Put mantı near the top of your order at Mandolin Aegean Bistro. The small beef-filled dumplings arrive under garlic yogurt, with burnt butter and Aleppo pepper bringing color to the plate. Follow them with grilled beef souvlaki and leave room for pistachio baklava: three dishes that give lunch or dinner a clear direction.
Mandolin brings together the cooking of Greece and Turkey in a restored 1940s house and garden at 4312 NE 2nd Avenue. Co-founders Anastasia Koutsioukis and Ahmet Erkaya opened it in December 2009. The outdoor setting is a substantial part of the reason to plan a meal here, but the dumplings deserve just as much attention as the table.
Start with the dumplings
Mantı with garlic yogurt and burnt butter
The minced-beef filling gives the mantı their center; garlic yogurt covers the small parcels, with butter and pepper around them. Take a spoonful that includes the sauce as well as the dumplings. The combination is the point of the dish.
Choose it when you want a main that puts a filled dough at the center of the meal. It also makes a good partner to souvlaki at a table where people want to exchange a few bites: one plate is sauced and spoonable, while the other is built around skewers and accompaniments.
From the grill
Beef skewers, pita and fries
The beef souvlaki brings grilled meat together with sumac onion salad, charred tomato, house-cut fries and grilled pita. It is the more straightforward choice for someone who wants a grilled main with several things to eat alongside it.
Use the pita with the beef and onions, or work through the components separately. This is a complete plate in its own right, so there is little reason to add another order of fries before seeing what arrives.
For two people, mantı and souvlaki are a sensible pair of mains. Add a meze if you want a starter to share, rather than ordering several more plates just to cover the menu. The Greek sampler, with tzatziki, taramasalata and tirokafteri, gives you three distinct spreads in one order.
Keep dessert in the plan
Finish with pistachio baklava
Pistachio baklava is the dessert to put on this order. Thin pastry layers and chopped pistachios make it a different finish from another creamy course after the yogurt-covered mantı. Share a portion if you want something sweet without beginning a whole second round of ordering.
The combination of dumplings, grilled beef and pastry is enough to make the meal feel complete. There is no need to choose every familiar Greek or Turkish dish in one visit; leave another part of the menu for your return.
Book the garden table
Reserve through Mandolin’s official booking page. Much of the dining is outdoors, so take the weather into account when planning your visit. The location works well with time in the Design District; make lunch the part of the afternoon you sit down for.
For another sharing meal farther north, keep Ararat in Sunny Isles Beach on your list. Save Mandolin in Plateback with mantı, souvlaki and baklava, then add your own photos and the dish you would order again.
