Pera

I've been here a handful of times now, and I've been impressed each time. A couple of my favorite appetizers include the whipped eggplant and the lamb, spinach and eggplant pidettes. For entrees, the whole fish is amazing (one of the best I've ever had) but is rather expensive. The lamb burger and Mediterranean fries are also great.

If so then have I got a place for you! Pera has a very pleasant atmosphere. That being said the prices where quite high for both the portions and the quality of the food. I had the grilled octopus salad, which was tasty but extremely small and a bad value for the price. I then moved on to the lamb chops which were fatty, small and poorly cooked. The service was slow and after we ate it took forever to find the waiter again to get the check. There was also a mistake on the bill. I would not recommend the place. Sorry Pera.

being of greek origin with grandparents from istanbul, i convinced a few friends to take pera for a thorough test drive last saturday and i must say it was fan-tas-tic. cool atmosphere (in midtown?), vibrant crowd, delicious food (recommend Beef/Bulgur Tartare, Pidets, the riblets and adana, whole fish - friend had and said possibly tastiest in the city - and baked kadaifi kunefe), friendly service (with one small glitch of not reminding us to order chocolate soufle earlier on as it takes 25 mins to bake fresh to order). The four of us tried almost everything. Price was not cheap (possibly due in no small part to our level of consumption) but not surprising for this caliber and quantity of food. In my book, higher prices mandate better ingredients or unique workmanship and pera delivered on both. no doubt will become my new spot to impress clients, especially given my existing familiarity with the cuisine, or whenever i feel like paying homage to my roots.

I love Turkish food, and Pera certainly delivers quality. But honestly, 50 bucks a head for Turkish food is steep no matter how shiny they make the interior. I can get a more voluminous and similarly tasty meal for half the price at other Turkish joints in town. However, if you want to impress a business guest, the atmosphere here will definitely do the trick.

After finally being seated by the maitre-d, and waiting over 45 minutes to get our food after ordering it, this restaurant's food was good but not worth the price... or wait.

We had lunch reservations and arrived 5 min late to be told that our reserv was cancelled because we were not there at exactly noon and our only options were sit at the bar or the community table, meanwhile my husband asked if we can sit at one of the 30 empty tables behind the hostess. She said no. We then said, okay we'll come back another time then and try some where else, and then all of a sudden, she said, "let me see what I can do" and they had a table for us. At those prices and if they want a good reputation established in the city that is not how to treat a REPEAT customer. After that, waiter service was very average, they just served, were not very pleasant or friendly. I guess going to a nice restaurant like that I expected a little better service, paying over 50/person for lunch. Food was good and I would go back but afraid to receive that type of greeting again.

Had dinner with another couple saturday evening before a show. The restaurant was empty at 6:30, but lively by the time we left at 7:45. The staff was excellent, possibly because there were few others there throughout most of our meal, but they were helpful and attentive. The food was good, but very expensive. We shared 4 "mezes" which were fine. For entres, the lamb adana was outstanding and came with turkish "wraps" and condiments that were very tasty. Bill for not a ton of food and 6 glasses of wine was close to $400. The atmoshpere was very nice with an open kitchen (if that does anything for you...it doesn't for me). I would recommend it with the caveats mentioned above.