Rochester, MN is known for many things but Turkish cuisine isn’t one of them. A new restaurant called Lumi seeks to rectify that. The restaurant serves a variety of food from burgers with an international twist to traditional Turkish cuisine such as the dessert baklava, made with layers of filo dough, butter, honey, and nuts.
The Lumi in Rochester isn’t the first of its kind. The original restaurant was first opened in Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. Since its opening at the beginning of 2024, Lumi has seen tremendous success, gaining a cult following due to its unique and delicious food. The creator and owner of Lumi, Seckin Gongordu, saw an opportunity to open another restaurant in Rochester when Dooley’s Pub shut down and the space was open for a lease.
That brings us to November 8, 2024, when Lumi opened for Business in Rochester, specifically, downtown at 255 1st Ave SW. Just like in Minneapolis, this location of Lumi has developed quite a following since opening, gaining a reputation for being a classy place to get dinner with family, friends, or a date.
Customers entering Lumi are immediately embraced by a warm, graceful atmosphere. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with gorgeous paintings and wonderful ambient lighting. The entire restaurant exudes elegance with noticeable thought put into the position of all seating options and the entire restaurant’s layout.
My family and I went at 1:00 pm, which was two hours after they had opened, so they weren’t very busy. We were seated on the right side of the restaurant, and while looking over the menu we were brought complimentary puff bread on a wooden skillet with a spicy tomato spread. Both tasted very good.
While ordering we decided to get an appetizer of crispy calamari which was $16.95. It came out quickly and tasted wonderful. Soon after we received our food, I got a chicken shish kebab for $23.95, while my parents shared a Lumi special kebab for $29.95.
The food was hot and delicious with large portions, so there was enough to bring home. Our waiter stopped by multiple times to see if we needed anything, and everyone was kind and attentive during our entire visit. The food was on the expensive side, its prices being similar to those of restaurants like Crave or Five West; however, you get what you pay for: I think it’s well worth it.
Near the end of our meal our waiter served us complimentary Turkish tea. It was piping hot when it first came out, so we waited to drink it while we ate our food. The tea was tasty and unlike tea I’ve had in the U.S. Finally we got the check and in total our meal was around $78 before a tip.
Overall the food and atmosphere of Lumi is amazing. I enjoyed the chicken kebab very much, and the Lumi special kebab was also really good. I would recommend anyone going to try to get something from the traditional Turkish part of the menu. The workers were all friendly to us, and it was easy to relax and enjoy a meal. The complimentary puff bread and tea was a very nice touch.
As previously noted, I would put this restaurant in the same league as places like Crave, Five West, and Latitude 44. I rate Lumi a 4.5 out of 5 experience. Everything was amazing from the food to the atmosphere to the people. If you’re looking for a nice place to eat, don’t look any further than Lumi, and enjoy their traditional Turkish food.
Photos by Caleb Winkel
