A Real Turkish Lunch in Issaquah

By Chef Berna, owner and head chef of Berna's Bakery & Cafe, a women-owned, chef-run Turkish kitchen at 317 NW Gilman Blvd, Issaquah.

Most people in Issaquah meet us through the bakery case first. They stop by for simit, borek, or whatever just came out of the oven, and I love that. By midday, though, that same kitchen is ready for a Turkish lunch in Issaquah: manti, kofte, kavurma, chicken shawarma, mezze, and hot Turkish sandwiches.

I am Chef Berna, owner and head chef here at 317 NW Gilman Blvd. We are a bakery, yes, but lunch is not something we tack on after the pastries. It is food I know and cook every day, and I am glad to put it in front of you. Turkish lunch can be hard to find close to home, so if you have been going out of your way for it, come see what comes out of our kitchen.

The plates I would put in front of you first

The House Kofte Plate is the one I hand to anyone who wants the comfort-food version of a Turkish lunch: homemade meatballs, Turkish rice, a fresh house salad. If you would rather have something slower and richer, the Kavurma Pilav Plate is tender sauteed beef over that same rice. If you want something spiced and filling, the Chicken Shawarma Plate is the one to get. Every plate is on our full menu, and all of it comes out of the same kitchen that bakes all morning.

And then there is the manti.

What manti is, and why I love making it

Manti is a traditional Turkish dish of small beef dumplings. We top ours with garlic yogurt and a warm tomato sauce, the way it is served back home. A lot of people tell me they had almost given up on finding real manti made nearby. We make ours here. It is the first plate I bring out for anyone who grew up eating Turkish food. I would rather you taste it than take my word for it.

When lunch has to be quick

Not every lunch is a sit-down plate. The hot sandwiches are the same kitchen's food, just faster to grab and go: chicken shawarma, grilled kofte, sujuk and cheese, grilled chicken, and a house steak sandwich. There is a cold sandwich side too, from a simple fresh mozzarella to a Turkey village sandwich. If speed is really the point, meaning you have half an hour between meetings, we wrote a separate guide to a quick weekday lunch in Issaquah with the fastest orders. The sit-down plates are for the days when the food itself is the reason you came in.

Mezze, soups, and the lighter side

For a table of two or three, the Mezze Platter is the easiest way into a Turkish lunch: hummus, fire-roasted eggplant, muhammara, jajik, yaprak dolma, and garlic carrot cream on one board, and any of them can be ordered on its own. On the lighter side there is a dill and potato soup, a garden salad, and, because we really are a scratch bakery as well as a kitchen, savory borek and simit that make an honest small lunch by themselves.

When nobody at the table wants the same thing

Tables come in split all the time. One person does not eat meat, one wants a full plate, one just wants a good sandwich. We can cover all of it in the same order, from three-cheese borek and mezze to kavurma pilav, manti, and a grilled kofte or shawarma sandwich. We are a scratch bakery and a cafe, but we are also an authentic Turkish restaurant in Issaquah, and days like that are the reason.

Hours and where to find us

We are at 317 NW Gilman Blvd Suite #3, Issaquah, WA 98027, open seven days a week.

• Monday: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
• Tuesday to Thursday: 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM
• Friday and Saturday: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM
• Sunday: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Questions about the menu or a larger order? Call the kitchen at (425) 657-0664. And if lunch turns into a slow afternoon with coffee, that is fine by us. That is more our cafe in Issaquah than a quick lunch.

What I would tell you if you called

Berna's is a Turkish bakery and cafe, and the lunch I cook is as much a part of our day as the bread coming out of the oven. Just look at the lunch menu: kofte, kavurma, shawarma, manti, mezze, soups, and salads, all cooked from scratch. If you want a real Turkish lunch in Issaquah, come by 317 NW Gilman Blvd, or look over the menu first and arrive hungry.

Frequently Asked Questions