Alanya Cafe

This place has the right vibe mixed with the right food. I had a diner sandwich which the owner recommended, and guess what? It was not the most expensive item in the menu and treated great.

A little bit of Turkey in the far west! My husband is from Istanbul and misses the taste of home frequently. We found this place about a year ago and go there any chance we get for delicious food. The owners are so kind and the borek is yummy. This little corner shop packs a big punch of flavor for something new!

Friendly wait staff, but the food was just average to me. I didn’t order a sandwich, but one of their Doner plate. It was ok. I also order their berma baklava, and again not great. I’ve read so many good reviews about the restaurant and was expecting great food, but it really wasn’t great…

I love this small Turkish café! The owners super nice, hospitable and funny^_^ best, fresh lamb and beef gyro’s I’ve ever had!

I’ve lived in Kirkland for a couple years now and have eaten at most of restaurants in downtown, but Alanya Café was a mystery to me. From the outside, it never seemed like a restaurant to me so I never paid much attention. Then I was having a drink at a bar nearby and opened up Unilocal.Alanya Café was the very first recommendation. I’ll try anything once, so headed on over.
We got the donor plate ($ 12) and donor salad $ 9.50) — both were excellent and the chef/​owner (?) and person behind the counter were very friendly. They made the point to tell us everything was homemade… and it tasted like it. The coconut cake looked really good too, but the generous portions didn’t leave us with any room for dessert — next time. I can’t wait to go back!

Coolest café with the sweetest owners. It’s Turkish food so be ready to try something new – hint they don’t make pumpkin spice lattes. But seriously, best café in Kirkland

What I Got: Doner Sandwich
Great little place! Staff was super friendly and knowledgeable, interior was very simple and cute and the food was delicious! Next time I’ll have to try the baklava! Will definitely be back for it sometime!

Came here for lunch on a warm afternoon.
Located in the heart of downtown Kirkland, which means difficult parking.
Ordered a Summer salad with chicken and boy was it tasty! It comes with this amazing pomegranate dressing that really makes it special!
Above all, I was completely satisfied with the service I got here. Staff is very friendly and hospitable!
Will definitely come again soon!

I lived in Turkey as a little boy, and this is a wonderful place to get authentic Turkish food. The iskendur kebab is amazing!
But here’s the thing: THEIR BAKLAVA IS THE BEST I’VE EVER HAD OUTSIDE THE GRAND BAZAAR IN ISTANBUL. Most Americans think of baklava as dry and sticky, but the baklava here is moist and not cloying — the dough flakes without being tough and the filling is drenched in light syrup, not Karo or honey. It is incredible.
Come in and have it with a shot of Turkish coffee, which is like high test racecar fuel except tasty, and it will make your whole day.
I’m seriously so happy I found this place, it’s made my entire day.

Excellent food here — best shawarma I’ve had in Seattle area, flavorful, not too salty, and you can see and taste real pieces of meat, it’s not the ground up mixture that you see at most Gyro places. I had the Doner plate, and my boss had the Doner salad with extra meat. Had a bite of the pistachio baklava, melts in your mouth…
We were the first customers for lunch, and they were friendly and engaging.
I could tell they were proud to make everything in house.

We trekked up here for the first time this past weekend because of the glowing Unilocal reviews. I have a very special spot in my heart for Turkish food because I really enjoyed my time in both Izmir and Istanbul when I went last year. Turkey is beautiful, food is freaking amazing — and my fiancé proposed to me in Istanbul while drinking delicious Turkish coffee and eating Turkish delight in a café at the Grand Bazaar.
Okay, tangential information. Back to the topic at hand.
Very small joint, with maybe five tables and some outside seating whenever the weather permits. You order at the counter, they bring the food to your table. Water is self-​serve, cups are super-​tiny.
We spent close to $ 50 for two baklavas ($ 3.50 each), two Turkish coffees ($ 3.50 each), two döner plates ($ 12 each), tax, and tip. Initially, it felt overly expensive, but I checked prices for other Turkish restaurants, as well as other restaurants serving kabobs, and Alanya Café prices are actually very much comparable to Café Turko’s and a lot cheaper than those of other places that do kabobs.
The döner plates were humongous, too. They came with bulgur pilaf, pita, salad, and lots of tzatziki. We got hot sauce on the side. I easily could’ve made three meals out of my döner plate, but I got greedy, and frankly, it was hard to stop, even after crossing my fullness threshold. The thin beef shavings were seasoned beautifully. The edges had that nice crispness. It was bomb! The tzatziki was garlicky-​delicious. Mmmm. Be prepared for garlic breath, of course. Mints!
The baklava was not the best I’ve had. We got walnut baklava but didn’t really get any other flavors outside of the very, very sweet syrup.
The coffee was good, although it was a bit lighter than my preference.
The owners were nice and welcoming. They like chatting with their patrons.

The owners of this casual order-​at-​the-​counter café in Kirkland are adorable — chat with them!!! The place is full of Turks speaking Turkish. Food is cheap and authentic, if not elegant. Got really busy at lunchtime on a weekday; I was surprised. Loved what I ate — a simit (crunchy Turkish «bagel» covered in sesame seeds) and a doner plate (pile of diced lamb and beef, bulgur, lettuce/​tomato/​pickles with a sour-​creamy sauce, and pita bread slices). Make sure to get some of the homemade hot sauce to douse everything in!
I’m gonna go back. :)

This place is always crowded at lunch time and now I know why. I ordered a doner kebab (pita bread, lettuce, tomato and hot sauce home made), the beef was nicely soft and juicy.
Just keep in mind that the place is small and it might be hard to find a table to sit.
The owner is super friendly and make your experience unique.

The food here is phenomenal. My favorite is the Doner Sandwich with Lavaash (sp?) bread. We always finish our meal with Turkish tea and fresh Baklava (which is just right amount moist, soft, and crunchy). The service here is great, they everyone like family.

One of the best Turkish food restaurant. Everything is always fresh and perfect at this place and and d excellent costumer service. Don’t forget to try their baklava.

This is the best place to get Iskender Donor Kebab in Washington! I lived in Turkey 16 years, so I am always skeptical about Turkish food in the states. My favorite is always the Iskender and I finally found a place that serves it the way you would get in Turkey. I didn’t ask for sumac but that would be the only thing missing. The Baklava is authentic! Tastes just like my grandmother used to make. They have local menu options to cater to the northwest culture, but still stay true with the traditional items.
If you ever go to Turkey, shopping and eating is about the experience/​hospitality. The owner will make you feel welcomed like you would be in Turkey.
Love this place!

My son lived in Istanbul for a year, and missed Turkish food terribly. He was thrilled to eat here today… loved the cig kofte. My other son and I had doner sandwiches. excellent! So fresh and flavorful! I also had a cup of the red lentil soup which was good, but somewhat bland. My son turned us on to the Ayran which was delicious. My older son was also thrilled to be able to find some Turkish beer.
The owners were so friendly and nice. Great service, food was out really fast. Café is very cute, and located on the Kirkland waterfront. I had forgotten how that part of Kirkland feels just like a resort town in Europe… it was almost like we were on a vacation.
We will definitely be back. Wonderful food, nice people!

Fantastic!
This is what shawarma should taste like. Suculent meat, full of flavor.
Great value and great service.

Alanya… I have had this place bookmarked for almost 2 years and I drive by it constantly! For my bday I saw it and I was just determined to finally try it. The space is very inviting and intimate since the shop is not very big. The lady at the counter took our order (I ordered the beef and cheddar with pogaca and a drink) paid just under 14 $ tip included. By the way they actually serve Efes here! It’s a Mediterranean beer that I almost never get to have. The sandwich was great as was the pogaca. I will return before the end of summer. My only cause for 4 stars is that for the price I was hoping the sandwich was a tad bit bigger. But since I figured it was going to be small I ordered the pogaca and I ended up being satisfied.

I’ve walked by this place a couple times now, and today was my first time there. I thought this place was just alright. The café was pretty cozy inside, and the man there was generally nice.
We had the pistachio baklava, tiramisu, turkish coffee, and black tea. Both the baklava and tiramisu were okay. Although they weren’t amazing, I liked that it wasn’t too sweet. I wish the tiramisu had a stronger aroma of coffee though because I couldn’t quite sense it. The drinks were pretty small… especially the tea. I thought the turkish coffee was interesting and different, but I suppose it’s not really my thing.