Solid Turkish dishes in Amsterdam: Restaurant Ali Ocakbaşı (19. May 2017)
It is quite some while ago since I’ve paid a visit to a Turkish restaurant but given my friend wanted to try it I wouldn’t see a reason why not to. So we began with a variety of different starters like “Köpoglu (small cubes of fried eggplant, potatoes and green capsicum (pepper) served with special tomato puree and yoghurt on top)” (EUR 5.90), “humus (homemade humus of chickpeas, tahini, cumin, milk and lemon juice)” (EUR 5.90) and “Kisir (special bulgur salad mix with Anatolian spices and vegetables)” (EUR 5.90) …
… served with bread. The spreads are lovely in terms of taste and it was really a great starter. The best thing was though that the food was there within a few minutes after our order was taken up.
As a main course I went for the “Ali Nazik (daily hand ground (minced meat) kebab of lamb and beef with Anatolian spices served on barbequed eggplant puree with yoghurt, prepared freshly once ordered)” (EUR 22.00) and frankly, I was a bit disappointed. The meat is tender but it has this weird taste of “I don’t really know what” which I just dislike. It is not the first time that I’ve actually tasted that but I still can’t put my finger on it what exactly it is. The rest was delicious though!
The place is rather full so you have to make sure to book a table in advance for a Friday or Saturday evening as else you won’t stand a chance to secure a table. The waitress was very friendly and rather attentive – so it only took a few minutes for her to take up the order or to get us more bread when we asked for it.
All in all, I liked the Turkish experience a lot – the food is generally good, the atmosphere is nice but you will smell like a Turkish grill when you walk out of the restaurant. But – at least in my understanding – the prices are not exactly on the lower end of the scale with e.g. 0,75l “Mineral Water for EUR 6.25. However, all in all, I can definitely recommend you to pay the Restaurant Ali Ocakbaşı a visit.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Ali Ocakbaşı
Herengracht 558
1017 CG Amsterdam (NL)
Tel.: +31 202 33 45 88
Cell: +31 6 27 90 72 93
E-Mail: selcuk.baris@aliocakbasi.nl
Homepage: http://www.aliocakbasi.nl
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. 
