Mezes (mezeler in Turkish) are starters, or small portions of food that can be combined to substitute a full meal. The other night I took a friend to Refik, my old standby meyhane (traditional restaurant serving mezes and alcohol) on Sofyalı Sokak in the Asmalımescit section of Beyoğlu. This is a good place to be introduced to the variety of mezes on offer throughout the city like dolma (stuffed grape leaves, or stuffed anything for that matter), patlıcan salatası (eggplant salad aka baba ghanoush), and marinated fish. Pair it all with rakı and you’ve off!
Categories: Gastronomic Traditions, Istanbul, Turkish Cuisine
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March 16th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
[...] advice was right on-this was the freshest, most tender octopus I had ever eaten. As we savored our meze, I was saddened to hear that my friend’s brother does not eat octopus because he respects [...]
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
[...] (Mikla, Num Num) and pasty chef Senem Betil, this fish restaurant in Tarabya is renowned for its mezeler. I make a meal out of them and I love their kalamar izgara (grilled calamari), gümüş tava (fried [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 2:27 am
[...] chef Mehmet Gürs and pasty chef Senem Betil, this fish restaurant in Tarabya is renowned for its mezeler. I make a meal out of them and I love their kalamar izgara (grilled calamari), gümüş tava (fried [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 1:30 am
[...] cooked with olive oil are called zeytinyağlılar and are served cold or at room temperature as a meze at the beginning of a meal. I am a huge fan of carciofi alla romana (braised artichokes seasoned [...]
April 26th, 2009 at 12:58 am
[...] advice was right on-this was the freshest, most tender octopus I had ever eaten. As we savored our meze, I was saddened to hear that my friend’s brother does not eat octopus because he respects [...]
August 11th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
[...] tableside with peppers, tomatoes and onions. The meat was delicious but the real highlight were the mezes: hibeş (crushed garlic mixed with red pepper and tahini) and Erzincan tulum peyniri (cheese from [...]
September 5th, 2009 at 8:13 am
[...] that was not how the meal at Yusuf Usta began. As all kebab meals should, we started with mezes and rakı. Standouts included the çiğköfte (raw ground beef and bulgur eaten with lettuce) and [...]
December 24th, 2009 at 2:29 am
[...] the legendary takviye, a meter long spicy lamb kebab. If at all possible I would also like 10-15 mezes but my real priority here is the Adana kebab. What do you [...]
June 18th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
[...] started out with a few mezes, some pungent tulum dusted with spices and drizzled with olive oil, cevizli biber (a red pepper and [...]
June 18th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
[...] friends’ house in Baltalimanı to Iskele Restaurant in Rumelihisarı. I put away quite a few mezes in record time and was totally stuffed but couldnt resist a plate of tekir tava, fried striped red [...]
July 14th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
[...] 2: A Dalston kebab house serving good mezes and great grilled [...]