Surprisingly decent Turkish food but nothing like the real thing: Restaurant Köşebaşı (29. November 2017)

I guess you shouldn’t eat Turkish outside of Turkey as it is just not the same. As a selection of starters we went for “toros salad (finely chopped tomatoes, rocket, parsley, green onion and mint, mixed with sumac and pomegranate sauce)” (2.100 BHD), “humus (home-made humus drizzled with chili oil)” (2.000 BHD) and “soslu patlican (tender cubes of eggplant with roasted tomato purée)” (1.800 BHD). While I actually hadn’t tried the toros salad before which I liked, the hummus was just too dense. Not the way hummus should be in my mind. The soslu patlican was also good and refreshing.

I liked that they served different kinds of bread as a side to the hummus but still, it wouldn’t really fit.

What was quite interesting to try were the ‘pide’. The traditional “Findik Peynirli Pide (traditional pidette with cheese)” (0.400 BHD each) was somehow more like curd than cheese but still good. The “Findik Lahmacun (traditional pidette with ground, seasoned meat)” (0.400 BHD each) was even better. Which might also be related to the fact that I just love meat.

I usually have issues deciding what kind of kebap I want so the “Karisik Kebap (Kosebasi bestsellers: tender chicken cubes, marinated beef slices and special lamb kebap)” (7.500 BHD) was kind of the perfect option as it offers three different kinds of kebap. While I liked the tender chicken cubes and the marinated beef slices, I wasn’t a bit fan of the special lamb kebap. Overall, the dish was fine but nothing amazing really.

The service, however, was friendly and helpful and served the “sparkling water” (2.600 BHD) within no time. As well as the “Ayran with mint” (1.700 BHD) and I must say that fresh Ayran is actually quite nice and finally made me overcome that memory of super gross ayran I had tried years back in Switzerland.

All in all, according to my Turkish colleague, the food is authentic but as she is vegetarian, I allow myself to say that the meat isn’t really that amazing. So, if you are craving for Turkish food, go here – if not, don’t.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Köşebaşı

City Centre Mall Bahrain

Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway

Manama (BH)

Tel.: +973 17 17 23 22

Homepage: http://www.kosebasi.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.