Where to Boston Kebab Waltham, the western suburban location of the original lunch spot in Liberty Square, Boston.
Why For Turkish food, made by a chef who trained with former Sultan’s Kitchen owner, Ozcan Ozan, one of the best Turkish chefs in the region.
The back story The large Waltham place, which used to house the Greek restaurant Demos, seats 130. There’s plenty of parking in a lot that surrounds the building. Osman Kiranoglu bought the restaurant in 2022. The huge dining room is almost filled on a weekend night with Kiranoglu greeting customers near the entrance. Everyone seems to know him. His wife, Mine (pronounced Mee-NEH), is stationed at the register. You order at the counter and food comes promptly to your table. You’ll see multi-generations here, groups of women, groups of men, couples on dates. Since the earthquake in Turkey, the restaurant has become a meeting place for Turkish-born residents to help the devastated areas back home. “Right now our main priority is how can we help them,” says Kiranoglu, who sends food to the workers in other locations who are packaging nonperishable food items, blankets, and warm clothing to ship out. “There are a lot of good people around us,” he says.
What to eat The halal restaurant bills itself as Mediterranean, but it also serves all the well-known Turkish classics: red lentil soup; the Turkish pizza, lahmacun, which you may know as lamejun (a plain one and a spicy version, too); doner kebab, shaved lamb and beef; kofte kebab, patties of ground lamb and beef; Adana kebab made with ground lamb; the tiny beef dumplings called manti; menemen, an egg and tomato sauce dish similar to shakshuka. Many kebabs come in a roll-up. You can get a single or a double skewer with Greek salad, pita, rice, which is mixed with bulgur, or fries or vegetables. Kiranoglu says that Turkish diners order skewers with the more familiar shepherd’s salad. Big steam trays hold specialties of the day.
What to drink Ayran yogurt drink, sodas, and Turkish coffee or tea. On one especially cold day recently, servers brought everyone tea, compliments of the house. The chef comes from Rize, Turkey, on the Black Sea, where the mountains are well-known for the tea harvest.
The takeaway Kiranoglu is serving satisfying halal food in generous proportions and delivering it quickly to your table. They will open soon for breakfast with simit, ring-shaped breads, borek, the stuffed phyllo pastry, and other traditional items; Kiranoglu was a breakfast chef in Turkey for almost two decades. When Ramadan begins on the evening of March 22, the restaurant will offer a fixed-price menu for iftar. The good feeling in the place is practically palpable.
146 Lexington St., Waltham, 781-893-8359, www.bostonkebab.com
Sheryl Julian can be reached at sheryl.julian@globe.com.