Turquoise Grill- A small restaurant in the middle of a busy road

Restaurant- Turquoise Grill
3701 Kirby Drive, Houston, Texas 77098
Buffet or a-la-carte? A-la-carte
Date of visit: 11/20/13

Photo Credit: http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/F_hHp3yO5Xw8NkZoHV0kXA/l.jpg

Background:

Salam/hey guys! If any of you guys think that this is the surprise, WRONG! Just be patient! It's coming up. Anyways, today I decided too try another Turkish restaurant inside the loop. This time, it is Turquoise Grill. I did not take lunch from my house today because both my parents my sick. Yesterday's take out dinner from M&M Grill was finished, so there was no food in the house. Coreanos was not on campus today, and Tandoori Nite is not a good place to eat. So I decided to give this place a try. After my class was over, I set off to the restaurant.

Let The Experience Begin!

Now the address says that it is on Kirby Drive, but it is actually on a single lane road called Norfolk Drive. To park, there is a visitors parking garage directly in front of the entrance to the restaurant. Thankfully, parking is free. There are stickers on the windows, which said that the restaurant was featured on Alison Cook's Top 100 Restaurants of 2012. This is a big deal as Alison Cook is the food critic for the Houston Chronicle. There are a couple of tables outside the restaurant if anyone wishes to dine outside. The setting reminded me of Turkey. Right in front of the tables was the whole kitchen. I remember eating at a restaurant in Istanbul where the food was cooked right in front while the restaurant was packed! The waiter noticed me and told me to sit wherever I liked because I was by myself. He then gave me the menu and I decided to see what the restaurant offered. After around 5 minutes, I placed my order.

Let's Eat!

I decided to order the famous Turkish lentil soup as an appetizer and Iskender for the entree. Iskender is a very famous dish from Turkey. Iskender is gyro slices that are topped on sauteed bread, tomato sauce, and yogurt. It is served with Jasmine Rice. I also got free bread to try out with the soup. To drink, I got a nice, refreshing glass of water. Altogether, I paid $18.29 (tax included). The total waiting time was 15 minutes and 45 seconds.

Menu (PDF required): http://www.tghouston.com/kirby.pdf

The menu here is very similar to Pasha's (Full review of Pasha: http://zainshalalreviews.blogspot.com/2013/10/pasha-turkish-restaurant-petite.html). It has the same famous Turkish kebabs, seafood, and vegetarian dishes. There are some differences between both menus. The menu for Turquoise is served all day, and for the same prices. Pasha has more variety of other things like Turkish pizza, and vegetarian dishes. The prices are much cheaper at Turquoise than they are at Pasha. Turquoise has some American and Mexican dishes available, such as burgers and fajitas.

Turkish Lentil Soup

Bread

Iskender

The Verdict:

The food had its ups and downs. The lentil soup was just simply amazing! It was perfectly spiced and the taste really reminded me of the Turkey trip back in 2012. The iskender was decent. The gyro was flavorful, and the tomato sauce was also tasty. However, despite the yogurt being fresh, there was just too much of it. There should be a balance of the meat, the tomato, and the yogurt. One big spoon of yogurt would be more than enough. The only thing I didn't like was the bread. There was no taste in it. All I could taste were the sesame seeds. All of this was washed down with a nice, refreshing glass of water. Note that unlike Pasha, I did not receive Turkish Tea after finishing up paying the bill.

While eating the Iskender, I noticed one thing that they forgot to give me. Well according to the menu online, it came with rice. It is bad for a restaurant to mess up on the order by not including everything that was on the menu. A thumb down for that.

The service was very good. The waiter was smiling and asked around whether the food was good or not. A big plus as feedback can be used to determine their success as a whole.

Conclusion:
This or Pasha? Well it goes like this. If you want your tummy to be filled up? Then come here. If it is a special occassion? Pasha. If you are on a budget, here. Most importantly, if you want better tasting food, go to Pasha. Everything there is good and consistent.

Grading:

Service: 7/10

Food: 8/10

Waiting Time: 10/10

Overall: 25/30 = 83.3% (B)

Pricing: $$ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information

Turquoise Restaurant

3701 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77098

Phone: (713) 526-3800

Website: http://i75791.wix.com/tghouston

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TurquoiseGrillBar

Timings: Mon-Fri: 9 AM - 9 PM; Sat: 11 AM - 11 PM; Sun: 12 PM - 4 PM

Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below!

Cheers!

Zain Mohammed