Pasha - NYC

With its deep red walls and skylight dining room, Pasha is one of the best Turkish restaurants in North America. Anyone who wants to take a "magical carpet ride" to Istanbul in a very elegant and comfortable ambience and warm and friendly service should visit Pasha.

The warmly decorated dining room will put you in the mood to enjoy the Turkish cuisine. Starters include baby eggplant stuffed with sweet onions, bell peppers and pine nuts; pan-fried phyllo filled with feta cheese, parsley and dill; and manti, tender steamed dumplings holding ground lamb and fresh mint, drizzled with a light garlic yogurt sauce. Main dishes include marinated chicken breast...

The warmly decorated dining room will put you in the mood for a magical experience. Starters include fresh artichoke hearts braised in lemon juice and olive oil with garden peas, potatoes and carrots; and manti, tender steamed dumplings…

It's a bit like being "magically transported" to the "Bosphorus" at this "sedate" UWS retreat where "fine" Turkish staples are enhanced by "attentive" service and "civilized" surroundings; adherents applaud it as a "fairly priced" change of pace en route to Lincoln Center.

Not exactly the city's thriving bastion of Ottoman Empire foods, but the UWS gets it pretty right (or as right as it's going to get) with the Pash. If you know the cuisine, you know what to order: juicy, olive oil-drenched overstuffed grape leaves; tavuk sis (grilled chicken, cubed and skewered); baklava (naturally). Decor's pretty, well, Turkish: slightly gauche but cute and—maybe—authentic...

Refined Turkish cuisine in a luxurious Upper West Side milieu.