Pasha is tucked away on West 71st Street and is about three or four buildings east of Columbus Avenue. Our table wasn't ready when we arrived, causing us to spend about fifteen minutes at the cozy red-walled bar where I enjoyed an enormous glass of wine.
The main dining room was not quite as cozy as the bar area, but still richly colored with shades of deep red. We started by sharing three appetizers: mucver (oven-baked zucchini and dill pancakes with homemade yogurt); igara boregi (pan fried phyllo cigars filled with feta, parsley, and dill); and manti (tiny steamed lamb and mint dumplings served in a bowl of garlic yogurt sauce). I liked all of them, but the lamb dumplings were glorious - so little (possibly made by Turkish elves), so tender, and so tasty!
I could have just had those appetizers for dinner. But when my tavuk gogsu sarmasi (chicken breast stuffed with rice, pistachios, and currants served with spinach in a tarragon white wine sauce), it was too delicious to resist. Judd, a dedicated vegetarian, ordered yogurtlu kebab (sliced grilled lamb with pita, yogurt, and tomato). I liked that too, but as a general rule, don't love lamb, so was happy with my chicken.
We shared some baklava for dessert (is that really Turkish?) and agreed that Pasha is our new favorite place. Even the couple breaking up at the table next to ours couldn't dampen our enthusiasm. After only one visit, I am ready to declare Pasha a neighborhood standout. I'm so excited to have this little gem of a place only five blocks away! And it was reasonably priced to boot - most entrees were less than $20 each.
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Details:
Pasha
70 West 71st Street (between Columbus and Central Park West)
New York, New York
(212) 579-8751
Dinner for two: ~$110.
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