Located near the US Consulate in İstinye and the business world of Maslak, and sitting by a quiet, uninterrupted park, is a restaurant called Meyyali. What used to be a kebab house has turned into a gourmet, traditional Turkish restaurant specializing in serving regional fare in a tranquil and sublime environment. Chef Muhsin Usta experiments with local Anatolian flavors, adding a modern Istanbul twist and flawless presentation

After more than 10 years of dishing up kebabs, Meyyali Restaurant, set amid a park in Resitpaşa, has converted itself into a traditional Turkish restaurant serving elegantly presented nouvelle cuisine by Chef Muhsin Usta.

The new design is fairly modern with white and gold touches and characteristic Armenian tiles, accompanied by nostalgic Turkish “meyhane” tunes playing in the background.

Meyyali seats about 70 customers in the winter and more than 200 in the summertime. For special occasions such as weddings, engagement parties and circumcision ceremonies, the establishment can even accommodate up to 1,000 people. Catered toward the business community of Maslak and the Istanbul Stock Exchange, both close by, the fare of this pleasant venue won’t disappoint Istanbul foodies.

Starters: Local tastes, Istanbul twist

Upon sitting down, warm flatbreads are presented with karga tulum cheese from Çorum. The chef’s recommended cold starters include the quince in olive oil with pineapples; fennel with caviar, which is refined and juicy; and stuffed chard with rice.

The taste of these dishes stands out as much as their presentation and visual appearance on the plate. All the food is, surprisingly, decorated faultlessly and a sight for the eyes as well as a feast for the mouth. The traditional Edirne specialty of liver is offered as a warm appetizer on a beautiful platter. This usually heavy and overpowering dish is fried for just for one minute and is on the light and mild-smelling side. Next is a personal favorite, the whole-wheat seafood pilaf. This risotto-style dish is prepared with baby shrimps, calamari, butter and garlic and sprinkled with lots of pepper and seasonings – much better than a risotto, for that matter! The dish is considered traditional Anatolian due to its use of local ingredients such as wheat, butter and garlic, but the addition of seafood makes it modern and Istanbul-ish. Another noteworthy warm starter is cevizli yayim, a pasta dish from the Black Sea region of Kastamonu and Sinop that is basically warm local noodles mixed with walnuts and keş cheese.

For main courses, one of the lighter options is chicken with olives, in which the chicken thighs are topped with light tomato sauce and sprinkled with black olives. The dish is served with an elegant liquor glass in the middle containing warm couscous with seasoning, making it a superb selection for chicken lovers.

Chef’s meat specials

Doruk kebab is ground lamb kebab rolled in a very thin layer of eggplant, then lightly fried and slowly grilled. The dish comes with lots of onions and thick, creamy yogurt on the side. Lamb shanks kebab with plum sauce (erik soslu kuzu incik) is the specialty of the house. Served over fennel rice, this traditional dish is decorated with plums and topped with a signature sauce. Though lamb shanks kebab is a classic Turkish dish, the distinct plum sauce and its unique presentation reflect the spirit of this gourmet restaurant.

As the chef is originally from the city of Tokat, he takes pride in preparing the Tokat kebab. Served from April until mid-summer, this unique dish is prepared in a special stone oven. Call in advance to ask about the availability of Tokat kebab during its season. Another area of expertise of the chef is the İskilip dolma, a dish carefully prepared and cooked for more than 18 hours. A serving feeds 70 to 80 diners, making it ideal for special events such as weddings, funerals and circumcision ceremonies. The chef is more than happy to prepare it, as long as it is requested well in advance.

The dessert selection is vast, but the highlight is the crème-caramel-like sweet called kaymaçina. This milky Rumelian baked custard dessert is light and topped with a layer of caramel – and perhaps even tastier than a typical crème caramel. The date-and-figs pie is a fruity and chewy option, as is the traditional pumpkin dessert. For those craving a real Anatolian sweet bomb, the samsa is a baklava-like pastry with walnuts stuffed inside phyllo dough.

Amid the hustle and bustle of eating spots in İstinye Park and the fish restaurants on the Bosphorus, Meyyali sets the stage for lovely and scrumptious Turkish fare in a tranquil setting. The venue is also open for Sunday brunch with an open buffet for 30 Turkish Liras per person.

Meyyali

İstinye Yok. Eski Şişli Emirgan Cad. No.3

İstinye

Tel: 0212 323 33 93



Article & Photo from: Daily News - www.hurriyetdailynews.com