Oct 2016: Moved from Preston Street to Bells Corners
Formerly "Efes" (which was in turn formerly the Istanbul restaurant).

Lamb at Topkapi Turkish Restaurant
Baklava at Topkapi Turkish Restaurant
Foods from Topkapi Turkish Restaurant
Comments

2013 Jan 10
Went there last week, had the Iskender Kebap (beef and lamb with toasted pita, tomato sauce and yogurt) which is still as delicious as the last time I had it 2 years ago. The dish came a little cold, unfortunately.

Also, I observed both for mine and my companion's dishes, that portion sizes seem to have shrunk SIGNIFICANTLY since the last time I visited. That was while Preston was still under construction, mind you.

I was looking forward to their kunefe for dessert, which is the best I've had outside the Middle East, but sadly they were out :( The chocolate lava cake, although not very Turkish, was a more than decent replacement for it.

I also had a glass of Ayran, and having only had the bottled kind at shawarma places, found it very very tasty, not oversalted.

2012 Aug 16
Dined at Topkapi for the first time. Greatly satisfied!

The service was great. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about the menu, a real delight to converse with, and just provided all-around great service. She was a gem.

The food was absolutely delicious! Yes yes yes!

My appetite was abnormally small upon arrival so I skipped ordering an appetizers. Two of us four did order some so I had a tiny nibble of each.

I'll skip the actual proper menu titles since I'm typing on my mobile and feel overwhelmed by such a task. Lame, yes.

One of the appetizers was the spinach and cheese wrapped in phyllo. They came to the table resembling three small spring rolls but the taste was most definitely not a spring roll. Served hot, these little rolls were exploding with flavour jammed with spinach and cheese. For any (Greek) spanakopita fan, these bundles are a delight!

The other app was finely chopped eggplant (not a puree though as it had texture) with roast peppers, oil and garlic, served with home-made pita bread. The dip was very fresh but lacked seasoning. The bread was fluffier and more pillowy that store-bought pita.

Onto the mains ... two of us (myself included) ordered the Topkapi special. It blew us away! It had so much flavour, varying textures, and was soooooo incredibly delicious. The dish comprised of pureed eggplant (who knew eggplant could be so rich and creamy) stacked with pita bread slices which soaked all the juices and favours of the puree beneath and slices of lamb (in ground sausage form) and marinated beef on top, along with tomato sauce and grilled peppers. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

One person ordered the sliced lamb platter which was accompanied by rice, potatoes and salad. She said it was good.

One person had a simple salad as her main. She later regretted not ordering something else, probably since the two of us salivating from our topkapi specials couldn't stop moaning in food ecstasy.

Us four gals made sure we ordered dessert after having smelled the aroma from a neighbouring table prior to our ordering the food.

We shared two chocolate souffles (although I question why they were called that since it was basically chocolate lava cake), coconut pudding, and creme caramel.

Despite the oddly named dish, the chocolate souffles were excellent. I greatly enjoyed the pudding. I'm not a fan of creme caramel but the one of is who is, greatly enjoyed it.

Overall, a super dining experience all around. I will definitely return.

2011 Apr 4
Went there twice. Both times, I ordered Eskandar (layers of lightly fried bread, yogurt, thick slices of beef, rich tomato sauce). It is very good, but overly heavy in fat--you might not realize it until later. The bread is great and the tea, of course! Servers are friendly and polite.

2010 May 26
So glad it got a good review I have been
meaning to go and saw a coupon on their website so will go with a friend soon.


2010 May 25
Went for a visit here over the weekend. I give it a definite thumbs up!

The decor is very simple, yet classy. Real roses in a vase adorn each table. The bright red centrepiece tablecloth stood out nicely and the dishes were well themed to the restaurant.

The service was warm and welcoming. The server described the dishes with enjoyment and made suggestions. They let us linger over our tea and dessert which I enjoy. Other may not like this, but if I do want to leave I have no problem getting up and letting a server know. I don't like being rushed out of a restaurant. That said, the resto was not full, so perhaps had it been busy we may have been hurried out more.

We ordered the Topkapı Mezeleri to share and I would like to go back just for a drink and to order that one day! Wonderful selection of different mezze with bread. I'm no expert, but it was top notch.

I cannot speak for everyone else at the table, but my meal was very good. The server recommended we go with the Chef's specials and most of us did. I ordered Topkapı Special Kebap, which had a nice eggplant puree. The tomato sauce here is what I really enjoyed though. It reminded me of homemade italian tomato sauce. Light in color with no chunks in it.

2010 Feb 24
at the bottom of the topkapi website is a link for a coupon - 50% second main when a main and 2 drinks are ordered.

www.topkapirestaurant.ca

2009 May 22
The restaurant name has changed.
The sign now shows Topkapi Turkish Restaurant instead of Efes. Based on the website, Efes is under new ownership and was renamed.

Website for the new restaurant is: www.topkapirestaurant.ca/

2008 Mar 30
This is one of my favourite restaurants. After three visits, I have had nothing to complain about, and can only rave about the food.

Their Turkish Coffee is amazing, and as it is rare to find somewhere in Ottawa that serves it, it is a welcome change from "regular" coffee.

Dishes are typically meat-heavy, as is to be expected. Very authentic. Their Kadayif (dessert) is to die for, and the Keskul (a cocunut flavoured pudding type dessert) is very good as well.

2007 Jun 29
My friends and I discovered this gem of Ottawa cuisine - and we've been back since - and I plan on going again soon!
We love the cacik and the hoummus dip - the best we've ever had - it is heavenly!! We just need to have more pita - there are 6 of us going and they serve it with 1 pita - we are hungry gals !
I adore the chicken dish - forget the name - but it's savoury, with a tomato base...and lovely rice, salad and those potatoes - omg - we rave about the potatoes to everyone we know! Incredible!
I've had the rice pudding-like dessert and love it - with coconut there - so good - the baklava I tried it and it's lovely too! The tea is lovely...tried the coffee...but that is an acquired taste!
Oh my - I think I need to go soon - I'm craving that chicken dish and potatoes....mm mm mmm!
I love this place - the atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing...not too fancy, not too casual...there was live music the time we were there....great touch!

2007 Feb 24
This is definitely my new favourite in town!! I love love LOVE this place. The food is heavenly. The atmosphere is relaxing and romantic. The service is excellent. I took my mom there for dinner once and we ate for 2 hours! It was a really wonderful experience.

When I went with my mom, I ordered the lamb shank and my mom ordered the chicken and lamb kebab. We also ordered the Turkish tea and baklava. All very very yummy!!

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4

2007 Feb 24
This is the best baklava I've ever had! It's sweet but not too sweet. The honey made the dessert nice and moist. And it went super well with the Turkish tea. Simply delicious!




2

2007 Feb 24
My friend recommended the lamb shank to me on my first visit to the restaurant and I have been hooked ever since. I have stolen tidbits off other people's plates, so I've "tried" several other items on the menu, but this is still by far my favourite dish. The lamb was cooked just right, so tender, so flavourful. It was delicious. A wonderful meal like this only cost $12.00!!





2

2009 Sep 16
The borek is so yummy. I was expecting something like spanokopita but this is so much tastier. The servers a super friendly as well.

2007 Sep 22
This Turkish restaurant serves spinach börek here which is very similar to it's Eastern European counterpart - burek.