I had lunch at this fairly new (one month) Turkish restaurant on 46A on Tuesday. It's in the spot formerly occupied by the know-it-alls at Finesse. And since I, single-handedly (to listen to them) ruined their prospects with that most unwelcome of all actions - unsolicited advice, I will try and avoid that in this review. The place looks nearly the same. It still has the floor plan that Wine Down brought in. They repainted and erased the quotations on the wall. It looks fine. It seats the same amount of people (100+). They serve Turkish food in the style of Istanbul (derr). The menu is pretty compact (about ten entrees and a few less appetizers and desserts). They serve lamb, chicken, seafood and even booze. The dinner menu is similar to the lunch. I had a lamb donner (revolving) kebab (roast meat) lunch special for $10. Most meals are plus or minus two dollars of this price point. It came with a half a potato, buttered rice pilaf and carrots (I think). Everything was fresh. The lamb (carved in what most people understand as gyro style) was freshly made in house. I had the first trimmings for the first time in my life. I know this because it was the first time the outer layer of fat was ever visible on my plate. It was a healthy portion. The rice may have been a little fattening with the butter, but, it does impart flavor. The vegetables were fresh. I probably wouldn't serve starch with starch (there goes the unsolicited, enterprise collapsing advice), but, it did provide filling. The service (2) was great. Although, the soda refill tasted odd. Maybe they were trying to poison me. I'm sure they would receive plenty of acclaim if they had. The place was serving about four others when I walked in (early - close to 11am). The owners were receptive. I don't think much of the Greek place in Lake Mary, so, let's say the neighborhood really needed a Mediterranean entry. It's always good to be best in class in an area. It helps when you are the only one in class. I'm not sure if people around here will go for this class of ethnic cooking, but Bosforous (among others) thrives in Winter Park, so who knows what will appeal to the Irish Pub and Mediocre Southern Italian set. It's not a low level, grab and go place. It's higher end. I'm making a regular appointment at Istanbul (when not traveling). I'm all over some chicken liver appetizer when I go back. I wish they had more ambitious stuff, but, it probably better to take smart, conservative baby steps. You wouldn't want to scare away the yokels by being to "authentic" out of the gate. Fun fact - Istanbul was Constantinople until 1923.
*As promised, I returned today for the chicken livers. It was a ridiculous serving of of around 40 pieces! I have no idea why this is an appetizer. It cost $12. It was worth it. However, I was disappointed to see (and want to warn you) that they already raised prices by what appears to be 20%. That kebab I had last time was now $12 and so on down the line. What's worse is my waiter lied to me about it when I called him on it. I went back and checked my receipt. As such, it is out of the rotation. I'm not dropping over $10 bucks (regularly) for a niche lunch. Mediterranean food is not that good. It's a whim. A diversion. It already was $15 a meal (tax and tip). You can get a better lunch bargain at every restaurant surrounding them. I suggest they read my review of their predecessor. I think they are pricing themselves out of the sweet spot. The food and drink price must come in under $10. Do what you will at dinner. You can't have uniform pricing all day. It's a different market.
No comments:
Post a Comment