An antiques store with a license to pour, this’’cozy’’new West Village wine bar is stocked with cash-and-carry tchotchkes that double as decor ; with vinos “from all over the world” , “Turkish appetizers” and a “warm”staff , it’s an “undiscovered” pad in the neighborhood pond and partisans plead”don’t let the secret out!”
Turks & Frogs Forget about tchotchkes. They may be cute and decorative, but the truth is, nobody comes here looking for Wedgwood compot dishes. Though antiques are part of the concept, this adorable little spot,
complete with white-trim wainscoting and antique mirrors, serves an even more enticing selection of wines by the glass—over 30 reds and an equal number of whites—with prices falling between $8 to $12 apiece. Step past the candlelit bar and plop yourself down on the lush upholstery for a foray into oenology. Add a little Middle Eastern snack and you’re set for the night. The wine list includes highly desirable appellations from all corners of the grape-ridden globe; a separate but equally impressive selection is poured by the bottle. See, sometimes frogs really do turn out to be princes.
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Finally... Turks & Frogs
Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison? Young Turks. Turkish Delight. Talikin' Turkey? . . .
The wordplay is endless, and I have only tackled the first word. So, I shall gather my composure and restrain myself from further punning.
Time to focus!
Earlier in the week, I finally paid a visit to Turks & Frogs. The visit has been delayed so long that the much bally-hooed destination is actually two destinations, the West Village original 325 W. 11th btw. Hudson and Joe Dimaggio Freeway) and a Tribeca satellite (458Greenwich btw. Watts and Desbrosses.)
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Turks & Frogs Reviews
On a dark, sleepy block of West 11th Street, just past the mile-long line to get into the Spotted Pig for April�s Gnudi, you'll spy a glass storefront with a red sign hanging above, reading .Turks and Frogs, Wine Bar and Antiques. When you walk by, you'll stop. You won't be able to resist going inside, even if just to figure out exactly how they are selling furniture along with wine and hummus. Once inside, though, you're not going to leave anytime soon. Along the same lines as Bellavitae, Turks and Frogs is a place that not only beckons.its appeal is magnetic.Turks and Frogs is the creation of brothers Osman and Orhan Cakir, a pair of sweet and super handsome guys who started this shop as a furniture story and decided to combine it with their love of wine. What results is a sultry den of vino, mezze, and furniture?a combination that works well for a date, a night out with friends, or just a glass by yourself at the bar. (There is an international selection of red and white wines with a few from Turkey that have some spirit.) link:Click Here
Tables for Two Brother acts are winsome but notoriously volatile—for every genial Wilson, there’s a whiny Gallagher or a warring Teitelbaum. So, when the Çakir boys set to work on Turks & Frogs Tribeca, the restaurant version of their popular West Village wine bar and antique shop, they took care to preserve the division of labor that has served them so well a few blocks north. Orhan does the food. Osman does the furniture. (The grub is Turkish; the fittings are mostly French. Both are for sale.) A cobalt glass nazar boncuk dangles above the cash register, insuring continued prosperity for all.Judging from the ratio of BlackBerry checks to smoke breaks, the crowd is more American than Euro, but whatever rivalries exist are strictly within the Turks & Frogs family. “They don’t do this at your place, do they?” a bartender at the Tribeca branch recently said to a West Village regular, before tossing a bottle of Chenin Blanc into the air, like a club.
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Message from Turks & Frogs Romantic Wine Bar. Perfect for Dates.
Great West Village Location
Charming, Perfect Date Spot
Turkish Wine, Food Specialties
Turkish Delight! The charming West Village antique shop Turks & Frogs has just morphed into an even more charming wine bar. The inevitable Meatpackingization of the neighborhood? Maybe. But there will be no velvet ropes here. As it turns out, owner Osman Cakir always wanted to run a bar. So he recruited little brother Orhan, a veteran of Savann and Pasha, and got a liquor license. They're now serving more than 50 wines from around the world, including Turkey, and snacks like fruit and cheese plates, olives, and pastrima (Turkish pastrami) - and whatever else they feel like whipping up. (It's all very welcome-to-my-parlor here.) The space is split into two rooms: bar and tables up front; sitting room with bookshelves and backgammon boards in the back. Good luck getting dibs on the leather sofa. --Daily Candy's Best of 2004 Link:Click Here
Gentle readers, this is the kind of story we hate to write. It happens, on occasion, that we make a discovery so special we want to keep it for ourselves. So we wait, savoring our find. Then cooler heads (i.e., bigger mouths) prevail, and we spill. Our loss? Your gain. The charming West Village antique shop Turks & Frogs has just morphed into an even more charming wine bar. The inevitable Meatpackingization of the neighborhood? Maybe. But there will be no velvet ropes here. As it turns out, owner Osman Cakir always wanted to run a bar. So he recruited little brother Orhan, a veteran of Savann and Pasha, and got a liquor license. They’re now serving more than 50 wines from around the world, including Turkey, and snacks like fruit and cheese plates, olives, and pastrima (Turkish pastrami) — and whatever else they feel like whipping up. (It’s all very welcome-to-my-parlor here.) The space is split into two rooms: bar and tables up front; sitting room with bookshelves and backgammon boards in the back. Good luck getting dibs on the leather sofa.
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Owner Osman Cakir operated this antiques shop for three years before deciding it could serve triple duty as a wine bar and restaurant as well. In addition to the Turkish and French pottery, visitors will find 80 wines (including some from Cakir’s native Turkey) and a small menu of Mediterranean foods. He’s also managed to pack an antique couch, a small bar and a few tables into this 800-square-foot space.
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CURRENTS: RETAIL; Out of Turkey, Lanterns And Pots of an Antique Cast
By ELAINE LOUIE
Published July 3,2003
Osman Cakir is operate Turks and Frogs, top, a New York shop that sells 18th- and 19th-century Turkish olive oil pots and reproductions of antique Ottoman copper and canvas lanterns. A former fashion executive in Istanbul, Mr. Cakir has a collection of 2,000 pots and lanterns. Ceramic pots range in size from 8 to 10 inches (above, $40 to $65) to 4 to 5 feet high ($500 to $2,500). Lanterns are 12 to 25 inches and sell for $45 to $450. The shop is at 323 West 11th Street; (212) 691-8875.
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