Beyoglu

1431 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10028, 212-650-0850

This Turkish/ Mediterranean offers meze's (small dishes) in a beautiful, colorful setting. The inlaid Mosaic-topped tables are pretty but small and, since the whole menu concept involves sharing, dining can be a little cramped. But the taste largely makes up for it.

On a lovely, breezy day at their outdoor seating we sampled about six dishes. The Sigara Borek (filo dough stuffed with feta cheese) is as good as it sounds, falafel is excellent and the Greek salad (one of the larger dishes) very well made. We thought that, while the Barbunya Pilaki (red kidney beans, potatoes and carrots cooked with lemon and olive oil) is tasty, it's a bit too greasy for our liking. Most heavenly of all, though, is their Cacik (homemade yogurt, cucumbers and garlic). It's thick, creamy, rich and generously served in a large bowl. Tailor made for dipping into it is their excellent pita/nan style bread and our only complaint...and it's a big complaint...is that there wasn't enough of that!

The service was reasonably efficient and the prices conducive to sampling multiple dishes. There was plenty more on the menu we wanted to try and we'll be back to do just that!