So we were booked at the Kydonia. Nice place, they said, fine view, excellent meze and seafood…read more Great, I thought. And then I read what the first review here had to say about the place, and I was a bit worried. Small plates, high prices, that didn't sound all too good.
Well, I don't know which Kydonia they went to, but I was at a great one. People were clearly having a good time when I arrived - you can easily measure that with the noise level in the place. You might need a few minutes to adjust to it, but that's how it is around here. Good place, good conversation.
First thing we ordered was a bottle of Rakı. Of course. And then it was off to the Meze counter, picking the dishes. And there we were, looking at a few dozen selections, one looking tastier than the other. Magnificent. I have been living in this city for almost one and a half years, but the endless varieties of meze keep amazing me. I have tried a lot now, but more than half of the dishes I saw at Kydonia were completely new to me. So we chose a few of the previously unknown ones.
What a delight... It's not really easy to describe the dishes, but I will do my best. A fava bean puree, topped with thin half rings of red onion and spices. Very fine. Yoghurt with cucumbers and chilies, the mild variety, and great on the freshly toasted bread they keep bringing to the table. Mildly seasoned seaweed that had a really fine flavor - so fine that you weren't sure whether that's the pure taste of the seaweed or some sort of perfect dressing. I presume it's the latter. And my personal favorite, a cream of four cheeses, so delicious that I almost ate half of the plate, again applying it lavishly to the warm bread and wondering how they prepare this delight.
Really. You can have excellent meze in a hundred places in Istanbul, but these were clearly the best I have had yet. And the salad was great too. Nothing unnecessarily fancy - on the contrary. They place a large bowl in the middle of the table, with big chunks of fresh tomatos, large slices of feta cheese, thick cucumber slices, and equally opulent slices of red onion, all topped with a really tasty dark dressing - you just mix it all up, dig in, and smile.
And that's when we started thinking. Are we going to order fish for the main course? Or should we just let them bring on more of these magnificent dishes? Not easy, really. But we found a nice solution - let them bring some hot meze plates, with some seafood selections.
The amazement continued. First we had eggplant, stuffed and gratinated. I admit, I have not been a great eggplant fan before I came to Istanbul. I was already cured by the time we had this dish yesterday, but now I am in danger of turning into a fan. This was absolutely delicious. Perfectly cooked, hot and juicy and soft on the inside, nice and crunchy on top, gratinated just the way it should be. Loved it.
Pulpo next, thin slices of octopus, lightly fried and wonderfully spiced, a fine dish as well. But not even close to the inexplicably tasty fried octopus fingers that they served us. I had to ask how they do this, but they just gave a very vague answer, talking about a little vinegar and some spices. Well, I can understand that they wouldn't want to tell me. I'm supposed to come back. And I will - even if only to taste that octopus again. It's hard to describe. I am sure it was slightly battered on one side, and the taste was really surprising - almost like an intensely tasty breakfast bacon, only that you had this great octopus meat with it...
We had a great time. We clearly contributed to the noise level, happily telling each other how delicious the food is, and talking about our project, tossing ideas back and forth, sipping Rakı, a little more than planned, but we had a really really great evening.
The dishes too small? You bet. The way this food is tasting, they couldn't be big enough! But I really can't complain. I definitely wasn't hungry when I left Kydonia, and I will be sure to be VERY hungry the next time I go there.
