Bistro Turkuaz

Wonderful, cozy place with delicious and tasty food. We went as a group of six on a Saturday evening and we were not disappointed. I had heard about it from a friend who lived in the area. I’m a big fan of Mediterranean & Middle Eastern food; really love lamb, baklava, spanakopita, etc. I’m looking forward to returning again

I went for dinner on a Friday night.
The space is lovely. If you have a quiet voice like me and don’t like to shout, know that the room itself is not loud (compare to: echoic metal-​clad faux-​industrial), and the music is on quite soft, quite enough that you can hear other tables’ conversations.
The owners are also very sweet: they will talk to you, hear about your travels, tell you about that day’s grocery delivery. You can tell that they have a lot of pride and love for their business and customers.
But it is not a good value for your time or money. The food comes slowly, and there is noticeably little protein per entrée. The server apologetically brought out another appetizer while we waited, which, again, was very kind, but I would have been happier with a more substantial entrée executed with alacrity. (It seemed that our table was mostly delayed by one dish, the fish — other restaurants show that they care about your time by advising on the menu if a dish takes extra long to prepare.)
As a final note, order wine with caution, as it may be stale. I ordered the Syrah, which came out tasting as if it was halfway to vinegar.

dinner
food: beef. the flavors are awesome. if you like mediterranean style foods, you will definitely love the food here. ***4/​5
service: the server was awesome. she might be the owner. it took awhile to get the food out, but in their defense, i went in starving. i have to stop doing that. ***4/​5
value: expensive. i was still hungry when i left. the food was delicious. i cant help but salivate as the aroma from the kitchen seeps through to the dining area. however, the portions are small. not an everyday meal, but definitely for the special occasion. ***3/​5

Loved this! I’ll say I was a bit skeptical walking in, it’s a small place with not a lot of staff and I was afraid it would be too slow. We also showed up a half hour before closing, not realizing it, but we were graciously welcomed in. And the food spoke for itself. It was well paced and not slow for us at all. We had a great time chatting with the owner about the neighborhood, her family, about Turkey and the disco food and how they cook each dish.
We tried some new wine from Turkey, went crazy for the baked feta and were stuffed half way through our entrees but kept going anyway. And of course we had to stay for Baklava!
This is such a gem, a charming family business with the quality of any other restaurant in Madrona. I highly recommend giving this spot a try. I will be back!

A lovely small bistro in the lovely neighborhood of Madrona. Being a Thursday evening, it wasn’t crowded. We had reservations for 8 at 6:30 pm for a casual family birthday party.
Try the dolmas (we ordered 4 plates of them because we were all loving them)! They are served warm on a splash of tomato sauce. Got the owner talking, and she explained she is half Turkish and half Italian. Well the explained things a bit. No matter. Everything we had was incredible! I can’t even remember everything we had, but what little was left over came home with us. I had the lentil soup, which was pureed, a lovely salad, and shared many plates with others who ordered other things. The owner was also the only person waiting tables. Also ordered a wonderful bottle of red wine that was smooth and tasty.

A lovely neighborhood bistro serving delicious Turkish food. We had heard about this place, and decided to give it a try when we couldn’t get into a newer, trendier restaurant on the same street. (Seeing city councilman Tim Burgess there through the window seemed like a good sign). We were hungry, so we promptly ordered a couple of appetizers… the dolmas, which were served warm with a delicious sauce, and the Pancar, which is beautifully layered beets and goat cheese. We weren’t sure about the Turkish wines on the menu, but the owner suggested one, and offered it for the same price as the cabernet we were considering. This was a very nice gesture, and the wine was delicious. We decided to split the mixed kebab plate as our entrée, which was plenty of food since we had already had a few appetizers. All of the meats were grilled perfectly, not dry or undercooked. Sides of rice, tabouleh, and salad were included on the plate in just the right proportion. We did manage to leave room for dessert, and shared a piece of homemade baclava. Turkuaz gets very busy on the weekends, so either make a reservation, or visit on a Tuesday or Wednesday night like we did… you won’t be sorry!

Love This Place… Most amazing food and the setting is quaint and comfortable, great date night atmosphere. The baklava is to die for and the staff is wonderful. Thank You to owner DeAnne for such an outstanding experience and a lovely place

Amazing food made by an amazing owner. You can tell that they truly love the restaurant by all the work they put into each and every dish.
On the smaller side, the restaurant provides an intimate dinner that you can’t find many places anymore.
Each dish was delicious and the owner took the time to explain what each was and even the best wine to pair with it. Will happily return anytime I am in the area for a lovely dinner.

Lovely place. Great food. Good people. Interesting wine list. Highly recommend.

Really good food. Although I haven’t tried any real Turkish food before, the owner was kind enough to walk us through their dishes and have a pleasant conversation with us.
We had gone there for the manti, a type of dumpling filled with cheese but sadly the chef who makes it was out of town. The other food we ordered was delicious and we had such a great time there.
With such a wonderful experience and missing out on the manti, I am definitely going to come back.

Coming here is like coming to a good friends house whose a great cook. Wonderful food, wonderful wait staff-you’ll have a wonderful experience. Come and enjoy.

Went here yesterday with my boyfriend for a date night and it was amazing! The service was exceptional, it was our first time at a Turkish restaurant and the server was patient and willing to describe everything on the menu. And she recommended an amazing bottle of wine as well. The food was also amazing, I had the Balik and my boyfriend had the Turkuaz Special and we both thought it tasted great. We will definitely be going back, and I recommend definitely trying this place out!

Absolutely loved the lamb plate!
Staff was extremely friendly and made sure we were taken care of even as they were in the middle of preparing a large order.

Really delicious chicken kebabs, but for $ 20, I expected a little more food. It was about the size of a large appetizer. And the $ 9 dolmas are also delicious, but each one is small, and you only get 3. So, delicious, but you don’t get a lot for your money.

This restaurant is a beautiful, little gem! Although small, it is very quaint and you feel transported to a foreign country. The service was extremely friendly and genuine. The dinner was amazing! It felt like a home-​cooked meal by «mom»…which if she were my mom, I would probably get really fat from all the amazing food. The flavors and spices were warm, rich and absolutely delicious! A must try is the Turkish coffee– dark, rich with sweet notes. It will certainly keep you on your toes. I also had the marinated tiger shrimp and had no complaints on how perfect the shrimp were cooked. My boyfriend tried the meat patties and loved it too. Definitely looking forward to going back to try more!

I was driving around Leschi and Madrona looking for a place to eat since my girlfriend and I moved to Seattle not too long ago. We saw this cute little restaurant. We didn’t have to make a reservation or wait for a table, the server (I believe the owner) offered us the table right away. She recommended the turkish red wine we both loved it. Then we started with babaganush and the pancar babaganush was my favorite, not so much garlic or lemon juice in it and warm pita came on the side. Pancar was just amazing the combination is just brilliant. I just loved how they design the plate.
My girlfriend had the Manti she loved it and I had the Turkuaz Special. They were both amazing. The chef is doing a great job, very nice young man. We loved this place very cozy and great service we will definitely be back soon…

My boyfriend has been talking about this restaurant for years, and last week he finally told me. The waitress is so friendly and her presence is calming. The service was fast. I tried Turkish tea for the first time (would recommend). The food is delicious, and I enjoyed the atmosphere. If you’re into eavesdropping, this place is great for that as well!

Overpriced, poor ambience, disappointing food.
Went looking forward too a good Mediterranean dinner left feeling very disappointed.
I ordered what was described on the menu as a casserole that ended up being a soup. The chicken was dry and flavor bland, rice tasted old, the only good thing on the plate was the salad. I couldn’t even finish half of it.
My husband got the ravioli, for about $ 15 it had five ravioli? He said it tasted ok, but for that price it should have been amazing and a bigger portion.
We will not be back, go to Petra for really amazing food.

Treat yourself and start things off with an order of flavor-​popping tabouli.
Treat yourself some more and splurge for the perfectly cooked and seasoned pirzola (lamb chops).
Treat yourself a final time with some crisp, delicious baklava.
You could really order anything here and be more than pleased, and the service quickly reminds you of professionalism and sincerity.

5 stars based on the taste and quality of the food! I had the ravioli and my meal was sumptuous and melt in your mouth delicious. But only 1 star for the amount of food they give you. I think there were about 9 very small raviolis on my plate, which I consumed in about 5 seconds flat. And that was it. No rice or salad or veggies or sides. For a meal that costs $ 17 I would have expected more. My dinner companion had the lamb kebab $ 19. Again same thing. Chunk of meat (which he thoroughly enjoyed!) and he did get some rice, but only able 4 tablespoons worth.
Service was great. Everyone in the restaurant was friendly and talkative.
The bathroom is just one unisex bathroom and there seemed to be a line for it all night long.
Loads of great photos on the wall and the ambiance is very nice. Has a nice «Madrona» feel to it.
It’s a small place, so I recommend getting a reservation or arriving early. Also recommend having a snack before going since portions are so small. We ended up going out for Sushi after our dinner here.