Walking into the Turkish Kebab House in Kanata, you are immediately welcomed with the smiles from the owners, their families and around two dozen staff who work together to bring you authentic Turkish meats grilled on charcoal.

I must preface my review with a note: unlike some of the other reviewers, I am not very adventurous when it comes to food. I tend to find what I like and order the same things often. Naturally, then, this was my first Eat the Strip experience. And I’m very glad I went.

We walked in on Sunday afternoon to a packed house. Despite arriving well after lunch hour, the place remained busy, a stream of hungry visitors coming by to sample delicacies such as the adana and urfa kebab.

There were families from all walks of life with their kids, parents with babies in strollers and people celebrating birthdays with big balloons and hats with birthday candles. Everyone was welcome.

After getting seated and taking a look at the menu, we ordered a family platter of adana kebab, beef shish kebab, chicken wings, kofte and doner kebab served with bread, bulghur and grilled tomatoes and hot peppers. We also ordered a side of the kashiq salad and eggplant in tomato sauce.

I also ordered a Turkish coffee—any chance to try authentic coffee—which came with Turkish delight. It was delightful. They even brought complimentary bread, spicy ezme and cacik for good measure.

Within minutes all of us were pulling off chunks of tender meat from the platter, which when combined with zing of the fresh vegetables had us reaching for seconds and more and we still took home a third of it all.

My favourite, however, was the beef shish. It was akin to a carnivorous spiritual experience. We also had a good laugh at Ameya’s expense, who—despite his penchant for spicy foods—bit down on what he expected to be a sweet pepper but turned out to be a big chili pepper.

We ended our meal with the sweet and satisfying sutlac, or rice pudding.

The three owners just opened this location around seven months ago, but with nearly 50 years of experience in the industry, there is no question about their quality and ability to bring people together through authentic Turkish food. I think the nazar boncugu—or crystal blue eye charm they have hanging by the kitchen—is doing its job.

I encourage you to grab three of your favourite people and come here for a delicious carnivorous spiritual experience.