arrived to istanbul sunday night and as we’re staying in le meridien i̇stanbul etiler. met a work colleague for dinner and we decided to eat in the hotel. it is probably my third time to have dinner in la torre and they never failed to surprise me.
the ambience
the restaurant is on the 4th floor it has indoors and outdoors seating. as it was a little bit chilly the tables outside were not set. sunday night is usually quiet. the restaurant is spacious and the décor is simple, and modern.
the service 10/10
service at la torre is exemplary. our waiters were very welcoming and they were very attentive to our needs. the service was fast and efficient. they were kind enough to explain everything on the plates when they arrived. i asked one of our waiters a question, he told me please let me go check the right english terminology for what i want to say. i was impressed, in my travels i’ve been to many restaurants; usually when you ask a question the staff would say i don’t know! they simply don’t bother to exert an effort to get you an answer. the staff at la torre actually cares.
the food
first we were served complimentary basket with a different variety of breads accompanied by 3 different dips: a fish paste (mackerel), olive spread, and aubergine (eggplant) paste. 10/10. we were also offered a complementary amuse-bouche “olive explosion” it looked like a white olive when you put it in your mouth it actually explodes and releases the taste of different flavors, i couldn’t figure out what it was made of, but i liked it 10/10
starters:
boullabaisse soup (no this is not a spelling mistake) 26try: i didn’t read the explanation of the soup on the menu and i thought it is a regular bouillabaisse soup, but it is not. the soup was a major disappointment. on the menu it says “rouille sauce and a crispy breads”. it is a watery tomato colored soup without any seasoning, with literary 2 mussels in the bottom of the bowl. you can’t taste any provençal herbs or spices in this hot runny liquid 0/10.
main dish:
1- gourmet kebab 67 try: this is a mix dish of different types of 5 kebab skewers. it is an interesting tasting dish.
the first skewer was minced shrimp 8/10 i liked the concept it is a shrimp meatball on skewer what we call kofta in the middle east. taste wise, i felt it was had a unique flavor that i haven’t tried before. the sea bass shaslik 10/10: perfectly seasoned, juicy, you can identify the taste of the sea bass right away it had good consistency and flavor. adana style lamb kebab 7/10: this is another meatball on skewer. it was little bit dry the seasoning was ok. veal cutlet 5/10: i was disappointed with this one as visually it looked very appealing, the meat was very juicy, it is a good cut of lamb but lacked seasoning big time. grilled vegetables skewer 7/10: nicely thin cut vegetables, still crunchy, well-seasoned. bulgur pilaf 8/10: i’m not a burghul fan, so i was surprised that i liked this one. burghul is a kind of dried cracked wheat, it was soft cooked with tomato sauce and melted in your mouth. there was also a small casserole of fried pitta bread covered with yogurt and tomato sauce i loved it 10/10.
all in all if this is your first time in turkey try this dish and you will enjoy it. allot of work, attention and flavors have been served to you on a plate to taste a good variety of modern turkish food 8.5/10.
2- lamb trilogy 68try (shank, chop & loin): the lamb shank stole the show in this plate it was falling-off-the-bone tender and it was plated over a dry plum sauce. the loin was cooked and cut like a fillet covered with pepper and sesame seeds amazing. the chop was simply grilled but lacked seasoning. these 3 wonderful pieces of lamb were accompanied by a potato stuffed with eggplant 'begendi' and covered by a mushroom. also by a kataifi wrapped stuffed with pastrami eggplant. with all that we had another star on that plate; a quince puree (another wow!). before today i didn’t even know that there is a fruit called quince that existed in this world. the puree was a bit sweet, so it acted like a desert for me. for sure the lamb trilogy scores a 9/10 if the lamb chop was seasoned this plate would have been a ten for sure.
desert: offered as complimentary from the restaurant
kubbe 10/10: this is for sure one of the most sophisticated desert i’ve ever seen. putting this desert together needs precision and engineering. chocolate dome surrounded by crisp nuts feuillante dipped in dark chocolate sitting on chocolate chia mousse. then our waiter poured hot chocolate sauce all over the dome. when you crack the dome you will find inside it bourbon vanilla ice cream, sitting on a chocolate cake stuffed with macerated raspberries. wow!!!! wow!!! wow!! actually this desert deserves a rating of 15/10 as the chef who created is an innovative genius.
coffee & tea were also offered complimentary
the bottom line
this is one of my favorite restaurants in turkey. it is one of the main reasons i chose to stay at le meridien hotel. i highly recommend it, it is not to be missed. remember avoid the boullabaisse soup. one of the starters that i’ve tried in a previous visit that i’d highly recommend is the modern turkish pastry creation 33try i usually order it as a main dish.