Boy, was it a cold day. Almost end of March, and we arrive on a day with freezing temperatures and snowfalls... The season hadn't really started yet, and our hotel wasn't offering any dinner. But they had a recommendation for us - just a short walk down from the hotel, the Sofra. Authentic food, great cook, small place, nice owner. Sounded good enough to try.
So we went. And it's fair to say that the assessment of the guys at the hotel was a clear understatement. First of all, there's Volkan, the owner. An immensely nice person, in the best of ways. He is a true host, glad to explain every single item on the menu in almost perfect English, and with the help of a little picture book that shows images of every dish that he offers.
Trust his recommendations. Part of the menu is what you would expect - all kinds of grilled meats. Volkan said - to be honest, you can get these kinds of dishes everywhere in Turkey, and they are tasty, but I would recommend to try the local dishes - pointing at the second part of the main dishes sections, the specialties. He is right - in 15 months of living in Istanbul, I haven't seen these dishes on a menu before.
Volkan recommended to go for a meat dish with spices and cheese, fresh from the oven, sizzling and really really tasty... I forgot to remember the name, but if you describe it like this he will know what you mean. Absolutely delicious. As were the meze we had before. Haydari - perfect. Mantı - couldn't be better.
But the absolute highlight was the Ezme. You get a different kind of Ezme in different parts of the country, but this was by far the best I have had. Really simple, actually. Tomatos, onions, pul biber (red pepper flakes), lemon - the result was far less of a paste kind of Ezme as you will get it normally, but something that you would both fork up and sponge away with pieces of bread. We could have ordered three of those plates. Delicious.
Originally we had wanted to try to eat at the hotel the next day - the owners had said that if people tell them in the morning, it could be arranged. Well - we didn't. We went right back to the Sofra for more local food and more of Volkan's wonderful hospitality. We walked in on that second evening - and already felt like regulars. And after a very long day with a balloon ride and excursions, we were happy to sit down, listen to him explain his next recommendation, and enjoy the great food.
We chose the same starters as before, and went for a Cappadocian lamb stew as a main course. Again, absolutely delicious, with just a bit of rice to accompany it - it doesn't need more. It was just the perfect dish to end a beautiful and sunny day in Cappadocia.
We still had another night left in Ürgüp - and yes, we returned yet again. Not even thinking about it, I told Volkan on the second evening that there are still a lot of local dishes to try, and that there would be a good chance of meeting again on that third evening.
We went, we sat down, wondered what to choose for starters that day - and then Volkan said: You said that you like Hummus so much, and that you were missing it on the menu, so our chef prepared some for you tonight, with some fried Pastirma on top. We were speechless. Of course we ordered that, along with some more Ezme and a bowl of Cacik. Fantastic. Big grins in the direction of the open kitchen where the chef and his assistant were watching if we liked the hummus. We did. You can taste it if the hummus is hand made or not. This was, clearly.
When it was time to order the main course, we said that we wanted to go for two different ones on our last night, choosing a local spicy chicken dish - delicious of course - and... that was the problem... we wanted to eat the traditional pottery stew, which was offered for two persons. But Volkan said no no, no problem, I also have one for you in a smaller size, so you can have it as a second main course.
To be honest, I didn't know what this special pottery stew was. Luckily - it was so much more of an experience. Volkan came over to the table with a small serving table, and handed me one of the biggest kitchen knives ever, actually a small hatchet, and left me wondering. Then he came over with a closed pot, in the shape of a vase. And then he told me to whack at it with the back side of the blade, up where the neck of the pottery vase was.
Two small blows later, the lid was off, and Volkan let us smell the stew that was waiting inside. A dark, intense beef stew, it smelled just as great as it tasted afterwards. Again, a little rice to accompany it, but that's all you need. Magnificent.
Three evenings at Sofra, every single one of them special. Really tasty food, a wonderful host, and a cook that really knows how to please a tourist that is looking for more than the typical mixed grill with fries. This is a very special place. I wish I could just teleport it over to Istanbul, exactly the way it is.
If you go, please say merhaba to Volkan from me! read more