Turkish cusine :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for Turkish cusine

Eating Dalaman – Alize

May13

Restaurant: Alize

Location: Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa. Sarıgerme, Tourism Center, 48610 Ortaca/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 28, 2023

Cuisine: Vaguely Italian restaurant

Rating: Great Hotel restaurant

Alize is the Italian restaurant at the Hilton. Over in the main part of the complex they have the big buffet restaurant, Sarigeme and a number of more specific cuisines.The format at the non-buffet restaurants is a bit more gentile. There is a very small “supplemental” charge (beyond the baseline all-inclusive rate), and you order off the menu instead, but they are also AYCE. So they have a format a bit like a cruise ship where you could just keep ordering stuff. In practice, you would become quickly full.

The menu.

Lovely patio.

Bread.

Amuse plate.

Another amuse of bruschetta, Turkish style. No pork, of course.

Buratta Cheese. Truffle, Warm Tomato Pestil.

Summer Breeze Salad. Stracciatella Cheese, Peach, Strawberry, Colourful Baby Tomatoes Basil and Pomegranate Seeds with Olive Oil Vinaigrette.

Caesar Salad. Shaved Parmesan Cheese, Caesar Dressing and Focaccia Croutons.

Pumpkin Ravioli. Sage, Pumpkin, Cream, Parmesan Cheese and Roasted Peanuts. Very cheesy! Couldn’t really taste the pumpkin, but I liked the goopy sauce so it was nice.

Pomegranite sorbet.

Plain pasta.

French fries.

Pan Seared John Dory. Potato Gnocchi, Spinach, Marjoram and Porcini Mushroom Ragout.

Mushroom Risotto. Porcini Mushrooms, Heavy Cream and Parmesan Cheese.

Osso Buco alla Milanese. Milanese Style Osso Bucco with Saffron Risotto. Not bad, although the risotto wasn’t perfect and was perhaps undersalted.

Tea.

Chocolate ice cream.

Tiramisu. Baileys Syrup and Tiramisu Cream, Lady Fingers, with Coffee and Cantucci Biscuits.

Crème Brûlée. Thyme and Basil, Milk, Cream, and French Merengue.

Alize was a substantial cut above the dinner buffet. And to start with, the buffet food was actually quite good, with tons of options, but a have my particular “beef” with the buffet forma. It’s not about food quality or taste, but about the pacing of the meal. They are great for breakfast, but particularly on a vacation, buffets aren’t very fun for dinner. The pacing is way too fast — after a quick trip you are stuffed — and half the time half your table is up and away so any attempts are conversation are foiled. Everyone seems to be on their own pacing.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Alize, Eating Dalaman, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Göcek – Güverte

May11

Restaurant: Güverte

Location: Göcek, Turgut Özal Cd. No:13, 48310 Fethiye/Muğla, Türkiye. +90 530 626 17 25

Date: June 27, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish Fish restaurant

Rating: Cats!

This was a recommended fish restaurant in Göcek Turkey.

Outside patio by the water of course. It was “plagued” by kittens.

Yacht club view.

Usual giant cabinet of mezze.

Olives.

Yogurt with tomatoes and eggplant.

This yogurt had tahini in it. I’m not as big a fan of it that way. It can be hard to tell all the yogurt platters apart by visual inspection.

Marinated anchovies are always great.

Artichokes.

Eggplant baked with shrimp and seafood with cheese. Quite good, if slightly over baked. A kitchen may have shared this dish with me.

Red Snapper. Meatier than the usual sea bass.

Fish restaurants have a very “tried and true” formula — and they really sort of get you on the price of the fish.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Dalaman, Eating Göcek, Eating Türkiye, fish, Turkish cusine

Eating Dalaman – Sarigeme

May09

Restaurant: Sarigeme

Location: Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa. Sarıgerme, Tourism Center, 48610 Ortaca/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 26-30, 2023

Cuisine: Giant buffet

Rating: Bigger than a Vegas buffet!

Sarigeme is the massive full service 3 meals a day buffet at the Hilton Dalaman — and the go to spot for breakfast.

Breads.

Pastries.

Savory pastries.

Gluten free.

Sandwich station.

Cheese.

Cold cuts and fish.

Fried donut like things and accompaniments.

Fries and other fried pastries.

Honeycomb station.

Olives.

Salads and mezze.

Beans, mushrooms, tomatoes etc. Aka hot breakfast veggies.

Salad greens.

Yogurts.

Toppings, perhaps for yogurt.

Even more toppings. The Turks sure have a sweet tooth.

Cereals.

Oatmeal and other similar hot cereals.

Omelet station.

Eggs.

More eggs.

Egg’s Benedict station.

Compared to everything else, the meats were scarce.

Chicken nuggets (presumably for kids).

Fruit.

Dried and canned fruit.

The desserts and pastries were epic. I didn’t photo all of them.

Some desserts. I missed photoing many of the desserts.

Turkish delights.

This was a vast buffet and certainly had about 20 somethings for everyone. Quality was medium high and it was very strong in the carbohydrate department. Given its size it was extremely well run and efficient with constrant replenishment.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Breakfast, Eating Dalaman, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Dalaman – Vela

May07

Restaurant: Vela

Location: Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa. Sarıgerme, Tourism Center, 48610 Ortaca/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 25, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish Fish restaurant

Rating: Great Hotel restaurant

On the final phase of our Türkiye trip we stayed at the Dalaman Hilton Resort, which is owned by friends of ours.

It’s is a true gem nestled in the heart of Turkey’s breathtaking landscape. With its luxurious accommodations offering panoramic views of the majestic mountains and the serene Aegean Sea, it’s a paradise for those seeking relaxation and adventure alike. Its close proximity to some of the most stunning beaches in the region adds to its allure. The resort’s world-class amenities, coupled with the vibrant local culture and cuisine, make it a perfect getaway for creating unforgettable memories. It truly encapsulates the magic and beauty of Turkey.

On our first night at Dalaman we went to a big group dinner with our friends at the hotel’s fish restaurant, Vela. This is an updated take on the familiar — if you’ve been reading these posts — “fish restaurant formula.”

Bread.

Humus, yogurt. starting out a monster wave of mezze.

Artichoke.

Yogurt with tomatoes, peppers, and onions.

Sea Bass. Avocado and Salsa, Mustard, Truffle Oil, Lemon and Basil.

Marinated Shrimp and Roasted Aubergine. Strained Yogurt with Tomato and Tapenade.

This was some kind of unusual “meat.” I can’t remember what, but it was good.

Fried Calamari.

Shepard’s Salad. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Walnuts.

Greek Salad. Tomato, Ezine White Cheese, Red Onion with Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

Aegean Style Shrimp Casserole. Mushrooms, Tomato and Peppers.

Grilled Rock Bass. Arugula Leaves, Roasted Potatoes, Capers and Lemon Dressing.

Fruit.

Birthday cake.

This largely thick whipped cream icing cake was pretty delicious, actually. I do like whipped cream. It was super light and refreshing.

Tea.

Cucumbers with lime. Interesting finish — but actually worked very well.

Very solid update take on the classic fish restaurant — and our massive group had a blast.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dalaman, Eating Dalaman, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine, Vela

Eating Bodrum – Maçakizi

May05

Restaurant: Maçakizi

Location: Göltürkbükü, Narçiçeği Sokak, 48400 Göltürkbükü Bodrum/Bodrum/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 24, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

Macakizi is another top rated hotel resteraunt. We picked it because of the Turkish inspired modernist menu — I can have international anywhere.

Gorgeous view. The party below at the bar was really hoping, including the pounding EDM.

The menu. Unfortunately again I can’t do the tasting menu because it’s a whole table sort of thing.

Wine of the night.

Macakizi culinary garden salad. tomato, fennel, squash, fresh herbs.

Cheese pizza-like bread.

Sea bass Crudo. Compressed melon, buckwheat, yuzu vinaigrette, radish sprouts. very nice light acidic salty sea bass crudo. The cubed melon leant some nice texture and a hint of sweetness.

Calamarata Pasta Cacio e Peppe with Blue Crab Meat. Crushed black peppercorns, parmesan, butter. Interesting combo which was effective. I might have liked the emulsion of the sauce a touch thicker, but the pasta was perfectly al dente and the pepper butter paired perfectly with the crab.

Summer Tomato Risotto. Stracciatella, basil butter. Very nice “tomato sauce” flavored rissoto. Proper mancurata and starchy emulsion on the rice.

Fire roasted sea bass. Wild greens, miso & smoked aubergine broth.

Aged day boat Grouper. Morel mushroom, roasted chicken jus. The broth was a touch thin, so it didn’t cling to the firm meat like I might have liked. But overall pretty good.

The dessert menu.

Pavlova / Strawberry Compte / Buffalo Milk Yogurt Ice Cream / Yogurt Foam. The best of the 3 desserts and a quite lovely mix of sugary merignue and fruit.

Creme Brulee / White Chocolate & Walnut Cake. Sort of halfway between a pastry and creme brulee, but very tasty.

Pistachio & Dark Chocolate Bar / Bodrum Clementine Sorbet. The weakest of the 3 desserts, but still very nice. Good mix of soft and crunchy texture with the dark chocolate, pistachio, and orange tones very effective together.

Overall, a great place. Atmosphere was lovely and the food was in the top 3 or so meals we’ve had in Turkey so far. One of us rated it their favorite, the next their second favorite. I think the desserts were the best we’ve had for sure. Apps and pastas were a bit stronger than the fish mains.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Maçakizi, Turkish cusine

Eating Bodrum – Sofra

May03

Restaurant: Sofra

Location: Mandarin Oriental. Gölköy Mahallesi, 314 Sokak No.10, 48483 Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 24-25, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

Sofra is the Mararin Oriental Bodrum breakfast buffet — it’s pretty epic!

The view.

Breads.

More breads.

Pastries — they love pastries.

Bready pastries.

Donuts!

Pide.

Honeycomb.

Zoom!

Jams. Turks love sugar too.

Not sure what these spices go on.

Cheeses.

Butters, etc.

Meats.

Quesadilla-like things.

They are made here on the fly.

Fried filled things.

Fruits.

Nuts.

Milks.

Cereal.

Olives. They actually have few mezze here — which is an odd ommision.

Salads.

Greens.

Cured fish.

Lemon & lime.

dumplings!

They weren’t that great.

Vegetarian dumplings.

Miso soup.

Omelet fillings.

Haloumi cheese.

Veggies.

Snausages.

Mushrooms.

Different Snausages.

Potatoes.

Coffee.

Gluten free bread – sad.

Supposed ketogenic GF pastries — but they actually use date syrup and maple syrup so they are fully sugared.

Juices.

Yogurts.

Scrambled eggs.

Omelet.

Turkish Eggs!

Pancakes.

Pretty awesome buffet breakfast.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Sofra, Turkish cusine

Eating Bodrum – Kitchen Bodrum

Apr30

Restaurant: Kitchen Bodrum

Location: Dirmil, Balyek Cd. No 5A, 48400 Bodrum/Muğla, Türkiye. +90 252 311 31 35

Date: June 23, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Great. One of the best meals of the trip (1 star)

Kitchen Bodrum is located in The Edition hotel.

The wine cellar.

As usual, the inside is empty.

Later the patio was full.

The view doesn’t suck.

I like this grape.

Great bread and awesome soft parsley butter.

Other type of bread.

Hummus, Wild mushroom, crispy onion, organic paprika butter, poppy seeds.

Black Mussel, Rice with Mussel, Goat Cheese. Delicious, particularly the cheese sauce (the white stuff). This is a play on the Turkish street food (stuffef mussels).

Goat Cheese Manti. Carameliaed Pear Sauce, Green Apple. These were incredible. Great al dente fresh paste texture and sweet brown butter type sauce.

Salmon Confit, Sorrel, Potato, Lemon Cream. My wife loved this.

Lamb Shank, Porcini Mushroom Orzo, Lamb Jus. Melt in your mouth lamb. The demi-glace in the orzo was very addictive.

White Chocolate Yogurt Mousse, Raspberry Sorbet, Cherry Sauce. This was the best of the desserts — really nice.

Kazandibi Ice Cream, Caramelized Nuts, Cinnamon. Oddball dulce de leche-like sauce underneath.

Baklava Ice Cream, Crispy Phyllo Dough, Pistachio. I didn’t adore this. The ice creams were super hard and dense (Turkish style). Just a real Baklava with vanilla or white ice cream would have been tastier.

Kitchen Bodrum was arguably the best kitchen so far this trip. Really great tasting dishes. Service and atmosphere were great as well.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Kitchen Bodrum, Turkish cusine

Eating Bodrum – Blue

Apr28

Restaurant: Blue

Location: Gölköy Mahallesi, 314 Sokak No.10, 48483 Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 23, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant — expensive — but tasty

Beachside “cafe” at The Mandarin Oriental Bodrum.

The menu.

The beach.

Lahmacun. Minced Beef with Fresh Tomatoes & Green Pepper. Crispy thin crust (probably lavash) with a great flavor. Really nice.

Grilled Seabass Sandwich. Tomato, rocket, red onion, fresh herbs, ttartare sauce, ciabatta bread.

Zoom.

Doner plate. French fries, griilled tomatoes & pepper, Sumac Onion. Good, and certainly the best doner I’ve had yet, but I sorta like Gyro better — it’s meatier and has the yogurt. This needs yogurt.

Condiments for the fries.

Gorgeous beachside cafe with a big menu and excellent execution. The prices however are otherworldly, particularly for Turkey. Mezze are 4x what they were at Gio Rooftop and that’s also a “snazy” hotel restaurant.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Blue, Bodrum, Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Teos Sığacık – Liman

Apr25

Restaurant: Liman

Location: Sığacık, Atatürk Meydanı No:5, 35460 Seferihisar/İzmir, Türkiye. +90 232 745 70 11

Date: June 22, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish fish restaurant

Rating: Very solid

A friend of ours who lives in Teos Sığacık (up the coast from where we were staying) setup sinner in this local fish restaurant.

It has a great seaside patio.

And a marina view.

The gang at table.

Lots of mezze again.

And lots of fresh fish.

Yogurt with spinach and almonds.

Seabass in yellow sauce. This tasted very pickled — and there even were pickles in the sauce.

Squash blossoms stuffed with rice.

Marinated seaweed with garlic. Very interesting (and tasty) flavor.

Marinated anchovies. Great, if a touch salty.

French fries.

Pastry with cheese and spinach.

Pastry with cheese and something else.

Mushrooms stuffed with cheese.

Fried calamari.

Artichoke with veggies.

Stuffed grape-leaves (warm and thin).

Grilled seabass.

fried red mullet. Very tasty.

Watermelon.

Crabapples.

Apricots.

Cherries.

Apples.

Thickened sweet milk paste with cinnamon. Fabulous and with an interesting chewy texture that is very Turkish.

Overall, a fun and atmospheric fish resteraunt. Extremely similar format and menu (not sure they even have a menu) to other fish resteraunts.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Teos Sığacık, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Ephesus – Local Lunch

Apr23

Restaurant: Local Lunch

Location: somewhere need Ephesus

Date: June 22, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish

Rating: A bit rustic for my taste

We stopped at this super local place for lunch after visiting the amazing ruins at Ephesus…

Casual outside space. There was a big hall inside but of course no one was in there.

Lots and lots of mezze.

My plate. There wasn’t a lot of meat, just 3-4 stews. I suspect this is quite typical Turkish value eating — and it was actualy fairly good.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Ephesus, Eating Türkiye, lunch, Turkish cusine

Eating Kuşadası – Oksa

Apr21

Restaurant: Oksa

Location: Hacıfeyzullah, Güvercinada Cd. No:15, 09400 Kuşadası/Aydın, Türkiye.

Date: June 21, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish Fish

Rating: Great Fish Restaurant

Oksa is a classic “fish restaurant.”

Turkish and Greek restaurants have this distinction between “fish” and “meat” places.

Nice seaside seating.

Most traditional Turkish places, and in particular ALL the fish places, have a giant cabinet(s) of mezze to choose from.

Big buffet of mezze to choose from.

And you pick your particular fish form the cabinet.

Olives.

Bread.

Yogurt with tomato and peppers.

Marinated mushrooms.

Yogurt with walnuts and “spicy” oil.

Shrimp with avocado in a slightly lemony sauce.

Green salad.

The usual white choices.

Mushrooms stuffed with cheese.

Grapeleaves stuffed with seafood. Salty and delicious.

Our big fish (can’t remember the type) packed in salt and baked.

The delicious fish after filleting.

Head as a bonus.

Dill mayo as a condiment.

This was a very classic fish place with quite high quality.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Kuşadası, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Istanbul – Pandeli

Mar31

Restaurant: Pandeli

Location: Rüstempaşa Mah. Balık Pazarı kapısı Sokağı Mısırçarşı İçi 1, D:2, 34110 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 212 527 39 09

Date: June 16, 2023

Cuisine: Traditional Turkish

Rating: Old fashioned and good

This is right inside one of the smaller, but nicer, spice bazaars.

The building is definitely ancient.

The menu.

Bread.

Cucumber tomato salad.

Charcoal grilled eggplant salad.

Artichoke in olive oil.

Okra with lemon and olive oil.

Overn-baked sea bass baked in crul paper.

Sultan’s delight. Stewed lamb with mashed eggplant.

Doner kebap and pilaf.

Rice pilaf.

Tea.

This wasn’t modern or novel, but I like to mix it up and they do a nice job with “classic” (early 20th century?) Turkish dishes. The setting is great too.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Türkiye, Istanbul, Pandeli, Turkish cusine

Eating Istanbul – Turk Fatih Tutak

Mar27

Restaurant: Turk Fatih Tutak

Location: Cumhuriyet Hacıahmet Silahşör Cad, Yeniyol Sk. No:2, 34440 Şişli/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 212 709 56 79

Date: June 15, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Awesome

This is Istanbul’s and Turkey’s long Michelin 2 star.

The space.

pickle juice with plum. This welcome drink tasted like… well a shot of pickle juice. It was pretty sour. Excellent, as I like vinegar, but intense. The plum was lacto fermented so as to have no remaining sugar. Very interesting.

Wine pairings.

A bit of crispy bread with cheese and meat on it. Excellent.

Fresh baked sourdough Pide. Lovely little “pita” bun.

trabzon butter, bitlis hizan honey, 2000 meter. The butter and honeycomb combo (served in the bone) was pretty amazing.

Special Turkish olive oil.

TT mussels dolma. The oyster shell was not actually made of oyster shell and was completely edible. Basically this rice stuffed oyster tasted like Turkish paella. Delicious.

A “salad tart.”

Egg inside an egg.

egg, morel mushroom, thracian cheese. Mixed up this was a scrumptious yolky asparagus cheesy mess. The “sauce” tasted like a cacio e pepe emulsion.

mackerel, new potatoes, horseradish, tomato. Had an almost Jewish deli taste to it with the mackerel and horseradish. A good bit of kick too. Intense and delicious.

caviar, artichoke borek, pea, spring tarhana. Lovely little vegetable/fish tart.

Raki!

red mullet, cheese that wasn’t cheese, and crispy rice.

It was served with this whipped fish-bisque type sauce. Really quite delicious together. Paired very well with the raki too.

Bonus manti. Amazing meat dumpling bite with the yogurt and spicy oil/butter.

“Perfect” penne butter. For our son: perfectly al dente with a lovely butter flavor and a hint of cheese.

We got to choose our special knives.

charcoal thracian lamb. Beautiful roast lamb with pepper and sauce.

Beets and peppers.

potato, buffalo milk. A great starchy “side.”

Pistachio bomb.

with lime cream.

Cherry cordials.

Tour of the kitchen

fermenting.

Dry aging.

Neat containers.

The oven.

White chocolate bonbons.

A gooey Turkish candy.

Charcoal ice cream — they love charcoal.

Wild strawberries.

Take home gift of their EVOO.

Overall, a very precisely executed and delicious meal with great service and wine pairings. TT desserves the 2 stars even by European standards. We did have some issues with our gluten free guest — as we had not planned ahead or checked and there was relatively little on their single set menu that didn’t subtly have gluten. They dealt with it very gracefully and it was totally our fault. They even sent someone out to buy penne and then the main chef made the benne butter himsefl! Like “a great burger” from the menu, only less fatal.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Türkiye, Istanbul, Michelin 2 Star, Turkish cusine

Eating Istanbul – Aheste

Mar25

Restaurant: Aheste

Location: Asmalı Mescit, Meşrutiyet Cd. No:107 D:F, 34430 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 212 243 26 33

Date: June 14, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Great mezzes

This was our third dinner in Istanbul.

Turkish tapas in an ancient space.

The menu.

Bread.

Charcoal butter. Quite nice, actually.

A bit more sour than the similar wine the night before.

Tomato salad with grilled fennel. A bit of goat cheese. Nice tomatoes, even for a tomato hater.

Dudi Persian rice. Crunchy pilaf. I liked the crispy onions.

Topik crackers. Crispy crackers with white bean.

Calamarski. Warm calamari.

Vine leaves with cashew sauce.

Tuna kadayif with pomegranate sour mayo. On a thin dough noodle.

Shrimp with black cabbage.

Asparagus with nectarines. Whipped yougurt.

Red mullet with tomato bisque and corn bread. Very strong tomato sauce but mild mullet (which is good).

Lamb’s heart with baked potato. Chewy and medium warm.

Lamb neck meat with figs on aubergine puree. Nice. A bit like Sultan’s delight.

Carrots with za’atar and goat cheese. Good carrots.

Revani with melisa and boza. This semolina cake is a bit like tres leches.

Mint and ricotta cream profiterole. Tangy.

Solid and tasty meal. The flavor blends weren’t perfect, but it was quite good.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Aheste, Eating Türkiye, Istanbul, Turkish cusine

Eating Tel Aviv – Onza

Aug23

Restaurant: Onza

Location: 3 Rabi Khanina, Tel Aviv 6813731, Israel. +972 3-648-6060

Date: July 4, 2019

Cuisine: Israeli

Rating: Really great

On this particular evening, our restaurant was in the historic port city of Jaffa.

The port where Jonah supposedly hitched a ride with the whale. But regardless, it’s been an important seaport since ancient times and is the only ancient part of Tel Aviv.

On our way to dinner we wandered through the old arab quarter of Jaffa, which is now home to art galleries.

Our destination was Onza, a modern Turkish-Israeli restaurant.

Two inside floors and a lot of outside patio dining (which is where we were).

The menu.

Because Israeli wines were mysteriously double the price of European wines, I ordered this Spanish Albarino.

Bread for the mezze.

Simple pasta.

Pickled peppers and onions.

Pickled cauliflower.

Tahini with tomato and olive oil.

Warm Eggplant. yogurt, butter & pistachios. Aka Babaghanoush. The first of many mezze. A very nice one. I liked the pistachio angle.

Gigik yogurt. cucumbers, dill & mint. Aka Tzatziki.

Melon and feta. Salty sweet!

Tomato Salad. chili, walnuts, pomegranate syrup & feta cheese.

“Choban” salad. Selanova, caesar lettuce, puff quinoa, date, Tulum & cucumber.

Pasturma cigar “Kashkaval”, chives & dill yogurt.
Fish Sashimi. pickled beets, sheep yogurt, citrus peel, aniss oil & Sumak.

Eggplant “Mafrum”. Minced meat, roasted tomatoes, potato, pistachios, eggplant foam.

Balik Kofte. Brioche, fish patties, yogurt tahini, “matbukha” & coriander. Like the fish versions of crab cakes in tomato sauce, with different herbs.

Fried Cauliflower Salad. Cauliflower, tahini, onions, almonds, garlic & lemon. Liking the cauliflower tahini combo.

Sea Bass Fillet. Eggplant cream, black lentils, salicornia, fries eggplant & “Beurre blanc”.

These Pie flat breads are like Turkish pizzas.

“Pide” Roka. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, olives, parmesan & arugula.

“Pide” Lamb Bacon & Shrimps. Arugula salad, kashkaval cheese & olive oil. More exciting!

They had dessert, but we wandered down the street into the market (below).

Overall, Onza was great. Personally I finish Turkish to be one of my favorite middle easterns as it unifies the swath of influences from the Balkins to Persia. I particularly enjoyed the mezze here.