Happy Wednesday! Have you been supporting local businesses during the pandemic? A great way to support the local community is to try the yummy local restaurants in your area! The other weekend we decided to try Istanbul, the hot new restaurant located in the middle of Ward Village across from the new Whole Foods. Every time we passed the restaurant, they were packed (with respect to our State’s COVID restrictions, of course)! We could see the servers moving swiftly between the tables, and the guests having a great time. We’ve never tried Turkish food, and were excited to see what the hype was about.
Istanbul is a 100% women and family owned business (Istanbul – Our Roots) serving delicious Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine. Taking a look at the menu, you can tell that they care about every ingredient that goes into each dish. They use local and organic ingredients whenever possible in their delicious dishes. Not only is it great to support a local business, but to find out that they also support our local farmers is a huge plus in my book. They even took the time to list their local vendors on their website! It’s not only produce that they source locally, but their meats, seafood, and specialty items. How cool is that?!
OUR EXPERIENCE
Because this restaurant is fairly new, I strongly suggest that you make a reservation. We did, and we noticed there were many people waiting for a table, even for a late 8:00pm dinner. When we were seated, we were greeted by the friendly staff and given paper menus and water. Our server went over the menu with us and gave his recommendations for the evening. I’m the type of person to look at the menu before I go, but I always like to hear what the staff members suggest. I’ve been lucky when ordering the staff’s suggestion when I go to a restaurant – no complaints here! For drinks I went with a Greek red wine (sorry, I don’t remember the name or vintage), and my boyfriend went with a German lager.
For our appetizer, we tried their Su Borek ($10); three rectangles of warm filo dough with fresh cheese. I like cheese, but I prefer the milder cheeses over the ‘stinky’ ones. If you like cheese, this is the appetizer for you! The filo wasn’t the typical flaky and crunchy texture, but you still get to experience the layers of a filo dish. I thought this appetizer was good to share for two people. I didn’t want to get too full before our main dishes came out, so this was the perfect size to start.
Next was our main dishes. I ordered the Iskender Doner ($27); spiced shaved lamb with a local tomato reduction sauce served over Turkish saffron pilav, with coban salata, and tzatziki sauce on the side. The coban salata was a simple salad with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Very refreshing to start my plate with. The lamb pieces were seasoned very well without it being too salty, and I thought the tomato reduction complimented it nicely with the tzatziki to add a little creaminess to the mix. Everything was so delicious, but what tied it all together for me was the saffron pilav! Growing up on Japanese plain white rice with almost every meal, the concept of a flavored rice dish is totally new to me. I saw the raisins in rice and thought, “I’ll just push those aside”. Don’t do that! Once I had a bite of everything together, it was HEAVEN. The rice wasn’t dry at all, and had a bit of a mellow savoriness to it to complement the seasoned lamb. Then the raisin comes in with a bit of sweetness, and WOW! I was so pleasantly surprised.
My boyfriend ordered the Lamb Tenderloin Shish ($28); locally raised grass-fed lamb with local cherry tomatoes, Mediterranean salata, the same delicious Turkish saffron pilav, and tzatziki on the side. Let me tell you, Istanbul knows how to cook lamb. The kebab pieces were tender, juicy, and very well seasoned. We were a bit weary because local lamb can be gamy at times, but this one was not at all. My boyfriend even said that it was the best lamb he’s ever eaten. This is coming from a guy who doesn’t usually order lamb! I thought the pilav coming in a little Le Creuset pot was the cherry on top. In this photo you can see the yellow pilav and pieces of raisins. Delicious!
To end our delicious dinner we decided on Baklava ($12). I am pretty picky when it comes to Baklava because I like the layers to be crunchy, and it cannot be overly sweet with the honey. This dessert passed my standards with flying colors. Maybe it was the local Hawaiian honey that made everything that much better, but you can really taste the quality in this dish. The pieces of Baklava were still crunchy, with the right amount of sweetness, and served with a scoop of house made dondurma (Turkish ice cream). The dondurma ice cream was stretchy and had a hint of citrus in it, which cut the sweetness of the honey at the right amount. A great conclusion to our Turkish dinner.
I’d say that our first experience with Turkish cuisine was a success. Our bar is set so high. We can’t wait to try the other Mediterranean restaurants on O’ahu. If you are ever in the Ward Village area or need a new lunch/dinner spot to try, look no further than Istanbul. You won’t be disappointed! Until next time..
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