Restaurant: Gio
Location: Türkmen, Double TREE Hilton, Atatürk Blv. No:5, 09400 Kuşadası/Aydın, Türkiye. +90 530 957 77 57
Date: June 19, 2023
Cuisine: Modern Turkish
Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good
On our first night in Kuşadası, within “striking range” of Ephesus, Aphrodisias and more we ate at the gorgeous rooftop restaurant atop the Hilton. P.s. it should be noted that the Aegean was named after Theseus’ father Aegeus.
Gio Rooftop Restaurant offers not only a splendid view of the Aegean but a hybrid of the fish and meat restaurant types with a bit of internationalism. Yes, they have the mezzes, but they aren’t displayed in hotel pans by the entrance and they have a more international style of appetizers and entrees.
The menu.
Bread — this is Turkey after all.
Muhammara. Pretty, with a bit of fresh cheese and olives. A touch dry and medium spicy.
Basically the local white wine choices are Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. There are some local grapes but they are hard to find.
Haloumi Cheese wrapped in Grape Leaves with Yogurt.
Yoghurt with Spicy Oil. This was actually REALLY spicy, much to my (pleased) surprise. Seriously hot actually.
Feta and Walnuts in olive oil with basil. Quite delicious with a bit of a pesto-like tone.
Spicy Feta with Tomatoes. Not particularly spicy but nice.
Green beans and Tomatoes. This is a classic.
Marinated Artichoke with peas, carrots, and potatoes. Very yummy.
Fried Calamari. Quite excellent seafood fry. The sauce was more or less like a yogurt version of tartar sauce.
Shrimp with Chili Peppers and Garlic Butter. Very tender shrimp and more or less like “gambas pil pil.”
Marinated Red Beet Carpaccio. Mediterranean Greens, Cottage Cheese (they mean literally, not UK/US style), walnuts and balsamic vinegar.
Penne with Red Sauce.
Porcini Mushroom Risotto with cream and Parmesan cheese. A bit heavy as I don’t think the rice was propper Italian short grain rice.
Grilles Sea Bass. Fresh potatoes and baby vegetables. We wish we had them filet it.
Some mixed seafood including octopus and more calimari.
Slow-Cooked Duck. Phyllo, hoisin sauce and plum sauce. Sort of a Turkish take on Peking Duck, The meat itself was a little closer to braised, but was marinated in a hoisinlike sauce and very sweet and tender. Real hoisin strips adorned the plates. Overall very enjoyable with and without pancakes.
The pancakes were Turkish-style lavash — but they worked.
The D menu.
Chocolate Dome Cake. Inside was a dense mouse with a biscuit layer underneath and a very strong raspberry-jelly-like sauce.
I’m normally a little wary of hotel restaurants in the United States as they tend to be corporate and generally awful, but abroad they can be a bit more modern and vibrant. This one was a lot of fun and quite delicious.