Comments (0) BEST MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT - 2006

Istanbul Grill

On Friday and Saturday nights, it's hard to get a table at Istanbul Grill. The kitchen sells out of food some nights, and things are 86'd off the menu as early as seven o'clock. And the crowds keep coming, with people bringing their friends, bringing their families. In the small, austere, lemon-yellow dining room, the food never stops arriving. And what food! The gozleme -- Turkish cheese and parsley sandwiched between sheets of phyllo, then baked -- is the perfect way to start your dinner. The doner is delicious, like chunky gyros meat served in a massive pile with quartered pitas on the side. And at the end of any meal, there's Turkish coffee served sweet as love, black as death and strong as hell -- just like it's supposed to be. Denver has needed a proper Turkish restaurant for a long time, and now we have one -- the best one -- with Istanbul Grill.