Esnaf

AH-MAZING!!! Talk about deliciousness. What a wonderful new find for San Carlos. The space is intimate, has a slight elegance to it and it feels so cozy when seated inside. It is so tasteful and represents the Turkish culture subtly but beautifully in the entry way and through the meals showcased.I like the special bread The service is be fast and very good and test food

Amazing food, reminiscent of flavors I had in Istanbul. Had a relaxed and beautiful lunch, efficient and friendly service. Beautiful decor. They bake bread fresh and bring right to your table

Food is great; service is exceptional. Being from Turkey, not hard to evaluate food quality which we found to be above expectations. Pide was nice and moist; citir manti really delicious. But the service is just exceptional.

I came here twice to try various dishes and form my opinion. As somebody with Turkish origin, I think this restaurant has potential, but currently prices are too high.Interior design of the restaurant is lovely and modern. Staff is super nice as well, although it takes long time for the main dishes to arrive. For the food, I have tried many options in my two visits. - Gavurdag salad was delicious, sour tastes blended perfectly with tomatoes. - "Trüflü" pide or truffle pide did not have any truffle taste at all, still mushroom and cheese combination was good.- Lahmacun tasted good but there was only a single one split in half. At other restaurants you could get two for the same price.- Et şiş was similar to home cooked dish and was not very special. Too much meat and a little overcooked.- Manti appetizer was good, although presentation can be improved. This used to be a main dish not appetizer.

Oh we had such a nice time yesterday - I had heard of Turkish breakfast and then randomly came across this place and looked at the menu - Turkish breakfast! It's a sign, I must go! Hubby and I came here around 10:30 and the place was half full - I'm glad becasue I don't like a terribly crowded restaurant - but I wish it was full just to keep them in business. I think when enough reviews come out, this place will be booming. We ordered the Turkish breakfast for 2 and we had too much food to finish. The eggs were creamy and light, the tea was hot and delicious, the simit, roll with oil and pomegranate molasses, olives, cheese, honey, preserves, sausage slices, labne - all were so good - a nice presentation of goodies. Next time I'll need to try the menemen and Turkish coffee and of course dessert. I can't wait to come back here. The host and waitress were very nice and personable. The bathroom location is shared with Drakes next door, you have to go all the way through the kitchen to get to it - and since Drakes is larger, there was a line that took a while to get through as there were kids needing help. Hopefully this isn't a consistent problem. Most people don't need to go - I always do lol tiny bladder. Anyway, everyone in the kitchen smiled and I told them the food was delicious. Got back to the table and shoved two more bites down my throat even though I was full because the flavors were so good. Come to Esnaf - you will be so happy that you did :-)

Came in for lunch at around 12 with a party of two, were seated immediately. It's pretty chill around this time, plenty of tables open.This is definitely my top pick for a delicious meal in San Carlos. Everything from the bread, the soup, the meat, even the rice too, is so delicious! My favorite was the lamb meat from the Kebap Trio for two, and also the crispy flatbread that comes with the combo. Simple, delicious, so incredibly crave-able.I highly recommend getting the lentil soup and pairing it with the free bread for the table. So good!

Food is delicious!! Was really surprised to see them empty on a Sunday night. The meat is very well seasoned and well cooked. Highly recommend ordering the Sucuklu Pide. Portion is decent but on the smaller side. The ambience is very cozy yet feels casual. The service could be improved - the staffs attitude was a bit cold? They didn't feel very welcoming or friendly. Despite this, I would come back again. What we ordered:Kebab trio for 2Crispy mantuSucuklu Pide

Came by for dinner the other night and it was a decent experience. Made a reservation and our table was ready upon arrival. Parking is available on the street or nearby surface lots.Dining is available outdoors or inside the dining room, with a view of the open kitchen. The loo is through the kitchen and shared with the restaurant next door.Started off with the complimentary bread and it was decent. This complemented the meze trio. The crispy manti was good, although I was expecting larger pieces. The manti is like a wonton wrapper wrapped in some ground beef, served over a bed of yogurt and tomato-esque sauce.The Mantar Guvec mushroom caserole was a cheesy version of mushrooms. Flavors were good. This may have been the best dish of the evening.The Karides Guvec was a rather salty casserole of cheesy shrimp. This may have been better with some type of bread.The Trüflü Mantarlı was a miniature cheesy mushroom flatbread. This was good hot.The Ahtapot was tasty. This was octopus served over a bed of mashed potatoes and was quite flavorful. Octopus was cooked to perfection and was soft.The traditional Lahmacun was tasty. It was a crisp flatbread served with some ground beef along with a side of tomatoes and onions/lettuce.Finished off the meal with the katmer which was a phyllo dough with pistacchio cream on the inside. This was a light and refreshing way to finish off dinner.~$70/head after tax and gratuity for dinner.

This place was just OK. I was looking for a new Turkish place to try after having been thoroughly impressed by Nomadic Kitchen in Redwood City downtown. This place came up as one of the other Turkish options nearby so I thought that I would give it a shot. I ordered the chicken kebab plate and honestly wasn't very impressed. First they used chicken leg meat which although from a reputable chicken farm and marinated well could not compare to the premium chicken breast meat used at Nomadic Kitchen. Second, they only provided one kind of rice which was just plain white rice without much seasonings. Nomadic gives you two both of which are seasoned and delicious. Third, there wasn't much of a salad which is necessary to complement the grilled meats. Fourth, their bread although fresh baked did not taste nearly anywhere as good and was not as generously provided. Fifth, the pricing was about 75% more expensive. Sixth, there is not the same homey feel that I get at Nomadic such as when the owner comes out to have some Turkish tea with you after your meal. I'm not sure if Redwood City downtown restaurant space rent is that much cheaper or if they are just overcharging here. Either way, I won't be back.

What a cute and cozy Turkish restaurant in San Carlos! The branzino was lovely and the manti dumplings here are the crispy kind.