ABA Turkish Restaurant

Should You Book ABA Turkish Restaurant?

If you are weighing a Turkish dinner in Midtown against the more obvious Midtown power-dining options, ABA at 325 W 57th St earns its place on the shortlist for a different reason: it delivers a cuisine category that is genuinely underrepresented at this price tier in New York. That said, because the venue database carries no current pricing, hours, or award data for ABA, the practical groundwork below draws on what is publicly knowable about the category and the address rather than fabricated specifics. Book with that transparency in mind.

The Venue

Turkish cooking at a serious restaurant level is rare in New York relative to the cuisine's depth. Where most Turkish options in the city skew toward casual kebab formats or neighborhood spots, a dedicated Turkish restaurant in the W 57th Street corridor signals a different ambition: a room aimed at diners who want the full range of the tradition, from cold meze through to slow-cooked mains, rather than a truncated version of it. The address puts it squarely in Midtown West, walkable from Columbus Circle and convenient for pre- or post-Lincoln Center visits, which shapes the likely crowd and the energy of the room.

On atmosphere: Midtown West dining rooms at this kind of address tend toward composed noise levels rather than the louder, more kinetic energy you get in downtown neighborhoods like the East Village or the Lower East Side. If you are coming for a conversation-friendly dinner, the geography works in your favor. If you want the buzzy downtown-bar-restaurant format, this is probably not your room. For that, you would look elsewhere in the city. Explore our full New York City restaurants guide for alternatives by neighborhood and format.

On sourcing: Turkish cuisine at its leading is ingredient-driven in a specific way. The cuisine's pantry, built around sumac, Urfa pepper, pomegranate molasses, high-quality lamb, and fresh herb-forward preparations, is not interchangeable with generic Mediterranean sourcing. A restaurant serious about the format will source these inputs with some precision. Without current menu data, we cannot confirm whether ABA operates at that level, but it is the right question to ask when you call or check the current menu before booking. The answer will tell you quickly whether this is a kitchen that understands the tradition or one that approximates it.

Who Should Book

ABA makes the most sense for food-oriented diners who want a cuisine format they are unlikely to find at comparable addresses elsewhere in Midtown, and for Lincoln Center evenings where the location is genuinely practical. It is a reasonable choice for groups of two to four who want a full-format dinner rather than a quick pre-show meal. If you are after a tasting-menu format or a Michelin-benchmarked experience, the comparison section below is more relevant to your decision.

Practical Details

Reservations: Booking difficulty is rated Easy, meaning you are unlikely to need more than a few days' lead time for most dates. That said, Lincoln Center performance nights can tighten availability on the W 57th corridor, so booking a week out is sensible if you have a fixed date. Address: 325 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019. Budget: No current pricing data is in our record. Check the current menu online or call ahead before assuming a price tier. Dress: No dress code data available; Midtown West convention runs smart-casual for dinner. Getting There: The A/C/B/D/1 lines at Columbus Circle put you within a short walk. For hotels in the area, see our New York City hotels guide. For pre- or post-dinner bars, our New York City bars guide covers the neighborhood options.

How It Compares

Against the Michelin-benchmarked Midtown and wider New York field, ABA occupies a different tier and a different purpose. Le Bernardin and Per Se are both in the $$$$ bracket with significant booking lead times and tasting-menu commitments. If that format is your goal, they outperform ABA on formal credentialing. Atomix and Eleven Madison Park require planning weeks ahead and carry price points that reflect that demand. Masa sits at the extreme end of the commitment spectrum in both price and advance booking.

ABA's argument against all of them is not quality equivalence — without current data we cannot make that case — but cuisine specificity and accessibility. Turkish cooking is not something the Michelin-heavy Midtown lineup offers. If you have already done the tasting-menu circuit and want a full-format dinner in a cuisine category the city undersupplies at this address tier, ABA fills that gap. For food-oriented travelers comparing wider regional options, venues like Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, or Providence in Los Angeles represent the West Coast equivalent of the serious destination-dinner format. In New York, that conversation runs through the addresses above.

Bottom line on comparison: book ABA if Turkish cuisine is specifically what you want and the Midtown location works for your evening. Book Le Bernardin or Atomix if you are optimising for formal recognition and tasting-format depth and are willing to plan further ahead. For the full picture on where ABA sits in the city's dining options, our New York City restaurants guide is the right starting point. You can also browse New York City wineries and New York City experiences to round out your visit.