Sahara Restaurant
“Call it gyro or shwarma, kebab or cevapi……you can't beat it as a good fast food alternative to American burgers or fried chicken….”
“The chopped Shepard salad with shredded feta cheese on top is to die for here.”
“Food is really good and the grilled kebobs are nicely done…this is one of my Bklyn spots for sure!”
Sahara 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
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I've been coming here since I was a little kid; however, it's been less frequent and mostly occasional. As soon as we sat down, my father asked for a pitcher of Ayran, as usual. We all love that stuff; it's really soothing. We started off with the salad with feta cheese, and got the bread as well. We always have the same appetizers because that's how it's been since we were young, and it's always been my dad's preference. The warm bread that they serve is second to none. It's just delicious and the hummus never fails to disappoint. Their signature white sauce is also enticing down to the last drop.
For the main course, we ordered 2 family platters filled with Gyro, Kebobs, lamb chops, shrimp, and so much more. It's essentially priced as normal dishes put together, but we've always preferred it served in a platter. One thing I feel has changed, are the portions. I remember them to be massively bigger.
Anyway, less is good, at least in our case, haha!
All the meats were nice and tender except for lamb kabob, which was a bit chewy, which is expected.
The shrimp was something I never had before at Sahara, that I soon became a huge fan of. It is so delicious, but expensive as well. 14 actual pieces of shrimp ran us about $54, 7 in each order. Everything else was really reasonably priced.
As far as decor and whatnot, the place was the same as I remember it, which feels dated now. I think they should start updating a few things, and get some new menu's, since ours were tearing apart. Overall though, it was just the same as the every other experience we've had here, which is a good thing.
Was taken here by a Turkish friend was not disappointed!! My friend and her boyfriend come here often and say it gets super busy on weekends and especially after Ramadan. The service is pretty efficient and fairly quick. We ordered a hummus and shepherd salad to share for the table, and it came out minutes after we placed our orders. The menu is pretty expansive (with lots of pictures too). Most of us ended up ordering the mixed grill meats (they have lamb and/or chicken options). My friend's go-to is their lamb chop (which is also in the mixed grill.
Hummus – fresh and good; it's coarser than your usual hummus, so a bit rustic/homemade taste.
Sheperd salad – kind of like tabouli (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, parsley, oil + vinegar) plus olives.
Lamb mixed grill – so much meat! you get: shish kebab (the cubes of lamb were a bit tough/overcooked), adana kebab (minced meat was okay, a bit salty for my taste), gyro and one lamb chop. I gotta say the lamb chop is probably the best but there is only one piece! The gyro is not bad, but seems less amazing than what the other Yelpers promised..
We were too full for dessert, but I had leftovers for lunch the next day!
Ive been here twice and both times the food and the service was great. The meats are always tender and the bread is pretty tasty. There concept of food is very simple and palatable but the flavors are always executed very well.
There was a time when Sahara was the stronghold for Turkish cuisine in Brooklyn. Maybe even all of New York City. While to a large extent, that era has passed, Sahara still maintains integrity in the kitchen, despite some bumps and drops in quality in the past few years. It is still comparable to (and I truly believe it supercedes) perennial rival Taci's Beyti (who has , in recent years, fallen from it's throne in many aspects) and is lightyears ahead of the ultra-fashionable Opera and Rocca, who tend to attract you on the premise of style and location, but provide nothing more than a slap in the face when it comes to food and service. In fact, I may rather opt for an actual slap in the face than to go back to either of those two for my Turkish food fix. This is not the case with Sahara. While they have not upgraded in the dining room, from an aesthetic standpoint, it's worth coming here for the consistently fantastic food and for the top-notch service. Because that's what a restaurant should be.
I do enjoy getting a chicken kebab pita to go here and there for a take-out lunch, but I will describe what was great on a more recent visit. My favorite Turkish dish is the Iskender kebab and Sahara does it right. While it was heavy on the yogurt, and lighter on the tomato sauce than I'd like, it was still superb. The kebabs, both chicken and lamb were tender and soft; perfection. The liver cubes were excellent. I mean EXCELLENT. Only very lightly fried and not fried into oblivion like you'll find in many places. I also will never get over how they present their showcase of desserts, on a rolling dumbwaiter. Old-school style. On top of that, Sahara is BYOB, so you can choose your own wine to go with dinner and bring it right in. Easy.
In the years I've been coming here, there has also never been a problem with service. Granted, the most recent visit was mid-week, but I was impressed with the attentiveness and pleasant demeanor of our server. Yes, the interior feels, and at times even smells, a bit outdated. I can look past this if it means I'm going to enjoy my meal and not hate my waiter.
Bland, tasteless and overall not a good experience. I have had better mediterrean food at many places in brooklyn and nj.
I used to love Sahara. Over the years, I'm not sure what happened. The quality of food is not as good. I went the other night with my friend and we ordered a small Shepard salad with feta cheese. The salad needed some more vinegar, in my opinion. We also ordered sauced eggplant and the cigari boregi, which were stuffed with feta cheese. Those two things were good. Then we shared the gyro platter with rice. The gyro meat wasn't as good as it used to be. It tasted a little dry. The service here was good but I was disappointed with the food.
Came here for lunch to satisfy my cravings. I shared a bunch of dishes with my boyfriend. We had the eggplant spread, grilled calamari, stuffed leaves, and chicken kebob. The bread was super crunchy and yummy. I love the bread with the eggplant spread. I could eat that everyday. The grilled calamari was flavorful but not my type of food, I prefer fried calamari where it's not so chewy. The stuffed leaves were good. The chicken kebob came with rice, onions, lettuce and tomato. It was a decent size for the price. The service was ok, took a while for the water to be served and for us to get lemons. Definitely recommend trying this restaurant.
Very Tasty! First of all it is all about their bread. My guest and I shared the eggplant spread which pairs perfectly with the warm freshly baked-appearing bread. I did not ask if the bread is baked there but it is so warm and fresh I can't imagine that it is not. The mixed grill was the entree we shared. It comes with the gyro, chicken kabob and the Adana (ground). The chicken was very tender and the yogurt sauce that comes with the meal is also great.
If you can, sit by the aquarium so you can see it. I was at the table right next to it, and my view was my friend with a fun screen saver in the background.
They kindly also honored the Yelp checkin offer and said that they usually bring baklava but honored out request to get the rice pudding instead.