Turkish Doner

-Grubbing in Chicago
Turkish Food in Uptown

The end of Argyle street, just before it hits Sheridan road, has transformed into a global culinary hotspot, much like the rest of Argyle. But unlike the Vietnamese and Thai eateries that dominate the street, this block houses a Nigerian, a Venezuelan, and now a Turkish restaurant. The generically named ‘Turkish Doner’ recently took the place of the old Don Pablo's Chilean Bakeshop which was said to be moving to the suburbs. Turkish restaurants continue to see a sharp rise in the Chicagoland area but there’s no specific area as to where - they’re opening all across the city and the suburbs.

Recently Opened in Uptown

Turkish Doner has seating for maybe 12 people so it’s a small space that seems to be doing a steady business with takeout based on my visits. As is almost always the case at these Turkish places you can usually find a group of older Turkish guys sitting and chatting at one of the tables. On my first visit I noticed that the Lahmacun was a favorite among these friends and family types as it was always at the tables where Turkish was being spoken. Lahmacun is a flatbread dish originating in the Levant region. An extra thin piece of flatbread is baked and topped with minced lamb or beef among other things and served with an array of toppings including tomato, onion and fresh herbs. Lahmacun is very popular in Türkiye where it’s commonly eaten as a snack on the street (stands there often roll it so it can be eaten on the go). The Lahmacun at Turkish Doner makes for a great snack and or appetizer or you can make a complete meal out of it as they serve it in orders of one and two.

Lahmacun at Turkish Doner

As the name suggests they also do Turkish Doner here. The popular street food featuring meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie is pretty much the national dish of Türkiye with just about every Turkish restaurant on earth offering it. Doner is the original spit roasted meat going back to the days of the Ottoman Empire. The Doner sandwich at Turkish Doner is a meal in and of itself. Spit roasted beef sliced from a quadrilateral spit of spinning meat in the back kitchen is paired with garlicky white sauce, and warm buttery tomato sauce stuffed into a soft house-baked roll with cucumber, tomato, and onion. This sandwich can easily contend with any of the Banh Mi for best sandwich on the block. I really liked the bread they used which was still warm when my sandwich arrived. The hot tomato sauce seemed to be the same sauce used when making İskender kebap which is Doner covered in a decadent buttery tomato sauce. I noticed they also have what they call a “Slavic Shawarma” wrap and I tried to ask the Ukrainian lady that works in front what that was about but she wasn’t too helpful.

Doner Sandwich at Turkish Doner

Unfortunately the Adana Kebap plate that the lady in front recommended was a dud that seemed to be rewarmed based on the texture of it. That said I know a guy from the food world that lives around here and he enjoyed the Adana Kebap so maybe it was an off day. But I should also point out that the warm red pepper based sauce included with my kebabs was awesome. Either way it’ll be tough not to get that sandwich the next time I find myself around this way. It’ll be interesting to see what goes into the space next door where Milly’s Pizza in the Pan used to be as it recently moved to Noble Square.

Adana Kebap

Turkish Doner
1007 W Argyle St
Chicago, IL 60640
(872) 232-0208