Behind the curated cocktails, elegant plates, and warm lighting of Mira Mediterranean & Hookah Lounge lies something much deeper than hospitality — a heartbeat. Located at 206 E 34th Street in the heart of Manhattan, Mira is the latest creation from renowned restaurateur and humanitarian Hakkı Akdeniz. But unlike most new dining ventures, this one wasn’t born purely out of business ambition — it was built with soul, culture, and community at its core.
For Akdeniz, whose story has inspired people around the world — from sleeping on the streets of New York to becoming a multi-location entrepreneur — Mira is the next chapter of a mission he’s never abandoned: to give people a place where they feel seen, safe, and valued. From the outside, it might look like an upscale Mediterranean restaurant and hookah lounge. But for Hakkı, it’s a message written in flavors, music, and kindness: “You matter. You belong here.”
The culture of Mira is deeply personal. It draws from Hakkı’s Kurdish-Turkish roots, where food was never just food — it was memory, love, and connection. From childhood meals shared among 17 siblings in a tiny village, to years of hardship in NYC shelters, he learned early that a warm meal and a warm welcome can change someone’s life. That’s why Mira isn’t just a place to dine — it’s a space designed to offer comfort, elevate mood, and bring people together in meaningful ways.
The restaurant’s ambiance, menu, and lounge experience all reflect this layered intention. Guests come for the grilled octopus, the signature Mira Honey cocktail, the flawless hookah — but they leave remembering how they felt. It’s not by accident. Every element, from the way servers greet guests to the music selection after 10pm, is curated to foster connection — between people, between cultures, and even within oneself.
And Mira doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It stands in the same neighborhood where Hakkı once handed out free slices of Champion Pizza to the homeless, often on the very streets he used to sleep on. While Mira may cater to a more refined audience, the values behind it are unchanged: compassion, humility, and the drive to uplift others through experience. That’s why Akdeniz continues to organize food donations, support shelters, and remind his team that every guest deserves kindness — whether they’re ordering a $12 dip or a full-course meal.
In the future, Akdeniz plans to deepen Mira’s community involvement even further — through hosting charity events, youth mentorship dinners, and cultural nights that celebrate the diverse identities of New York. “Mira isn’t just about serving,” he says. “It’s about giving back through beauty, through quality, and through genuine human care.”
For a city that moves fast and often forgets to look inward, Mira is a powerful pause. It’s where tradition meets modernity, where luxury meets humility, and where every dish tells two stories — one of origin, and one of arrival.
So when you visit Mira, you’re not just stepping into a restaurant. You’re stepping into a living philosophy — that no matter where you come from, you deserve excellence, connection, and joy. That’s what Hakkı Akdeniz built Mira for. That’s why it exists. And that’s why it’s already becoming not just a local hotspot, but a cultural landmark in the making.