and onions, steamed, and served in more garlic yogurt (Turks like garlic yogurt).
Are you really hungry? Add in a mixed appetizer plate. It’s all sorts of mouthwatering dips, and they are the perfect reason to devour every bit of the thick, crisp, golden focaccia-​esque bread served with every order.
Deniz will deliver all this to your door quite promptly. Enjoy.
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*Such as hookah, projecting video games on the side of a building, and a deep, burning hatred for Greeks.
**But beware the green pepper in this dish. I tried a small bite, and my mouth went numb instantly. If you must prove your manhood, keep some yogurt handy.

Very fast delivery on FREEzing cold night… The food came hot and packaged very well. The Deniz Salad is huge, all of the veggies were very fresh and the dressing was simple and yummy. The «feta cheese» though was actually just a very finely shredded cheese that tasted more like cojita.
The lentil soup was good, but tasted a little heavy. The ingredients on the menu just say «puréed red lentils topped with crushed red pepper and mint.» I couldn’t taste the red pepper or mint… Just really lentils and some kind of cream. I wound up calling and asking what was in it… They told me it was vegetarian but had dairy, and when I asked what kind of dairy he said «butter.» Umm gross.
I won’t be ordering the soup again. But that won’t stop me from trying some more salads. And the best part, it came with two huge pieces of warm Turkish bread. Yum!