An unexpected stop for lunch during a cruise stop in Old San Juan, PR, the Istanbul Restaurant was…read morea combination of Turkish dishes along with dishes native to Puerto Rico. My brother and I tried dishes from both menus, and found it to be quite good.
As we were walking past, a small sign for 'Grandma's Kitchen' caught our eye. My brother had been encouraging me to try Puerto Rico's national dish: Mofongo - mashed fried plantains. Unfortunately, restaurants were just packed with long waits and I wasn't in the mood to wait outside in the sun for a long time. The door next to the sign stated that it was a restaurant called 'Istanbul'. We peaked inside, and was welcomed warmly by a host, who let us know that the restaurant was both Grandma's Kitchen/Istanbul. There was nobody else dining inside, which was weird considering how every other restaurant in the area was packed.
The dishes are made to order, so took a bit of time for it to come out one at a time.
Mixed Seafood Stuffed Mofongo ($25) - served in a wooden pilon, the tall and narrow neck was stuffed with the mashed plantains, topped with a seafood blend of clams, dense fish pieces, octopus, and squid. The sauce was really well done, not too rich, but buttery enough to accentuate the seafood. I have to believe the seafood was prepared from frozen, but it tasted really good: a definite notch up from the seafood I've been having on the cruise boats.
It was the first time having mofongo, and I liked it. This version had fried plantain chips, mixed with the mash of more plantains. I don't think this version had pork skin rinds, and I didn't miss it. It's extremely dense, so ended up eating maybe a third of it while finishing the seafood. It's a solid alternative to rice, though definitely can't eat too much of it.
Doner Kebab ($18) - from the Istanbul portion of the menu, this dish was tasty, though the meat was cooked on a flat top grill like a burger patty, instead of on a vertical rotisserie. The lamb/beef patty was loosely formed and well seasoned, with the accompanying tzatziki sauce being a good add-on.
Both dishes were cooked very well, the back kitchen has some skills. Service was friendly throughout. Water is not offered, but guessing they will give to you if asked. Payment was provided after the meal, and they do stick on a mandatory 15% gratuity for all party sizes.
