I came here with my family on a Wednesday night around 8:30pm for dinner. We did not have a…read morereservation but were able to get a table since the place was not too busy. This is a super cute restaurant with an indoor seating area as well as an outdoor patio area. We opted to sit outside since we wanted a view of the street and wanted to feel the nice breeze. Our waiter was very nice and helped explain a few things in the menu. He was very appreciative of the few words we know in Turkish but thankfully was fluent in English. He helped explain several dishes on the menu and had great suggestions on what to order. We tried:
- Freshly baked bread: for our starter course they brought out this delicious flat bread that was freshly baked. The texture was soft and airy with the right amount of doughiness. Not sure why, but the bread in Turkey just tastes so much better intrinsically--I honestly could have eaten 3 of these.
- Aubergine: tangy and refreshing dip with eggplant and spices. Imagine baba ganoush but without tahini, meaning you get to experience the smokiness of the eggplant without creaminess or nuttiness. It's a very interesting flavor which I am not sure I like better than baba ganoush or its counterpart with tomato sauce. Probably my least favorite dish of the night but still very good with the bread. On the lighter side.
- Hummus: delicious! Very nutty, not as citrus and pretty well spiced. A little bit more on the watery side but still chunky enough to satisfy my cravings for thicker hummus. I really loved the texture! It might be my favorite hummus of this style that I've had. It had a very earthy flavor and complimented the bread flavor really well.
- Greek salad: generous portion! Came with fresh lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and a fresh cheese with a mildly earthy flavor that was a little bit creamier and less crumbly/salty that feta (reminds me of kashkaval). The produce was evidently very fresh and the flavors were well balanced. Really nice salad to compliment your meal.
- Cheese pide: again, bread here is just delicious. Amazing doughy consistency, soft, with a nice layer of cheese. Essentially the best sauce-less cheese slice I've ever had. Great to split!
- Iskender kebab: this was my first time trying Iskender in my life so I am not sure how great my gauge is on this one but it was fantastic!!! Wow.... I do not understand how people can eat döner when you can have Iskender. Super tender, juicy, thinly sliced beef, with a little spicy tomato sauce paired with a decadent creamy yogurt that was cooling and balanced out the dish well. All of this was served over some pieces of pita which soak up all the sauce, fats of the meat, and creamy yogurt. The spices are also so subtly complex, they were divine. One of my favorite bites in Turkey so far!
- Grilled sea bass: this was the priciest dish but the size was so large it can easily feed 3 people. This was evidently freshly caught from the Bosporus since it was super tender and fresh tasting. The seasoning was perfect! The filets were grilled to perfection as well and had nice crispy skins and tender meat. This also came with rice, fries, and some vegetables.
We then got complimentary tea and baklava which were warming and delicious. Overall, I thought the food was very amazing and the portion sizes were generous. Coming from the US the prices seemed fair for what you get! Would definitely recommend for a tourist friendly place. Probably the best meal in the Sultanahmet area so far.