Taking advantage of Alla Turca's 3-course dinner and champagne cocktail deal for £15.95, I visited the restaurant with my partner on a Saturday night.
The restaurant is nicely decorated, with pretty lantern light chandeliers and fairy lights strung at the window.
Included in the meze starter -- the only starter they offer with the deal we got, I believe -- were (small, two-person portions of) falafels, deep fried squid, spanakopitas, grilled halloumi cheese, tzatziki dipping sauce, hummus, some sort of pomegranate salad, and a grilled harvest vegetable-type dip. We also were served a plate of fresh pittas and additional hummus. I enjoyed the grilled halloumi most of all, but the falafels and vegetable medley dip were also very good. The pitas were nice and fresh, and the hummus was really creamy. I didn't enjoy the deep-fried squid (too little squid, too much batter, too much grease), and thought that the dough of the spanakopitas (at least I think that's what they were; they had feta cheese in them and they were made with phyllo dough) were too greasy.
For the main, I ordered the chestnut and mushroom casserole which came with salad and rice. This was the only vegetarian option they had on their tasting menu. While the portions were pretty sizeable, I felt that the casserole was a bit too rich to be able to finish. It tasted very good, but I think I'd have preferred it as a starter over a main. The rice was flavoured with tomato and had pieces of bell peppers in it.
My partner ordered the pan-fried scallops, which came with salsa, asparagus, sausages, potato and watercress. He said that the scallops were pretty good, but pointed out that everything on his plate seemed a little moist -- the small salad that came on his plate, for example, was all soggy, maybe just because the asparagus had been steamed. The presentation of the plate was very nice, though!
For dessert, I ordered the Turkish chocolate and coffee pot, which was decorated with a small amorelli cookie. This was delicious! It reminded me of a harder nutella, without the hazelnut flavour. My partner got the Turkish-style apple tarte with cinnamon and cream, which was also very good.
The champagne cocktails were small, but tasted nice.
Overall, I think the portions here are really large. You do pay for them, though; the menu is not that affordable, at least to a student!
The service is pretty fast, though the waiters don't really go out of their way to be friendly. This didn't bug me, but probably more enthusiasm would have made for a happier atmosphere.
Overall, I wouldn't go out of my way to dine here again. Maybe for the halloumi cheese, falafels or chocolate pot, but I wasn't overly impressed with everything else! read more