Bodrum Mediterranean
“The mezze sampler was amazing–everything–the hummus, the perfect smoky beautiful baba ganoush…”
“My wife had the fish tagine, and it was brought out in a miniature tagine, the mix of flavors was amazing.”
“The brick oven makes some really surprisingly good bread, and, perhaps unexpectedly since its a Turkish place, great pizza.”
Bodrum Mediterranean
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
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I've been wanting to review Bodrum for ages, but felt it wouldn't be genuine. Though I've ordered from this wonderful establishment many times on Seamless (and have been more than satisfied every time), I had never dined here prior to Wednesday night. Today, I'm happy to report that Bodrum is just as good–if not better–in person. I mean, how often do you find a fantastic Mediterranean restaurant that also serves bangin' pizza? I'll tell you: not often. Not often at all. This place is unique in all the right ways.
As mentioned, we came here on a Wednesday night. We got here around 8 without a reservation and were luckily able to snag the lone free table outside. Though I can't speak to the drinks here, I can speak to quite a lot of the food given my Seamless history. As is the case with just about anywhere though, the fresher the food, the better. And of course, some items don't travel well, so Seamless orders don't typically give someone the entire breadth of the menu. Before get to my laundry list of orders here, a few quick notes about the dining experience.
Service: Top-notch. It started off pretty shaky–it didn't seem like there was an actual host there which meant one/both of us had to semi-pace around looking to catch someone's eye in the hopes of being seated–but the issues stopped there. Others have mentioned the bread, and rightly so. Almost as soon as you sit down, everyone in your party will be given not one but TWO pieces of Bodrum's magical bread. It's great delivered, even better fresh. Told ya. And while they don't give you a bread basket, about halfway through our meal we were offered a second two pieces of bread, which we graciously accepted. In addition to the olive oil on the table, a few of our dishes featured some seriously flavorful sauce. Prime dipping material. Bring on the extra bread.
On this particular night, we just decided to share a couple of appetizers and forgo pizza altogether. If I hadn't had Bodrum pizza before, that wouldn't have sat well with me but for one night, I can compromise. We got:
Karides Guvec (Shrimp casserole with tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms & kasari cheese): B+
Like a poor man's shrimp scampi. There wasn't anything particularly notable about this dish. The shrimp were fresh, the flavors were bright, and the broth was steaming hot. I repeat: prime dipping material. I wasn't wowed by this dish (when I feel like I can make something I eat out at home, it's probably not that exceptional), but it was still solid.
Manti (Turkish tender steamed dumplings filled with ground lamb & fresh herbs in a garlic yogurt sauce): A-/A
My only qualm with this dish was how heavy the sauce was (still tasty as far as flavor goes, though). Otherwise, absolute heaven. We asked our waiter how many dumplings came in the small serving, to which he replied, "about 25 or 30". This sounded strangely gratuitous until we found that each dumpling was about the size of a nickel, maybe even a bit smaller. Basically, swaddled baby lamb nugget.
Mucver (Zucchini patties with crumbled French feta, fresh dill & scallions, topped with garlic yogurt sauce): A
Great delivered, unreal right out of the kitchen. Am I sounding redundant yet? Crispy, rich, savory, cheesy, herbed to perfection, served with fluffy yogurt sauce. I could eat these everyday. There are three per serving so do yourself a savor and get a double order.
Now that we've gotten that over with, I'll mention the various items I've ordered (most of the multiple times) from Seamless.
Chicken Sis Kebab: A-/A
It's a Turkish Chicken Sis Kebab. The chicken is juicy and flavorful, as it should be. Otherwise, it's what you'd expect. Not a bad thing though!
Babaghanoush: A+
Hummus: A
Lumping these into one item since they're both spreads. I haven't ordered from Bodrum in a while so it's hard to articulate why I'm giving the former a slight bump up. I just know I pretty much always order the Babaghanoush and I pretty much always inhale it. Bodrum does spreads WELL. Do not pass these up. I don't care if you're bread-averse, just eat the damn spreads with a spoon.
Spicy Sausage Pizza (tomato sauce, spicy Italian sausage, broccoli rabe & roasted garlic): A+
A Turkish restaurant known for its pizza?? Is this real life? Only in New York, I tell ya. When I first saw that Bodrum was categorized as a pizza place on Yelp, I scoffed at the prospect. But somehow, some way, they manage to pull it off. This pizza is the winner here, in my opinion. The sausage is delicious and pairs perfectly with the broccoli rabe, as the two typically do. Thin, crispy crust. Oh baby.
Meatball Pizza (tomato sauce, lamb meatballs & fresh mozzarella cheese): A-
Nothing too special here. The meatballs are lamb as opposed to beef, which adds some extra, flavor. I don't typically go for lamb but it's actually quite enjoyable in this case. Interesting twist on a classic!
Best lamb tagine in nyc. Hands down. Better than Cafe Mogador – sorry! And the fact that they take reservations is the icing on the cake. I will be back for more – just hoping and praying that this fantastic upper West side establishment makes move downtown and eastwards..
I'd recommend going out of your way for Bodrum. Everything we've ever had there has been excellent time after time. Last night, we had branzino and a pizza delivered, and it was as good as it was at the restaurant, which glorious.
Bodum makes my favorite babaganouj.
BONUS – good outdoor seating
TIP – make reservations, Bodrum can get busy
BONUS – good value
BONUS – good service
I have eaten here twice. Once with another couple and once last week as a party of 12 and both times I was blown away by the food and the staff. There is no snootiness or uppity attitude here, just GREAT FOOD and super friendly staff!!
First of all the brick oven pizza is just amazing and they have so many choices of toppings, definitely check out the menu, there are at least 20 combos listed!!
The food itself is so fresh and it just stands out from other places. I'm Greek and used to having my grape leaves a little different but the Dolma (Rice, mint, currant, pine nuts & dill ) here at Bodrum are phenomenal, I can't wait to have them again. Two exceptional appetizers are the Mucver (Zucchini patties with crumbled French feta, fresh dill & scallions, topped with garlic yogurt sauce) and the Imam Bayildi
(Holland eggplant stuffed with caramelized onions, pine nuts, parsley & garlic).
If you haven't eaten here yet, you are truly missing out.
Had brunch here. Nice, had a great time. The space is quaint and not crowded at all. Service was attentive, not overbearing, water glasses were always full. Started out with yummy, yummy bread with olive oil and olives. Bread was replaced as it was finished.
We stared off the the Red Lentil Soup, outstanding. At the table there was an Artichoke Pizza, Stuffed Cabbage. Both were excellent with the Pizza standing out. They do their pizza in a wood fired oven. I had the Shakshuka. I have had it once before cooked by a friend from Israel. Her's was superb. Their's was just a slight notch below. Very slight. Portion could be just a little bigger but the Turkish Sausage added a nice touch along with the perfectly done egg. If you've never had this dish I highly recommend it. Traditionally you eat it by scooping it up with a Pita, as in customary with many foods in the Arab World. I'll give them a break for not providing a Pita, it is a Turkish Restaurant.
I was the only Coffee drinker at the table. I really enjoyed the Turkish Coffee; drink it without milk and it will, "Straighten You Out." Their regular coffee was good as well.
I'd definitely go back again. The prices are very, very reasonable. Four people eating for under 100$ with tip is very uncommon on the UWS. Granted we did not drink but still excellent value.
I'm in love with this place.I came here for a nice alfresco brunch and happily munched away to deliciously fresh Mediterranean/Turkish-inspired food. The lamb was insane and properly-seasoned.
Had an excellent brunch at Bodrum this Sunday without a reservation at 12:30. It was a pleasant surprise after attempting to get a table at some of the other restaurants in the hood which turned out to be overwhelmed with mobs of hungry people in loud spaces. The atmosphere here by contrast was warm, relaxed and casual. The inside of Bodrum is an intimate small room but it felt airy with sun streaming in tall windows looking out onto Amsterdam Ave. The side walls are brick and the one behind the wood burning oven is covered with small, square blue tiles evocative of Turkish design. There were several individual pizzas coming out of the kitchen while we were there. I also noticed bright looking salads, spreads and sandwiches. We went with the Shakshuka and Turkish omelet. Both dishes were delicious; pleasantly spiced and nicely plated in perfect portions. The traditional bread brought to your table with a small bowl of olive oil containing a couple olives and herbs is a pleasant nosh or a wonderful accompaniment to your meal. All this can by yours too for a very reasonable price. I will be back to try the other items offered for lunch and dinner. As the weather gets warmer, a meal outside at one of the tables out front might be nice.
Bodrum is one of the best Turkish places in the city. Authentic!! I never been in turkey but I know the owner who's from Bodrum and he takes care of the place and the customers. He even imports the ingredients so the dishes taste like home as he explained.
The big big and big difference is the brick oven they have. THE BREAD! I fell in love at first sight and time after time the feeling was getting deeper. Warm right out of the oven served in your table with a superb olive oil with olives. I could dine just the bread! But it wouldn't be right… right? Or would be?
Anyway, order mezes (small plates like tapas). Everything is amazing and you have plenty of great choices. The stars:
The shrimp casserole
Baba ganoush
Hummus
Stuffed eggplant
The zucchini patties
The leeks in lemon
Even the pizza is great due to the oven. I would have a bunch of appetizers because I like to taste a little bit of everything but I came a couple of times with friends that order entrees and they were very happy. Big plates and savory. Mussaka, kebabs, all good.
An upper west side landmark for us. Love it!