Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Ankara Turkish Restaurant has closed on the southwest corner of Houston and Orchard. (H/T EVG reader T.R.!)
A "closed for construction" sign is on the front door. However, an employee confirmed that the closure is permanent and that the business has been sold.
The former owners said they believe a new shawarma spot will take over the space, though it will not be Turkish or operated by the same family.
The Houston Street space is now mostly empty...
A neighboring business told EVG that Ankara had been struggling and had negotiated a rent reduction, though apparently it wasn't enough to keep the restaurant going.
Ankara opened here in March 2023, marking the return of Ramazan Turgut to the Lower East Side, the owner of longtime neighborhood favorite Bereket Turkish Kebab House.
Bereket had been directly across Houston Street for 19 years before closing in June 2014 to make way for Ben Shaoul's gold-dusted residential development.
When Ankara debuted at 183 E. Houston St., Turgut told EVG that the menu remained essentially the same as Bereket's — including the much-loved vegetarian red lentil soup. He also said that, although he was using the Ankara name, he wanted people to know that "it's still Bereket."
So, for fans of that red lentil soup, this one is a blow.
15 comments:
I’m sorry to see this business close. I was definitely a fan of their red lentil soup. So much so that I learned how to make it myself. I don’t know if he’ll post recipe is here on EV but if you do, here’s the recipe for a delicious pie of that famous red lentil soup:
Red lentil soup with spinach and cumin
In the immerser:
Sauté olive oil
one large onion
garlic powder
One small bag of whole carrots chopped
Two full teaspoons of cumin
One full teaspoon of turmeric
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Then
2 bags of red lentils
2 chicken stocks
One large can crushed tomatoes mixed OR 1 jar of Barilla sauce with basil and garlic
Enough water for the lentils to have space to cook almost 2 quarts of water
2 bags spinach
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream (will make it creamy) this helps in case U put too much cumin in the soup.
Cook on stove top low heat for 2-3 hours the red lentils cook quickly
I’m sorry to see it go but to be honest I thought the prices were a bit high for what could pass, fairly or not, as “another falafel joint”.
There falafel was really good so sad
Should have just called it Bereket and made it as close to the old one as possible. What's the point of rebranding something when you already had an established, successful brand?
It was one of the cheapest deals you could find in NYC nowadays. If you know of cheaper options, we would love to know.
And calling their verity and quality "another falafel joint", where falafel was an after thought option there, is weird to us.
The new generation frequenting the LES have no idea or interest of what Bereket was.
I have no idea how restaurants are surviving. Two of my good friends who work as servers at reputable establishments here in the EV mention how incredibly slow business has been. Managers have been drastically cutting shifts. Customers seem to be only dining from Thursday to Saturday. EVERYTHING is so damn expensive. A lot has changed drastically over the past year. Going out for dinner, a coffee or even a sweet treat feels like a luxury now.
I, too, am interested in hearing about cheaper options with the same quality and quantity... the meals here provided leftovers for another day. Troll comments often default to calling a menu “pricey,” regardless of the actual prices. A nine-course meal could cost 50 cents, and someone would still complain that it’s too expensive.
I enjoyed this place but once they got a C and tried to hide it, I definitely thought twice about going there again... Guessing I am not the only one.
I'm going to miss this place so much. Their gyros on turkish bread with the sauces hit so right. And the prices were not bad at all for what you got, regardless of what the EVGrumps are telling ya!
It might have been a fantastic deal, but everytime I went by I was short of enough cash to eat there. Which was a bummer because it looked good.
Nor did the "New Generation" show up to Ankara #3, rendering your argument meaningless. Thousands of people in the area remember and enjoyed Bereket. That's called a customer base and it's a valuable asset that takes time to build.
I don't suppose you adapted this recipe from the vegetarian version? I'd prefer that if you had it available. If not, no worries; I'll try and find it online.
“Anonymous” from above here…before getting snark, please note/read I said “fairly or not” implying in other words that consumers didn’t appreciate it for what it was. Sheesh.
Awful news. The food was so good! This is what happens when people don’t go to restaurants that aren’t instagram “famous”.
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