New Kapadokia

PLACE IS CLOSED NOW!
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Used to have a couple of great disches served well, but in below-​average ambience and bad utensils and plates.

We had stuffed eggplant and sarma kabab. And eggplant was great. Service was over the roof, the owner was very friendly and yes their lental soup was awesome

Pretty underwhelmed given the high ratings from other Unilocal reviewers. The service was friendly but the food was only so so. Here’s the run down:
Sarma Beyti Kabab — Pretty dry
Meze Platter — tasty
Manti — Probably the worst of the dishes. The dumplings were all stuck together and and some portions seemed undercooked. In general not very tasty and difficult to eat. The dish itself was not presented very nicely.

Our order was Sigara Buregl (Kind of hybrid between Samosa and Spring Roll) was okay, their Lentil Soup was amazing, Vegetarian Mantı was a stuffed pasta which was a-​ok, Şakşuka tasted was okay and Kunefe was just average.
The best thing was the bread they give as a starter. It went amazing with the soup. The service was extremely friendly and welcoming! Next time, I will just go with their appetizers… I need to try them out!

4.5 stars, but I’ll round up, because wow do I love their lentil soup! Lentil soup — doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? This one is! It’s red, spicy, flavorful, and hearty, absolutely unlike any boring old lentil soup I had growing up (no offense, Mom!)
I’d also recommend any of their appetizers. Often, I make a meal out of soup and appetizers and always leave feeling happy and full, with leftovers for home. I can’t remember what they’re called officially, but try the «cigars» — pastries filled with potato, cheese, and herbs — yum.
I’m a vegetarian, but my meat-​eating friends have seemed quite happy with their choices. I ate the stuffed eggplant dish last time I was there and was very satisfied.
Sure, the service could be a little smoother at times — our last waiter was like a drill sergeant which was a little unnerving (and funny) — but honestly, sometimes, who cares? They make good food, it’s not obscenely priced, you don’t have to wait forever to eat there, the owner and some of the servers are quite friendly and down-to-earth…I am happy to overlook a few rough patches for a place where I feel comfortable and am treated to a tasty meal.

Nice little restaurant with a homey feel.
they start you out with some soft tastey bread and garlic butter; after we noshed a bit, I politely asked for more bread. The owner said with a smile ‘don’t eat my bread’
he thought he was funny .
My kabob combo came with some tastey chicken nugget’s, lamb nuggets, kofta nuggets; nice rice, hunks of carrots and broccolli cooked al-​dente. Everything was pretty good until I looked at the small lamb chop: it looked dry and very well done, def. spent some time in the refrigerator and it tasted reheated. For $ 24, this is a miss.
Too bad, they try to toss in some mystery lamb chop.
The red wine, a Turkish red was dry and tastey.
This place could def. be 3 stars but treat me right!
New Kapadokia, get your A game on ! and I’ll return.

You can see the owner really focus on bringing good materials in the dishes.
Started with warm bread and butter, it had me with the aroma. the salad and lentil soup are big portion and fresh. The yogurt drink in a bronze cup brought up the exotic atmosphere. My friends ordered Chicken Shish Kebab, Casserole, Köfte Kebab, Sarma Beyti Kebab. I have the Dolma (Stuffed Grape Leaves), very refreshing tart taste with lots of healthy ingredients. I will definitely want to bring friends again!

Turkish food. East Turkish food, more specifically, according to the owner. Supposedly different than food found in Istanbul.
Friendly owner, happy to explain how everything was made.
The portions are quite sizable.
Food:
–Combo Meze: Good choice to try out their ‘mezes’. Each is packed with flavor, but quite rich.
–Beyti Kebab: Very good. Crispy wrapping, and doused in sauces. Once again, the sauces are highly flavorful, but sooooo heavy and rich. ‘Tis scary to think about it being a single entrée.
–Chicken Shish Kebab: Also very good, but without the heaviness of the other dishes I tried! Moist meat, not highly flavorful seasoning, but it makes up for that with its grill charring (or maybe I just ignored the seasoning due to charring). Crispy, charred edges increase the tastiness factor of the chicken and veggies to a very pleasing level.

Located in downtown Redwood City. Parking was a little tough at 8pm on a Friday night, but we managed to find something nearby. I was surprised to see that the place was pretty empty compared to all the other restaurants on the strip. Guess we didn’t need the reservations. It was a little warm inside as well. To eat, I had the Karnıyarık (Stuffed Eggplant). It was ok, a little burnt though. I’ve been to turkey before, so I can tell you the dish is comparable. The ambience felt more like a café, than a restaurant. Also, when the food came out, everyone got there food except for my bf. It was a long enough gap that we all noticed, but not long enough for us to ask the waiter where his food was. Overall, I thought this place is ok if you’re craving Turkish food.

So it’s my co-​workers birthday and they asked me to go with them to take her out.
Which is worrisome since Jane (I’ll call her «Jane» since she looks like Jane Seymour to me; not a compliment by the way) is very flirty and is always asking to be taken out.
I agreed, as long as we could go in a group.
I got the beef kebab plate, which I thought was tough and dry, and everybody basically got the same thing (kebobs) but different variations.
So I’m seated across from Jane and she asks me about my vacation plans, and when I tell her I’m thinking of going to Greece this year, she asks if she can come with me!
What the deuce?
«You’re kidding right?» I said.
«No, do you have room for one more?» she asked. «I’ve always wanted to go to Greece.»
«Me too, that’s why I’m going… alone,» I said.
«Won’t you be lonely?» she asked.
«That’s what a tour group is for,» I said.
The meal was just as unpleasant as our conversation… dry, and kind of tasteless.

Delicious! I’ve been here twice now, and drool just thinking about the food =)
Both times I’ve gone I’ve had the Kebab Combo #2 — this is a fantastic way to go for two people — you get to try all the different kinds of meat, and every one of them is delicious in its own way.
Yesterday we decided to try the Haydari for an appetizer, and it was quite tasty — if you’d like some more fresh and zingy than eggplant dip or hummus, I’d definitely recommend Haydari — yogurt, goat cheese, sour cream, cucumbers, yum! It came with thin crisps which was nice to snack on through the meal.
Looking forward to going again!

We really like Turkish food. We loved Pilita in San Carlos, that, alas, is gone. But there are other places in the area we enjoy. We also have been to Turkey, and love the cuisine there.
This restaurant is in a great location for an evening out and has nice big dining room on the corner. The service was timely.
We ordered a variety of what we consider the most classic Turkish dishes to sample the menu on our one and only time there.
The dishes were an insult to the culture and cuisine of Turkey. The meat was invariably tough. The sauce on the beyti kebab was like cheap marinara sauce. Everything tasted wrong. And bad.
The night we were there the proprietor was sitting in a corner watching videos on a computer. It seemed he did not care.
I don’t think this was an off night. The pattern of low quality was too consistent for this to be the case.
If you have been here and had similar impressions, or just thought you did not care for Turkish food, please reconsider and go to a good Turkish restaurant, because it can be delightful.

My son and I really enjoyed sharing our first meal here.
The lentil soup was delightful and also served as a dipping sauce for the bread and for
our delish chicken kabob.
They’re so friendly there.
Definitely goin back.
Prices are so low too!

About 15 of us (managers and co-​workers) tried this place in celebrating a co-​workers 15 year anniversary. Place is small, but they were able to accommodate all of us. Combo Meze was a great appetizer to start with. All the toppings were fresh and tasty.
Almost everyone ordered lamb dishes: lamb chops, lamb casserole, lamb kebab. My boss was the wildcard, ordered a stuff eggplant dish. Everything was delicious! I ordered the lamb casserole and the spices were good good good! My co-​worker let me try her lamb chops and it was cooked perfectly. The kebab was good, a little dry, but that’s how bbq kebabs are.
I love Mediterranean food and this place just justice!
So the saying goes, everything tastes better when it’s free. Might be true, but I will come back and bring a date!

I really wanted to love this place. I’ve been meaning to come for at least a year. There’s something about the look of this place from the outside… cozy, understated… that speaks to me.
It was pretty good. We had the dolmas, which were ok. A little sweet for my taste. The fried greek eggroll thangs which were probably the best item we had. We originally ordered the spicy ground beef kebab, but it was so spicy that we asked if we could replace it with the lamb kebab, which was fine. Meat was a little tough, but it was good.
So I don’t know. Nothing really spoke to me. And I will say that it irritated me that they not only overcharged for our wine (listed on the menu as $ 7 per glass, but charged at $ 8 per glass), but also charged us a split credit card fee. The kebab was $ 20 for the plate, and there were literally 6 pieces of lamb on it, a pile of rice and some pickled onions. You can’t eat the few extra cents for a split credit card?
So the food was fine, the overall experience was mildly irritating, and thus we will likely not be back.

It’s hard to believe this place is rated 4 stars. Either the two of us ordered the completely wrong dishes, it was a very off night for these guys, or something was seriously askew.
I opted for the Tavuk Guvec, or the chicken casserole served with pilaf. The dish was more of a stew than casserole with an average presentation and a rather mild, if not bland, taste. For a place that is Michelin and Zagat recommended, and has 4 stars on Unilocal,this was certainly a dismal meal.
For dessert, we opted for the most ordered dessert on the menu according to our hostess. It was a flaky pastry stuffed with white chocolate. While the description sounded mouthwatering, it was DOA. The flaky pastry was smothered with a honey-​like stickiness… making it no longer flaky, but rather dense. The while chocolate was thick and somewhat hardened rather than a soft, ooey gooey consistency you’d expect from a warm dessert. Definitely skippable… the dessert, and well, the restaurant, too.
The restaurant’s ambiance is nice, but that’s all it has going for it. Unfortunately, in the cutthroat restaurant business, ambiance is a component, but not the entire slice.

Came here after seeing the place featured on «Check, Please!» The most memorable part in the show was that this place sets a cup of tea on a small platter, then whirls the tea in a circle at your tableside, before setting the beverage on your table. It’s quite a show, lasting about 5 seconds, but when I came here with family, we didn’t order it.
Instead, the owner (Adam) ordered everything for us! We informed him that it was our first time, and he was so confident that we would like his selections that if we didn’t like a particular dish, we could swap it for something else for free! It was a nice offer, but we didn’t end up using it because all of the food was amazing.
~ Complimentary Bread: small slices, small loaf of bread, comes with butter. I prefer more moisture in my bread, but my uncle absolutely loved this bread.
~ Lentil Soup (included with entrée): red lentils, red pepper paste, tomato paste, mint, black pepper, cumin, garlic, and corn oil. SPICY, especially toward the bottom of the bowl, but so delicious, especially when you dip the bread into the soup.
~ Combo Meze: included 2 Dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts, and currants, cooked in olive oil, with a hint of cinnamon and mint), Cevizli Ezme (Turkish red pepper paste, tomato paste, walnut, garlic, olive oil, and cumin), Humus (garbanzo beans, tahini sauce, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice), and Haydari (cucumbers, garlic, yogurt, dill, mint, goat cheese, and sour cream). My favorite was the Ezme, which looks super spicy, but actually isn’t! Very refreshing. Full of spices, but hardly spicy. The rest of the appetizers were not particularly amazing to me.
~ Manti: homemade pasta filled with ground beef and onions, poached and served with garlic yogurt and spicy butter, $ 17. Tastes and looks like dumplings.
~ Saksuka: pan fried eggplant, bell peppers, and zucchini, served and topped with homemade tomato-​basil sauce, served with pilaf, $ 16. Beautiful presentation. The veggies were a bit soggy, but it goes well with the rice, which is also good on its own.
~ Karniyarik: eggplant stuffed with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and chopped parsley, baked in oven, served with pilaf, $ 16. Looks like a giant, elongated meatball until you break into it. Then you’ll immediately see the eggplant. It was interesting, and different.
~ Sebzeli Guvec: lamb, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, and pepper paste, baked in casserole and served with pilaf, $ 17. Mildly spicy. Resembles the Stuffed Eggplant.
~ Sarma Beyti Kebab: skewered spicy ground beef wrapped with lavas bread, topped with homemade tomato sauce and garlic yogurt, $ 17. This is their signature dish, but I actually didn’t care for this one. Looks like a bunch of sliced bananas with whipped cream in the center. Hardly spicy. A bit chewy. The owner said they cook this twice, the details are too long for me to include here.
~ Kebab Combo 1: lamb chop, 2 koftes, lamb and chicken shish kebab, flame-​broiled, served with pilaf and veggies, $ 24. Best presentation and most tender meat out of all the dishes we had.
Clearly, we sampled a ton of food. It was all very filling, refreshing, and flavorful. The service is remarkable. This place is pricey, but the place definitely fills up with customers. Also, gratuity is automatically included on the bill for large groups.

Their customer service is the biggest reason why I give them a 5 star.
The Boyfriend and I was standing on a street corner, in front of this Mediterranean restaurant looking for a place to eat. A man stepped out and asked if we needed help finding a place. He was so nice and had a gentle face that when we thanked him and started off, we looked at each other and said, «we should try that restaurant next time.»
A long overdue unconfirmed date, we finally made our way to this restaurant.
Through the doors, you step into a rectangular restaurant with a simple but elegant wall paper and modern day light fixtures. We were greeted with a semi-​smiling hostess/​waiter and seated us immediately (note: this was at 5P on a Friday).
Once we were seated, our waiter introduced himself to us in a nice black on black dress shirt and pants. He gave us a few minutes and came back. Went over the menu real quick since it was our first time. He spoke clearly and made sure we understood everything. We made our selection and off he went.
He dropped off some bread that they made. Maybe it was because we were hungry, but the bread tasted so damn good. I think he gave us another loaf. He attempted to give us another one but we thought it be best to say no to leave room for the entrees to be served.
Shortly after we ordered, our orders came out. I had the shrimp casserole. It was very taste and made to perfection. We loved it.
From the service, to the professionalism, the décor and the food, it was definitely the best Mediterranean place I’ve ever tasted.
The verdict: We shall return =)

It has been 4 years since I’ve last eaten at New Kapadokia. I purchased a $ 50 Opentable online coupon, so I had to come back. The food was just as good as before, and the service from the owner of the restaurant was excellent! We visited on a Wednesday evening. I made a reservation through Opentable, but the restaurant wasn’t full.
We started out with the complimentary bread. The bread wasn’t as fresh as before, so that was a disappointing.
We had the combo meze platter. We chose our four cold appetizers appetizers, but it was a surprise when the owner gave us a sampling of all of the appetizers. The babaganoush had a deep smoky eggplant flavor; one of the best that I’ve eaten. I also enjoyed the Kizartama which was a sauté of eggplant, zucchini, and green bell peppers. The cevizli ezme which was a red pepper paste with walnuts and tomato sauce was also yummy. Such a good deal for $ 15! In addition, we also had the Sigara Boregi appetizer ($ 7) which were stuffed phyllo dough with potato and feta cheese and deep fried. Everything tastes good when it’s deep fried!
We were already full from the appetizers, but we ordered main entrees to have leftover for the next day’s lunch. I had the Saksuka ($ 16) which was eggplant, peppers, and zucchini in a tomato sauce. It’s similar to the Kizartama appetizer. Yum yum. Great dish for those who like eggplant. My hubby had the Sarma Beyti Kebab ($ 17). He said that the beef kabab was moist. It was a unique dish with the kabab wrapped in lavish bread.
Each of our entrée came with choice of soup or salad. The salad was awesome as usual, especially with the delicious vinaigrette. The soup of the day was lentil which was spicy. Yum yum. Love the flavors of the soup.
We were so full by the end of the meal. Our stomachs felt like exploding. I wish this place was closer to home since this place has one of the best Turkish foods that I’ve eaten.

After my last rant about the poor service here, the owner Adam contacted me several times via Unilocal to invite me back to the restaurant. I called and he said he would treat me and 3 friends.
I was glad for the excuse to go back. the food was really good, but the service had killed the experience. This time Adam served us personally and I have to say the service was flawless all night. Thanks, Adam!
We got:
* Babaganus (Pureed baked eggplant, mixed with fresh garlic, parsley, olive oil, yogurt, and tahini sauce) — This had subtle flavors, was good.
* Cacik (Diced cucumbers and garlic mixed in yogurt, topped with olive oil, mint, and dill) — Very fresh tasting, a cool refreshing dip.
* Cevizli Ezme (Walnuts, Turkish red pepper paste, and tomato paste mixed with fresh garlic, olive oil, and cumin) — My FAVORITE of the cold apps. This was a very thick sauce, so delicious and full of flavor (the most flavorful of the apps), with the walnuts being a perfect addition to the sauce.
* Humus (Garbanzo beans, tahini sauce, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice) — Good. Not standout amazing, but very solid hummus.
* Patlican Salatasi (Pureed baked eggplant and red bell peppers, mixed with olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice) — Nice, with subtle flavors, and large chunks of eggplant.
* Kizartma (Eggplant, zucchini, and green bell peppers, sautéed in oil and topped with fresh tomato sauce and garlic) — This was a little watery but had good strong flavors.
* Sebzeli Güveç (Vegetable Lamb Casserole — Lamb cubes, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, and pepper paste, baked in casserole and served with rice) — The lamb is SO tender, and the sauce delicious. Can’t say much for the vegetables, but omg the lamb…
* Kebab Combo 1 (Lamb chop, 2 köftes, and lamb and chicken shish kebab, flame-​broiled and served with rice and vegetables)
* Kebab Combo 2 (2 Lamb chops, 2 köftes, Adana kebab, and lamb and chicken shish kebab, flame-​broiled and served with rice and vegetables)
— (for both kebab combos) Lamb chops are SO moist/​tender/​delicious, kofte and adana so moist and savory, chicken tender but slightly dry. Rice has a coconut hint and is awesome. The vegetables = meh. They’re soggy and flavorless.
* Imam Bayildi (Stuffed Eggplant — Eggplant stuffed with tomatoes, onions, and garlic, cooked in olive oil, served chilled with rice) — This was not bad and had good flavor, but I wish we’d gotten the non-​vegetarian version with ground beef. That would’ve added a good central flavor to the dish. As a vegetarian dish it’s a little lackluster.
* Künefe (Two layers of kadayif (shredded fillo dough) filled with sweet cheese, baked to perfection and topped with homemade syrup and pistachio nuts) — Yum! Crunchy top was great. They added a sweet (rose flavored?) syrup when it came to the table. For me the cheese was a little on the chewy side, could’ve been softer, but I still enjoyed this.
* Mint Tea — This is the one with the cool centripetal force demo. Adam insisted my friend try swinging the tea in a circle and he spilled the tea of course, but Adam was really cool about it. Tea had a subtle mint flavor and still had a fairly strong bitter taste (almost like green tea), not as light/​sweet as I’d hoped for mint tea.
Thank you for inviting us back, Adam! We enjoyed the meal.