Cafe Istanbul is a little Turkish haven, somewhere in East Atlanta. To call it a restaurant would be doing this fine, Middle-Eastern Mecca a grave injustice. For Café Istanbul is so much more! The succulent kebobs strike the right note with all those who visit but it’s the ambience – the traditional floor seating, dim ornate lamps, pots and earthenware that authentically decorate every wall, the belly dancing, thick Turkish rugs that trim the walls and cover every inch of the floor and the ubiquitous hookah, that make Café Istanbul an out of the ordinary experience.
We took M&S here, while they were visiting Atlanta. I tried a pomegranate martini and absolutely loved it. They sure do know their alcohol here, that’s all I can say. SK downed a couple of cold Turkish beers. We ordered a sampler from the appetizer menu. The couscous salad, the hummus and the baba ghanoush were my favorite. For the main course, we split a couple of plates of lamb & chicken kebobs. This was served with fragrant jasmine rice.
The highlight of the whole evening though was the apple flavored hookahs that we ordered and the gyrating belly dancer. Ah! To have that figure and fluidity! SK, of course, was a sport and went up and did his version of the shimmy shake with her.
I give this place a big G star.
