Istanbul Grill bringing new spot for Turkish cuisine to south Orlando

A new restaurant is bringing Middle Eastern food, with an emphasis on Turkish cuisine, to south Orlando. Istanbul Grill is the first U.S. eatery for A Mandi King Co., a restaurant group with locations in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. It will be located at 9428 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando.

Ali Sagheer started the company 22 years ago. He “fell in love” with Orlando on his first visit about 10 years ago, and regularly vacationed in Central Florida until officially moving to the area recently, according to Sagheer’s nephew Hafiz Farooq.

Unlike its predecessors, Istanbul Grill will focus primarily on Turkish cuisine, thanks to its Turkish chef Hakan Dee.

He’s a creative chef who worked at several other local Turkish restaurants, Farooq said.

At Istanbul Grill, Farooq added, Dee will have the opportunity to use his creativity.

A market study done of the Central Florida area indicated that locals enjoy Turkish food, Farooq said, but the restaurant will also feature Arabic and Mediterranean dishes added in as well.

“We want to introduce our tastes to the locals as well,” Farooq said.

Dishes include kebabs, grill entrees such as chicken adana and lamb kofti as well as falafel, baba ganoush and more.

Their goal is simple, Farooq said: to provide a quality meal using fresh ingredients for their guests.

“We want to feed people the same food that we’re going to give to our family,” Farooq said.

For more information, visit IstanbulGrillOrlando .com or the restaurant’s Facebook page.