31. December 2013: Restaurant SekizIstanbul

The New Year’s Tasting Menu by chef Maksut Aşkar (280.00 TRL) started with a glass of champagne and included unlimited local wine, beer and raki until 12:00 a.m. The Amuse Bouche to start the night were “‘Kumru’ crisps, ege-tire soujuk, İzmir tulum cheese cream, tomato confit and humus and sunny side up quail eggs”. The tomato confit with cheese cream was tasty but the humus with the quail egg was actually extremely aromatic.

Next was the refreshing “smoked ‘bakalarios’ with raki infused beet cubes and radish” where I especially liked the raki infused beet cubes as they were giving away a slightly alcoholic taste while still carrying the beetroot taste.

The “smoked mackarel with yellow and green lentil salad with bottarga powder, tangerine and tarragon” wsa nice as it was somehow refreshing and light but the lentil salad provided it with the nice effect of being slightly farinaceous and at the same time sweet through the tangerine.

One of my favourites that night was the “‘çerkez ördeği’ confit of duck with walnut cream, roasted honey walnuts, 1-year old plum chutney and sour dough bread”. The duck confit was of a very interesting consistency where you could still taste the texture – the very sweet walnut cream fit perfectly well with the confit and just made it a very sound dish.

Next was a “‘kısır’ bulghur salad and marinated beef cream, pickled cauliflower, leek and radish salad” which had to be enjoyed eating it by hand as the chef Maksut Aşkar personally told us. The dish was interesting as it was gone in one bite but still provided a range of different flavours which perfectly fit together – only the horseradish taste was a bit overwhelming.

The second favourite of that night was the “double baked cous cous risotto with beet reduction, fresh herbs and toasted pinenuts” – while not sounding very interesting at first, it was as it actually quite amazing as it was definitely cous cous but it had the genuine taste of risotto.

The “‘rahibe köftesi’ bulgur gnocchi, garlic sautéed spinach, parmesan and spinach cream” was fine but the sautéed spinach somehow lacked a bit in salt. After adding some salt to the spinach, the dish was absolutely fine – before it was a bit dull for my personal gusto.

The “oven baked beet and goat cheese cream with fresh herbs and purslane salad” was a very welcome intermediate course – the herbs and purslane salad was refreshing and the beet and goat cheese cream a fine addition to the salad.

The ‘main course’ consisted of “lamb, fennel, sauteed greens, grilled zucchini in lamb sauce” and was a nice combination of tender lamb with good greens.

The “‘balık ekmek’ oven grilled bait, on crispy sour dough bread, rocket pesto and onion chutney with “ince kıyım” salad” was very tasty. The grilled bait was rich and with the onion confit and the ‘ince kıyım salad’ was actually quite refreshing and tasty – so definitely a nice last ‘main’ course for the night.

For dessert, “‘irmik helvası’ sweet semolina, tarragon&tangerine sauce, tarragon cream” was served which was nice …

… but the last course of the night, “turkish coffee mousse, coffee foam, crispy crumble with cardamom and nutmeg and tahini clotted cream filled crispy pumpkin, sesame croquant, molase cream” was actually the perfect ending. The turkish coffee mousse was extremely smooth, tender and rich.

Even the spread which was served with bread in the beginning was actually damn tasty – and the little bag you can see in the picture below …

… contained a variety of different local candies which were quite tasty (having tried them the next day). Overall, the dishes at the SekizIstanbul are of good quality, of good taste and have a nice local flavour. The chef, Maksut Aşkar, with whom I briefly had the chance to talk to, does a great job and he is authentic and friendly. Great chef.

The place itself is quite hidden in a side street of the İstiklal Caddesi and is difficult to find but the audience that night showed why – a nice mixture of locals, young people, old people and the place even changed into quite a partying location when midnight finally had arrived. The waiters are friendly, hip, jovial, quick and do generally a good job.

Personally, I can recommend a visit of the Restaurant SekizIstanbul – it is a hip, modern and young place with a nice interior design, a good crowd, nice waiters and last but not least great food for fair prices!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant SekizIstanbul

Kuloglu Mh.

Gazeteci Erol Demek Sokak No. 1

34433 Beyoglu / Istanbul (TR

Tel.: +90 212 249 89 24

Fax: +90 212 249 89 40

E-Mail: leziz@sekizistanbul.com

Homepage: http://www.sekizistanbul.com

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.