Turquoise Grill

This is the very worst food anywhere. Terrible service. Don’t waste your time.

Quality service n food

Unilocalers, if you haven’t already been here, try it.
My ex-​roommate suggested this place on a recent trip to visit folks in Austin. It was in a strip mall (+1 point), it had horrible décor (+1 point), an advertisement for traveling in Turkey playing on the wall (+2 BONUS POINTS) and a bidet (+2 BONUS POINTS).
Can you see how much WIN there is in this restaurant?!
Anyways, we had the Meme Sampler, which was amazing (Potato salad, hummus, stuff I couldn’t identify, but was awesome). The bread that came with it was also fresh, warm and delicious. The waitress was very attentive and made sure that we wanted for nothing. I got the mixed grill for my main and I enjoyed everything but the lamb. The lamb was dry and nothing like I’ve come to expect it to be. Other than that, the chicken and veg were amazing.
I urge you to visit Round Rock and check this place out!

This place is great. The appetizer bread will have you addicted. I could eat that frickin’ bread all day long. The plate I had was amazing. A layer of bread pieces at the bottom which was being soaked up by the juices of the succulent meat on top. That plate was gone in a matter of minutes. I highly recommend this place.

Magical!!! That was the feeling after our first bite. We knew walking in that we were going on a culinary adventure, and we are not dissapointed. Since it was our first time there we started out with the small sampler of 7 different appetizers. That along side of the warm bread… oh it was heaven. Our waiter was amazing even though it was a Saturday night. We got there right before the dinner rush and even though the place was packed within 15 mins of being seated, he never missed a beat. My husband got the mixed grill and I got the doner. Both were fantastic. Desert… OMG. I am still dreaming of the apricots with a light sweet honey like glaze topped with a walnut and just a touch of whipped cream.
If you are looking for something new and delishious, then look no further. See you there!!!

Just wanted to say, I love this place and increase to 5 stars. Some of the best baklava I’ve had, friendly staff, LOVE their falafel, and their Turkish «pizza» (forgot the name). They only have it once a month, on the second Sunday. It is so relaxing sitting and drinking cay in their cute cups. PLEASE come and support this local business! I want to always be able to get my Turquoise fix! :)

Didn’t get to eat here or see the inside.
Why 2-​stars? Well, I bought a Groupon coupon to visit it late in the year as it was a long drive out and I thought it would be a special dinner. The coupon expired on 12/​25/​2011. I arrived on 12/​20/​2011 after a long long drive, only to find a sign on the door saying they are closed 12/​13/​2011 to 01/​03/​2012. So we ate next door at the Chinese Great Wall, which was good!
Why post an expiration date that is long after you have shut the place down for the year?

Pack your bags… this place is well worth the drive to south Waco! Really excellent food and prompt, friendly service. We started with the «to die for» Sigara Boregi. These were some of the best borek I’ve ever had and were served in a homemade phyllo dough. Still having day dreams about those!
For our entrée, we shared the mixed grill which included a sampling of meat and vegetables. Its hard to pick a favorite, but the Kofte, Lamb and Doner we’re mouth droolingly good.
Since we stuffed ourselves like gluttons, we ordered the Sutlac to go. This is some kind of vanilla cream heaven!
My teenage daughter (read… slightly too cool for everything) said that this was the best meal she had ever had. Ok, we love Mediterranean food and Turkish food in particular, but this place really is the bomb!

Probably the best Turkish restaurant in Texas. I have been at 5 others in Houston and San Antonio. This place is new, and the food quality is really high. I can not find such a «Manti» even in most places in Turkey… Will definitely come back…

It was like eating Mediterranean food for the first time. We spent a couple of weeks in Athens, the Greek isles, and Istanbul a couple of years ago and this food was on par with anything we ate there.
It was tough to choose an appetizer because we didn’t want to be boring and just get hummus or babaganoush, so we got the meze sampler which is basically all but 2 of their apps and each one was delicious. Their «pita» is a cross between a traditional pita and crusty bread, and came out fresh/​hot.
The Iskender kebab was extremely flavorful/​tender lamb (like gyro filling, not gamey lamb) with a rich tomato sauce over cubes of their pita with yogurt on the side. We loved it and it was big enough for us to share and still have leftovers since the appetizer was so huge.
Price was very reasonable considering quantity and quality of food, and they have lunch portions that are even cheaper (we went on a Sunday night and at least a couple of Turkish/​Mediterranean diners were present).
Turkish food, logically, is in between Persian and Greek so if you’re a fan of Shandeez/Alborz/Zorba’s/Tino’s you’ll love this.

Hands down the best Turkish or even Mediterranean food I have ever eaten (and I’ve been to Turkey and Greece). I had been stalling going here for a while because of the middle of the road Unilocal reviews. I hate to say this but fellow Unilocalers, YOU ARE WRONG! This place is fabulous. I am so glad my husband said, «let’s just try it.»
We ordered the small meze sampler appetizer. Even though the appetizer choices seemed unfamiliar and I couldn’t imagine what they tasted like, we ordered it. Each of the 7 were spectacular. I can’t tell you which I liked better than the other because I seriously licked the plate clean. The bread that comes with is very different. They call it pita but it’s more of a fluffy bread with a nice crust. That’s what we ate the sampler with.
My husband and I split the Iskender kebab. It didn’t sound like something I would order but it was my husband’s suggestion that we went there and I did enjoy the appetizer tremendously so I said «you order whatever you want and I’ll try it.» He hit a home run again. The Iskender was impressive in every way. The meat was moist and tender, the tomato sauce was unlike any I have ever had — so flavorful and delicious. It had chunks of their pita in there which had a totally different flavor combined together with the meat and the sauce. On the side of the dish was a dollop of pure white yogurt. It was thick and rich. The combination of the meat, pita, tomato sauce and yogurt in one bite was like fireworks of flavor exploding in your mouth. We took almost ½ of it to go because the portion was so large (remember, we did have an appetizer too.).
Try this place! They are closed on Monday but seriously go! I used to think Shandeez Grill was the best place for this type of food (and I’ve reviewed that twice with 5 and 4 star ratings). This place would get 10 stars if Unilocal allowed it.
Yummy!

Wow, this place is awesome! We had the hummus and babaganoush and they were both excellent. The bread was awesome. I admit it, I pigged out and ate two. The host of our dinner party said he asked them to make the bread fresh for us before we dined there because normally they make it all in the morning due to staffing issues so it doesn’t taste quite as fresh as the hot from the oven we had.
We ordered the Iskender Kebab at the recommendation of the gentleman eating with us who was from Turkey. It didn’t sound like much on the menu but I figured I should trust a native and it was awesome! Very flavorful and the meat was super moist and tender. Excellent.
I passed on dessert but my tablemates did not and they said it was very good. They ordered a dessert that wasn’t on the menu (banbar or something) and they said it was awesome.
The service was good and friendly, too. I will definitely eat here again!

I actually thought the service here was exceptional, but I found that that food needed a little tweaking. This gem is tucked into an unassuming highway strip mall, probably mistaken for some Chinese buffet or sandwich shop. Oh wait, there is a Chinese buffet next door for those looking to gorge themselves.
The fairly classy atmosphere causes a little stuffiness for a casual lunch, but the service is a spot-​on complement. The servers and bussers are very attentive. The offerings are somewhat expensive, but they take care in what they prepare. Every dish was neatly decorated with sliced vegetables in some neat fashion.
The sampler definitely provided a little bit of everything, but I thought that most of the items were fairly mediocre. The hummus was OK, the potato salad was fairly American, the Tabbouli was ordinary, The ezme (tomato salad) was probably my least favorite. My most favorite? The babaganoush. It was smoky and smooth. The lebni (yogurt dip) was creamy and rich. All in all, just an acceptable sampling of dips.
The falafel was a bit too moist. Also, the Turkish tomato salad was too bland, almost disgustingly so. The complimentary Turkish bread was OK, underseasoned in my opinion.
TG definitely offers some handmade grub, but I would have preferred a bit more flavor in the preparation.

Let me start by saying I learned how to make dolma’s by the age of 6 so I can be a bit critical. That being said, I have an open mind, heart and stomach ;) I started with the ‘norm’, dolma’s. Four beautifully wrapped dolma’s arrived to my table lickitee split. «A» for presentation, «D» for flavor and substance. They were filled with rice and no meat uh, «where’s the beef»? For my entrée I ordered the chicken wrap, yeah I ordered the most «uncomplicated» entrée that tasted like «lamb». Needless to say I didn’t finish my wrap and left only one of the dolma’s (I was staving people). Unfortunately, the food is not what I was expecting and had a difficult time paying that much for a so/​so meal…

Stopped in for a quick lunch. Had the Doner Kebab and the wife had the Falafel Wrap. Both excellent and the service was quick. Would recommend to everyone.

I was more than happy of being able to find real Turkish food here in Austin! You should try Iskender Kebap with real Doner, as delicious as in Turkey.

Excellent food served in a beautiful room. Large screen HD TV with scenes from Turkey and the Mediteranean a nice touch. The service was spotty (reorder for bread was forgotten… twice!) but what they lack in attentiveness is made up in friendliness.
But any shortcomings are quickly forgotten as you enjoy the wonderfully prepared and presented Mediteranean fare. My daughter and wife split the Doner Kebob and large salad and had enough leftover for the doggy bag. The meat was perfectly seasoned and cooked — some pieces lightly charred mixed in with juicy slices blended nicely.
The star of the show, however, was my lamb shank — slow roasted, fall-​off-​bone meat wrapped with eggplant and served with a sweet tomato sauce. If you’re a carnivore you MUST give this dish a try.
We’re looking forward to a return trip to try some of the other dishes and dessert — which our waitress said was reason enough to come back.
Oh yes… no alcohol served but you can BYOB and there’s NO CORKAGE FEE!!! They gave us nice wine glasses and an ice bucket for our chardonnay. Very nice touch.

I wanted to like this restaurant, I really did because I am Turkish, but they have sadly missed the mark in many ways.
I am not sure if the Turquoise in San Antonio and this one belong to the same owner. 3 – 4 years ago we had gone to the Turquoise in San Antonio and liked that one way better. I have heard that their cook left since then.
Upon arrival we were greeted by a very young man. Our daughter wanted a booth, but probably he did not think we were good enough for a booth. He told us «Booth is not for 3 people.» There were only 4 tables occupied at that point. Huh? We were surprised but did not want to argue. Only 20 minutes later, another family of 3 people were seated at a booth behind our table, go figure!
The food was mediocre at best, lacking taste, no seasoning at all. There was almost no feta cheese in «Sigara Borek» which should be made with phyllo dough and feta cheese. It was undercooked and inside of it kind of on the raw side as it was rolled very tightly.
The meat dishes we so-​so. Worst part was my Iskender Kebab that should have been prepared with Turkish pita (pide). Instead, they had used regular cubed bread that turned to mush when soaked with tomato sauce.
The service was quick but in no way attentive. We went through the whole dinner without a water refill. When it was time for the check, it was incorrect and my hubby had to go to the cash register to correct it.
I know that they are new and they will need a while to adjust. However, this visit was a disappointment.

Today was our first visit, but not our last. Very authentic Turkish/​Med menu. This restaurant got a big thumbs up from our dining companion who was born & raised in Turkey.
Besides the menu, there is a booklet on each table showing great pictures of every menu item. Very helpful for those of us not familiar with Turkish cuisine.
The freshly made Turkish bread is outstanding. Dip it in the seasoned oil on your table. Save room for dessert as they are outstanding & not overly sweet.
All in all, a very nice dining experience in a lovely restaurant.

Imagine my joy when I saw that there was a Turkish restaurant nearby! Growing up and living in Germany, I’ve become addicted to the Doner Kebap. (If you’ve ever had one, you understand)
After viewing their menu and seeing that they had a doner sandwich on the menu, I was ecstatic. The picture looked amazing and similar to what I have eaten in Guntherland.
My buddy, who was also in Germany, and I made our way up there… both of us giddy with delight!
Our giddiness soon turned to dismay…
Upon ordering, our «waiter» told me…“we don’t do those”. Huh? They’re on the menu… maybe you should remove it? Anyway… I remember seeing a doner wrap on the menu and the picture was equally amazing looking. So, we ordered the wraps. Now, imagine you decide you want a Mercedes. You place the order… all excited. The anticipation is killing you. Finally the moment of truth arrives. You look to see your new Mercedes… and in it’s place… is a 1989 Hyundai. Yeah… it was kinda like that. To call it a wrap of any sort is misleading. More like a taquito. Barely any meat (that’s what she said) or fillings. I think I felt my heart break a little. Begrudgingly, we ate the doner taquitos in silence.
…rewind…now why did you put quotations around «waiter», Tony? Well, that’s because… to say that service was even bad here would imply that there was service. I’m not going into any detail. I don’t think I really need to.
As I looked around the dining room, I spied other patrons with real food. I guess my downfall was going for the doner sandwich.
As I sit here typing this, I feel somewhat badly about a 2 star rating… but in all honesty, I feel that after my experience that 2 is generous. I’ll be back after they get some time to work out the service issues, but next time, I’ll be going for some real food.