Istanbul Grill Mediterranean Cuisine

Years ago, Fountain Valley was locally known at least as much for its massive, crowd-drawing Fry’s Electronics location as its restaurants – a balance that’s changed radically since Fry’s closed and Kei Concepts set up shop (after shop after shop) in a nearby plaza. Today, Fountain Valley restaurants represent a ton of different cuisines, including one within walking distance of the former Fry’s location: Istanbul Grill.

With a brief menu and an unusually shaped dining area, Istanbul Grill has only a few items that distinguish it from typical Mediterranean and Middle Eastern kebab houses: long phyllo “Cheese Roll” tubes packed with salty and sour feta cheese, then deep fried; a Shepherd Casserole that sautes lamb, onions, mushrooms, peppers, and tomatoes with garlic and herbs; then Turkish almond pudding for dessert. If you’re hoping for a wider range of Turkish dishes and desserts, you’ll need to continue up the highway to Little Arabia (or wait for Zaytinya to open its new Culver City location).

Most of Istanbul Grill’s menu options focus on various beef, lamb, and chicken kebabs, plus common Mediterranean dips (hummus, babaganoush, labneh, muhammara/ezme), and desserts (rice pudding and baklava). Falafel, basic lentil and chicken soups, and several salads are also available, making this an easier consensus lunch pick for people with vegetarian and other non-meat diets.