Restaurants

With the atmosphere of a local restaurant, despite its location near the West End, Istanbul Meze is always worth a visit. An enormous portion of arnavut ciğeri (lamb’s liver) made a first-rate starter, sautéed and served with parsley and onion. So did grilled halloumi cheese with tomato and lettuce, though you should only order it if you like salty food. Starters came with a fresh tray of warm pitta; pide bread would be an improvement. For mains, karni yarik (diced, stewed lamb on a bed of aubergine, served with rice and very thick yoghurt) was beautifully flavoursome, if not artistically presented. Charmingly, the waiters still tour the tables spooning the lovely fresh chilli sauce from a saucepan. Ískender was a mixture of chicken, köfte and lamb on pitta in a rich tomatoey sauce. As is traditional with ískender there were no vegetables, but unusually the same thick yoghurt was on the side rather than mixed in. Service was good and the welcome warm. The restaurant is popular with Turks; musicians frequently play downstairs, especially at weekends, though you might need to book to be sure of seeing them.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008