Cinar Turkish Restaurant
“We had adana kebab, lamb sish kebab, Ali nazik, köfte plate, kuru fasulye, salad etc. Good job Cinar.”
“Food fav: MANTI (think perogis stewed in a savory yogurt sauce)
Love the location.”
“I would recommend Adana kebab also after food do not hesitate to have baklava dessert.”
Cinar Turkish Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Recently realized that I have been to this place many times, but never wrote a review. It's one of my favorite places in north jersey so a must mention.
The place got popular so if you plan to go on a Saturday night, make sure to make a reservation or have a backup plan before you go in. They get fully booked on weekends.
My favorites on the menu are the fried liver and shepherd salad. The fried liver has flour in the original recipe so we ask them to make it without it because we are gluten free. The salad is awesome. This time I tried the babaganush and it's going on my list also. For the main dish I usually go for lamb with French fries and salad. All my fish eating family members enjoyed the fish.
The space is small and set up with a home like feel. You can often find the owner and his family there. They even dine there sometimes. I like seeing that because it makes me think that the kitchen cooks for guests how they would for themselves. They must at least use the same ingredients.
I was reluctant to even write this review because of how fantastic this place is—I seriously want to keep this place all to myself!!!!! But I figured it would be very selfish of me to keep it a secret because every person should know how amazing this place is.
Came here last night for a friends birthday and WOW—I don't even know where to begin.
They have both indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant is small yet cozy.
The service was second to none. This involves the waiters, and the owner–they really made the experience wonderful.
Plenty of parking in the area as well.
Also a BYOB.
Since we were such a big group, the girl who was familiar with the place decided to order a bunch of menu items and for us to share family style.
We all started with the Shepard Salad—if you go here and leave without trying this, you are making a huge mistake—order it– every single bite is heavenly… Like if I were to choose a last meal on earth–this would be it —so fresh, so good.
Soon after the salad– some hummus and two eggplant dips were brought to the table–also phenomenal
By the time the actual dinner arrived I was stuffed–however—I could not stop eating!!!
The dumplings in the yogurt sauce was truly remarkable– also a must get if you come here–soft–full of flavor–and unique
We were brought out shish kebabs–lamb and chicken, served with a Turkish styled rice and grilled tomatoes– filling, fresh, perfectly cooked
But wait there's more!!!
Before singing happy birthday to my friend, they dimmed the lights and put on this happy birthday song on the loud speaker which was super cool.
The desert– baklava and custard dessert–not too sweet and a real treat to have especially when your washing it all down with a Turkish espresso –and trust me–your going to need one of these before leaving this place to keep you from going in the ultimate food coma.
Overall, one of the best restaurant experiences I have had in awhile. If your in the area, your making a huge mistake if you go elsewhere because this place takes the cake.
Great Turkish restaurant with BYOB. This is quickly becoming my favorite Turkish spot in the area. They also also just expanded to another store front about two doors down. Not sure how the food compares though.
The place is fairly small, so I usually have to call ahead with reservation. Also, it's street parking only. It's does get a bit tough after certain time.
The service and food here are both very good.
The shepherd's salad is always fresh and light. I can make hummus myself at home. However, the hummus here has a little magic that I can't seem to replicate.
The mixed kebab platter is absolutely delicious and certainly big enough to share between two people with leftover to take home. The chicken kebab is one of the most moist and tender that I've had anywhere.
Only wish it's close to where I live, but now I'm just being greedy.
Cinar is not the go to restaurant in cliffside park. Everything here is slightly less than others around, except price.
I came in alone for a lunch to test this place out. Beyti kebab is a rare dish and even rarer to find well made. In this case, it did not do well.
Beyti kebab has 3 parts that are crucial, a very thin buttery bread to wrap the kebab, a thin red sauce to dress the bread, and plenty of yogurt to eat it with. None of the above was on this dish.
The bread was thicker than a tortilla wrap, leaving this kebab bite to be mostly dry bread. The red sauce tasted like canned tomato paste. The yogurt, only a few spoons, I had to ask for more, (which I saw the waiter squeeze out of a condiment bottle, not a good sign).
The dish set me back 25$, 10$ more than what a dish that big is worth, 15$ more than a dish that taste is worth.
All in all, service was ok and so was the atmosphere, but what's the point of a restaurant of the food isn't just as good?
Even after telling the waiter my dish was disappointing, all I got was "would you like it wrapped up to go?", I said "no thank you" and asked for the check.
Would not recommend.
I have to rescind my previous review.
My boyfriend and I were welcomed back to Cinar for an in-dining experience and this was honestly one of the best meals we've ever had (I know.. bold statement but incredibly true)- luckily that too on his birthday and we couldn't have walked out any more happy than we did that evening.
To summarize the entire meal from beginning to end: DELICIOUS.
To summarize the service: outstanding!
Food:
Appetizers:
Falafel: Crispy, lightly seasoned yet still flavorful.
Babbaganush: Smoked perfectly and delicious with the pita served.
We also received their Cinar salad which amazing as well- all the ingredients were fresh and I'm pretty sure I could eat this everyday.
For our main entree, as if the appetizers didn't fill us enough, we tried the mixed kebab platter again and had a completely different reception of the dish vs our first experience. Meat was cooked perfectly, super tender and loved all the seasoning…every last bit of the dish was wiped clean.
By this point you'd think we had enough, but to please the birthday boy we ordered the baklava which followed the path of our entire meal and did not disappoint one bit. Not drenched in syrup like others we've had- the perfect balance with texture and sweetness.
Service:
Incredibly attentive, warm and hospitable service. Can't thank the owner Tunch and his team enough. I'm counting down the days till I come back to the US just to dine here again.
Great ambiance, service, and food here!
Beautifully decorated for a romantic atmosphere.
Apps:
-we got two eggplant dips and the veggie dip. All were very flavorful and somehow tasted different even though they had similar ingredients
-the liver was probably the most tender I've ever had. Also had a nice crisp on it from being pan fried and very well seasoned
Entrees:
-I had the mix grill plate which had every single kind of meat on the menu. The portion is huge. The meat had good flavor but was a little over cooked. The rice melts in your mouth like butter
-a friend had the whole fish and said it was excellent
Dessert:
Pretty sure we got one of everything lol.
-custard was just ok
-rice pudding was creamy and sweet
-baklava was good
Cinar joins the list as one of Cliffside Parks finest middle eastern/ Mediterranean cuisines in town. It's a small mom and pop shop type setting with few tables that offers exceptional Mediterranean food. For appetizers make sure to try their spicy eggplant salad and haydari which was outstanding. Their soft pastrami hot pocket ( pachanga borek) is also a popular starter. Make sure to skip the fried liver, it was extremely salty and the Icli Kofte was just OK. For dinner the lamb and the kofte kebab was nicely seasoned. Their desserts are the traditional rice pudding and baklava which was exceptional. If you're in the Lower Hudson, Edgewater area this is one of the restaurants that's a must try.
Some of the best Turkish food, I've ever had. Definitely my new go to spot around town for kebabs! Also their hummus is a must.
Cute spot for lunch or dinner dates, moderate seating so small groups is probably best. Only down fall would be finding parking.
Food wise, everything I've had exceeded my expectations. Their mix kebab platter is delicious, where all of their meats are cooked to perfection. Juicy and seasoned perfectly.
I will be returning shortly for more Turkish goodness, my next day off!! (: