Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5
User ratings:
<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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Time Out says
Tue Jul 3 2012
As much a neighbourhood restaurant as a Turkish venue – albeit for an upmarket ’hood – Ishtar is packed with well-groomed Marylebone families and groups. The ground floor is stylish, warm and welcoming and there’s plenty more space under the arches in the basement below.
In the open kitchen, chefs apply a deft touch to a menu that has much more than dips and grills to recommend it. Hence there was a zesty lightness to the virtually carb-free, heavily parsleyed tabouleh. Köfte were neat but a little factory-perfect. Adana kebab was distinctively lemony, garlicky and peppery, while the more unusual meyveli kuzu (lamb soft and sweet from slow-cooking with apricots, pear and almonds, with orange couscous) was a rich treat.
Food arrived almost disconcertingly quickly, yet there was no rushing. Such well-paced service would be particularly welcome at lunch when the decent-sized menu strays beyond the light interpretations of Turkish, to the middle-of-the-road likes of smoked salmon or goat’s cheese salad.
Puddings, including the crème caramel-like kazandibi, inspiringly matched with coconut ice-cream, rounded off dinner beautifully. Ishtar is a fun, well-run crowd-pleaser that doesn’t dumb down the cuisine.
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