Ali Baba’s Turkish Cuisine
“All in all, in spite of the high prices, I would go back to Ali Baba's Terrace for delicious Turkish food if I were in Midtown East!”
“My table started with Spinach Tarator dip, which is yogurt-based deliciousness served with warm bread.”
“As for the food, I tried the sigara borek, cerkez chicken, fried liver, kasap kofte, grilled calamari, acili ezme, salad, feta cheese and honeydew melon.”
Ali Baba’s Turkish Cuisine
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: 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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So glad we decided to come here. The terrace was beautiful, we were seated right next to the window. Staff was very welcoming and friendly. Everything we ordered came out on spot! I ordered the chicken kebab, as I always do, and had asked for it to be cooked well done. Perfect! Hummus was delicious and creamy and flavored just enough, not too much or too little of anything. Ezme was flavorful and just the right amount of spicey! They did not have the kazandibi that we had hoped for, but in place we received a complimentary plate of baklava. Very kind of them. Normally I do not like baklava as it is too sweet for me, but wow this was yummy!!! I may have converted back to liking it :)) Turkish coffee was yum, and of course gave me just enough perk to get up and walking around the city again! Had a great time, would love to come back and thank you for the lovely experience!
Had lunch at this particular location of Ali Baba on Saturday…but it doesn't measure up (or even come close) to the 34th street location, which unfortunately just closed.
Ambiance: Mostly empty on a Saturday at 1:30pm. While we had a nice window-side table, the restaurant had a terrible smell (water leak maybe?), which was difficult to overcome. Additionally, the entire place needed a good clean as it was quite dirty.
Service: Servers were nice and food came out relatively quickly.
Food: Not nearly as good as Ali Baba on 34th.
— Pilaki was watery and thin.
— Grape leaves were good, not really worth the price though.
— Complimentary bread was dry and stale.
— Mediterranean salad was good…was it worth $13? No way.
— Husband and daughter both ordered chicken shish and enjoyed it.
Overall: Maybe we'll order for delivery but I doubt we'll return to the restaurant due to the smell and dirt factor. There are too many better Turkish restaurants in this city.
The service at this place is impeccable. There is a second floor seating option where you can overlook the nearby street with heat lamps so that the windows don't make it too cold. The waiter immediately brings you fresh, warm bread and water. So delicious.
We ordered the cigar rolls which were phenomenal, and I ordered the Doner kebab while my boyfriend ordered the iskander kebab. Both of our meats were a little dry but otherwise the meal was good. They were very fast with our food and extremely nice, constantly refilling our waters, and brought the check very quickly when we asked.
One thing I will note is that the bathrooms are all the way in the basement! If you are handicapped or otherwise unable to climb a lot of stairs, this may not be the best option for you, although they might have another restroom that I am simply unaware of.
Overall we had a superb experience for a reasonable price, and I would definitely go back!
The second floor seating is gorgeous. The food is mostly Turkish with, according to me, a heavy Lebanese influence. Came here after a UN event with the panelists and sponsors, and had a wonderful lunch.
We all shared the following:
Sharing Plate (large)
This is a platter of tons of dips–hummus baba, baba ghanouj, tzatziki, and more. Each one was super tasty and done right.
Tabouli
Did not even try, so much bulgur and looked dry.
Grilled Calamari
Yummy, though thin little rings. White creamy sauce was amazing.
Grilled Shrimp Salad
Tasty, very nice flavor on the shrimp but a bit tough.
Cigar Rolls
Aka cheese borek. Sooooo delicious. Really crispy and chewy dough and amazing cheese inside.
Kibbe
Really yummy, had a wonderful addition that I am not used to, maybe sweet red pepper, in the outside part.
Chef's Platter
Selection of 4 meats, with small-ish portions of each. Great for sharing. Chicken and lamb chop were juicy and delicious. Lamb kebab was sort of dry. Did not get to try the gyro meat or the sides.
Overall, the food was delicious, with a few flukes, but not enough to mask the yumminess of everything else. The service was kind of lacking, but not horrible. However, it is 4 stars because the upstairs seating is just amazing; it is so beautiful inside, with lots of natural light, and most of the diners that day were coming from UN functions and dressed very sharply in suits and ties.
For this relatively chic ambience, the price was amazing. We split all of the above items (ordering 2 of the Chef's platters) between 6 people and payed just under 200 dollars before tip. I don't know of anywhere else in the city where you can get the sort of "executive dining room" feel for this low of a price. This would be a great place to take anyone visiting at the UN. It also looked like they host private events there, and I think the space would be fabulous for something like an engagement party or wedding shower.
Love the 2nd story terrace for dining!
Ali Baba's is consistently good. The menu is Turkish and Mediterranean. On a nice day walk the stairs to the second level for al fresco dining. There is a cover but the breezes feel wonderful and in the winter it can be sealed off for comfort with a view. There are many delicious menu items but the choices can be overwhelming so if you happen to be there for lunch turn to the very back of the menu for a great prix fixe lunch – pick from a choice of appetizers and an entree for under $20. If you would like to pair it with wine, the package offers that option for even $20, a price that is very hard to beat in midtown!
For Appetizers, the hummus and the eggplant were very fresh and tasty. Our entrees consisted of the chicken shish kabob and the lamb – both were excellent. The service is quietly efficient and helpful.
This is one of my go-tos for predictably good food and a great outdoor dining experience!
I have been here previously about four different times and the best thing I can say is that they are hit and miss. Tonight they missed for the last time. We came on Saturday at around 8:00 and the place was not crowded. I would say maybe six other tables. We sat down and ordered the zucchini pancakes which were delicious but we should have known something was up when they took 30 minutes to come out. They were piping hot and tasty though so it was okay.
Dinner was not. We had ordered dinner at the same time that we ordered the appetizer and we wait another 45 minutes for the dinner to come out. That was an hour and 15 minutes after sitting down. My boyfriend got the shrimp casserole which he really enjoyed because it was hot but mine was terrible. I ordered the donor kabob and the thing about lamb is that once it cools it's gets greasy. It was cold, greasy, and hard. The vegetables and the rice were the same. I was quite hungry by that point so I ate but I won't go back. There are at least three Turkish places within five blocks and I'd rather try something new. 2 stars for the bad miss tonight.
This is a nice place on the east side. We were a party of 3 who were wandering the area and wanted to eat something nice which isnt Italian, bar food or pizza. We were also looking for a place which has considerable veg options. We turned to Mediterranean cuisine and since Ali Baba was just a block away from we were we decided to walk in and were seated immediately seated on the first floor. This would have been a nice spot had it been a little taller building but its a nice spot overlooking the 2nd Av. We got the falafel appetizer and pancakes appetizer and it was delicious. The service was pretty quick too. For main course I had the smoked egg plant which was topped with well marinated chicken and it was very tasty. It was hot and the egg plant had a little spicy zing to it. Another entree that we shared was lamb which was marinated and grilled. They have a good selection of dessert which they bring to the table for your visual appeal and ofcourse when they bring the sampler on the table its difficult to resist ordering the dessert.
Good food and great for lunch! Went on a work lunch with colleagues and enjoyed the top level terrace area while eating. They have great lunch specials, I got the eggplant salad with the chicken adana…great choice. They give you bread and olive oil to dip it in as well, but overall the meal is just right and not too much food where you feel overstuffed.