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You can smell the grilling meat a block away, and a wall of Turkish kebabs greets you at the door as you enter this Middle Eastern destination. The original restaurant has expanded from an eighties-era storefront serving up traditional Turkish cooking to a maze of buildings that can seat up to 700. Fake potted palms and Mediterranean landscape paintings decorate the multiple dining rooms and party spaces, which get hopping on the weekends with Russian neighborhood families sharing a bottle of vodka and ripping off pieces of the wonderful, fresh-baked sesame flatbread. The appetizers range from pan fried calf's liver to the mainstays of Middle Eastern eating: baba ghanoush, humus, and lebne, a mix of yogurt and walnuts with a nice garlicky bite. Fish is well represented, particularly with a firm-fleshed grilled whole branzini, while varied styles of lamb are the menu's focus. Though the lamb saute is slightly bland, the shish kebab gets it right—charcoaled on the outside and pink and juicy in the middle. — Matthew Benjamin

Cold mixed appetizer platter, $14; shish kebab, $13.75