Gulluoglu

I was so excited to hear that Gulluoglu, the Turkish baklava bakery, had opened a shop on the upper east side. When traveling in Istanbul this summer, I tried the baklava from their famous location in Karakoy and have been craving the sweet layered pastry ever since.

The Manhattan location had 12 types of baklava available, from standard pistachio to chestnut.


The shop here also offers breakfast and lunch, but I was here to try the baklava.

Gulluoglu Istanbul, August 2009

Gulluoglu Manhattan, November 2009

Happily, the baklava here is just as delicious as in Turkey. It was hard to choose, but I went with the cevizli baklava, with walnuts for an extra nutty flavor; the kestaneli with chestnuts - unusual but very mellow; and the sobiyet - a variation on the original pistachio with cream. A few bites and I felt like I was back in Istanbul.