Papa Kebab Mediterrenean Bistro

The Chicken kabobs were OK. I probably wont order from here again, the size of the entre portions is relatively small and the side of bread was not that great. Also, the sides of sauces were small. The chopped salad with tomatoes and cucumbers was also just average, did not taste that fresh, tasted like had been made many hours before. Not terrible, I just thought average overall. The delivery was pretty fast, so I give them 4 stars on execution.

Delicious! We were a party of 7 without a reservation on a Friday night and got seated right away. I ordered the mix and match platter with shrimp, falafel with hummus, and basmati rice. I also tried a bite of the chicken kebab. I was really craving Persian food and was very satisfied with all the dishes! Upon request, the waitress kindly split the check for us; she was very patient and kind throughout the entire dining experience! I’d love to come back in the summer to sit outside and eat :)

I love this place. Very tasty mediterranean food. Tried the Adana lamb kebab last time I was there (see pic) and it was delicious ! Highly recommend it. The service is good too. Nice staff.

We had absolutely delicious food at Papa Kebab. I ordered the Lahmacun and it was spectacular, just like I’ve had it in Turkey. Service was great and the atmosphere is lovely. Definitely will return again.

Amazing. Incredible. The best food you’ll ever have.
Discovered this place about 2 weeks ago and have already been back 5 times. Every time I’m hungry now, my first thought is Papa Kebab. Prices are reasonable, although a bit borderline if you consider that you have to sit down with wait service and also leave a tip because there is no other way to eat in.
But the flavors are just fantastic. I repeatedly get the Chicken Joojeh platter with the Pilaf and that’s really all you need to make your day. Rinse and repeat, never stop. Delicious.

I don’t claim to be an expert or an aficionado when it comes to Mediterranean (Persian/​Turkish/​et al) food. But I DO know that I really like it. And it seems like NYC does this genre like the West Coast does Mexican food, so maybe this is just a start for me.
All that said… as of right now this is the best Mediterranean food I’ve ever had… and we only had the takeout. As others have mentioned the cold meze plate alone is worth the price of admission. And with the kebabs it only gets better from there. We sampled all of the chicken, lamb, and beef versions and enjoyed each to the last bite.
Really looking forward to sampling more of what NYC has to offer in this category but can’t imagine that we won’t order from this place again (and again, and again).

We came here for date night and loved the ambience. My wife and I are Mediterranean food lovers and are big fans of kebabs, so this place lives up to the kebab hype. I wish that their Hummus was a little more thicker (may be a personal preference). Their non-​alcoholic beverages were awesome, the blueberry iced tea! Mmmph mmmh mmph

Spot on food! I got the Adana Lamb with Bulgur Pilaf and shared the Babaganoush as an additional side (extra $ 4 with the combo). Babaganoush was creamy and delicious, pita bread was spongy (but not moist), and the plate comes with some grilled vegetables (tomato, spicy green pepper, and pickled red onions). Great portions and very flavorful!
I sat outside on their elevated wooden patio and it was a cool evening so it was lovely. Plus there are a lot of dessert-​y spots in the neighborhood so ended up going to Amorino afterwards. Highly recommend for a casual dinner!

This has to be one of the best, casual, Turkish/​Mediterranean spots in Manhattan. I’ve been coming here since they opened in 2012 and it’s one of my go-​to casual spots for healthy food.
Funny thing is, before Papa Kebab, Turkish had been one of my least favorite ethnic cuisines cause I think I hadn’t had great Turkish yet. I had been to Persepolis, Uskudar and Kashkaval, and thought they were all good, but not great. I think Papa Kebab is great. Especially if you’re just looking for something casual that tastes great and is healthy.
One of the best things to get on the menu is the Cold Meze appetizer, which has humus, babaganoush, eggplant soslu, ezme, mast-​o khiar and tabbouleh, and comes with warm pita bread. Love that appetizer and could probably just eat that alone.
For the entrees, I would stick with one of the Kebab Mix & Match Platters. There are 6 different kebabs — minced beef (koobideh), chicken (adana) or lamb (kofte or adana), or whole piece chicken chunks (joojeh), or shrimp kebab. And they all come with a side — bulgur pilaf, basmati rice (my fav), fries or salad and a meze of your choice, all for $ 15.
My personal favorites are the Joojeh Chicken and the Koobideh Beef. I would pass on the wraps and the «turkish pizza» as I think the platters are way better, but just my opinion. But whatever you choose, make sure you at least order the cold meze appetizer, cause that’s a very special plate.
And to top it all off, the prices are reasonable for the quality of food that you get, the restaurant and bathrooms are very clean and the service is good. Overall an excellent place that I’d visit if you’re in the neighborhood… or even if you’re not but want great Turkish/​Mediterranean food.

I just had my first lunch delivered from Papa Kebab. First the ordering experience calling in was the best! The young lady that took my order explained everything in detail and even gave suggestions, repeated my order, all the proper things to do. I ordered hummus wrap with chicken very yummy. I only gave it 3 stars because of the price & size. For $ 13 it be nice to have a little side salad of sorts as the wrap itself os not super filling. Im also not a fan of paying $ 2 for few pieces of raw onion? That to me doesn’t make sense at ALL. In almost all salad places or sandwich places I go to onions are included. I mean WHOA with the mark up lol. I can buy a bag of onions for $ 2 lol. Honestly great place and probably better for dinner but I would not order again on principle alone, I won’t pay $ 2 for a sliver of a raw onion, funny.
FOOD WAS GOOD, Chicken great, hummus too.

Brought a friend here a few weeks again for dinner and happy hour drinks. The space is small for eat in but since it was a rainy day it wasn’t very crowded. We can a bit before 7 so that we could take advantage of happy hour. The beer and wine selection could definitely use a bit of help. There aren’t a lot of options.
We chose to do the cold meze combo for an appetizer which was extremely good but, they were really slow to bring out the bread (its hard to eat this without bread!) and we each did the build your own platter as it definitely seemed like the best deal for dinner. The Adana lamb had good flavor especially paired with rice and hummus!
Overall I wouldn’t come here again as there are quite a few Mediterranean places in the. City higher on my list.

My 2^nd time here, found a table both times without a problem. Place is small, but great for lunch.
My boyfriend and I split the falafel fury and a chicken wrap. Both were amazing, but I would vote for falafel fury every time.
Also a block away from the Chelsea market and a few blocks away from highland park.

I think this is a 3.5, not 3, unfortunately I can’t give half stars.
Came here for lunch one day and I ordered it to go. To be clear, it’s not the cheapest lunch option around the area. $ 12 platter, $ 4 extra if you want to add hummus or babaganoush or any meze. I ordered the platter with Adana Chicken, house salad, and added Hummus. I didn’t realize till I got back to office that instead of giving me chicken, they gave me lamb instead, and I really don’t like lamb. The portion is relatively small, the platter included one skewer, one pepper, half roasted tomato, and house salad. On the plus side, hummus was really good and I finished it all. Looks like they also have some good happy hour deal, maybe I will try that next time.

In town for the book expo, I had occasion to eat here twice. One of my colleagues also ended up eating here twice. Perhaps that says something worthwhile about the food and hospitality here.
The restaurant is run by a couple, and I suspect that some of the younger folk working there are their children. It has a family-​run sense about it.
Over two days, I enjoyed the cold meze platter, which includes five tasty spreads. The warm pita bread is an endless basket to help ensure that you get every bit of goodness from the plate.
The adana lamb kebab was a great choice for me, as were the doma (Turkish version of dolme).
The service was friendly and casual, the beer perfectly cold. Everything is in a bottle for the latter, nothing on a tap.
There’s a large-​screen TV, which was a total turn-​off for me. Fortunately you can get a table so that the TV is at your back and the sound is usually turned off, I’m told. Nonetheless, the TV is way too big for such a small space and it really has a bad affect on the ambience of the place.
Still, monstrous TV or no, I’d happily return here next year for another encounter with their food. You should try it, if you haven’t.

This is a pretty good lunch spot. The store is tiny, but they serve food quickly. Their meat is very tender, and everything is flavorful. The only complaint I have is that they use too much salt in their meat, I like the flavor but even in the salad you can find grains of salt. If you don’t happen to eat bread/​rice with their meat but choose salad, you will have to drink a lot of water. If they can turn it down to lower sodium level it would be great.

We enjoyed their outdoor seating area, where we parked our stroller and also had our pup sit with us. Gotta include the whole family when you go out to eat!
We started off with the eggplant and zucchini chips, which were pretty tasty. They also give you some pita bread, yum. As for entrees, we had the koobideh beef plate (I thought it was just ok) with fries and the mediterranean tacos (delicious)!
The service was super friendly, btw!

I’ve been to Papa Kebab twice now and both of my dining experiences have greatly exceeded any expectations. The restaurant is on the small side, but it’s cozy and faultlessly clean.
For starters, the cold meze combo is on another level. The appetizer consists of babaganoush, eggplant soslu, ezme hummus, mast-​o-​khiar, tabbouleh and is served with soft warm pita cut triangles (ask for extra pita). I highly enjoy each of them, but the eggplant soslu is my personal favorite. All of the ingredients are immensely fresh and demonstrate the immaculate standard of quality that this restaurant consistently chooses to put forth. I usually share the dish with someone, but about halfway through, I almost always wish that I had the whole plate to myself. I could easily eat their cold meze combo a few times a week.
I have also ordered the adana chicken kebab with the bulgar rice pilaf twice, but on the second occasion with a house salad. The adana chicken kebab was well seasoned and most importantly not dry or burnt. Although the house salad was tasty and consisted of bitter greens, the bulgar rice pilaf was a much more excellent accompaniment with this kebab so I would suggest opting for the rice instead (if you don’t mind the carbs).
Overall, Papa Kebab is without a doubt a hidden gem within the Chelsea neighborhood that deserves some serious recognition.

I’m usually very apprehensive about Mediterranean places because I always feel that what I get is not worth the price I paid (as well as the terribly under seasoned kebabs).
This place, however, was a bang for my buck (for Manhattan anyway). I came here for lunch, so I got the Chicken Adana kebab platter with bulgar rice pilaf and a side of hummus (which was an extra $ 4. This, I thought was overpriced but I let it go because it was delicious). My total dish was $ 15.
I was so happy with my food! The chicken Adana was perfectly seasoned and delicious, and the bulgar rice pilaf was such a great compliment as well very flavorful. My dish came with a grilled tomato and Italian pepper. Not much to say on those. My boyfriend got the Lamb kofta platter and he also loved his food, which was a big deal because he’s such a hard critic!
I will definitely be returning!

Service:
The service was good — food came out quickly and recommended good items. But they did not keep our water glasses filled (my pet peeve)
The food we got:
Hummus — WOW among the best hummus I have had. It iw very think and smooth and comes with the perfect amount of pita bread to finish it off. Or you can do as I did and dip all your other food in it.
Falafel — VERY tasty and perfect crunch. Dipped in the hummus and eaten with the pita was also very good.
Joojeh kebab — we got the platter; the chicken was so good (came with 4 pieces about 1.5−2 inches in diameter. Cooked to perfection with a spicy sauce and yogurt based sauce.
Lamb platter — this was not as good as I had hoped it would be — it was pretty mediocre.
We were stuffed at the end to say the least.
Bathroom: single person bathroom in the back — it was very clean and nice

Small and unassuming, but the food was delicious!
For $ 10, you can get a sized platter with a side, skewer, and tzatziki sauce. The platter seemed a little on the small side at first, but we were full by the end. No complaints because it was overall very cheap. I recommend getting the Joojeh Kebab (Chicken) and Lamb Kofte (Ground Lamb). The chicken was tender and juicy, probably because it’s marinated in yogurt, and the lamb had good flavor and was full of spice. I also recommend trying the bulgar pilaf. I’ve never had bulgar before, but it tastes very similar to rice and the way they make it here complements very well with the skewers. They even provide you a large basket of pita.
Great place! Would like to come back to try their other skewers and to eat that bulgar pilaf again.