the promise of the ‘best izgara köfte in town’ in a restaurant which originally ‘created’ them, awaited us. sultanahmet köftecisi is located in the crowded and the very touristy sutanahmet square in istanbul, still housed in the original building where the restaurant was established way back in 1920. although there are more than 20 franchises of the same all across the city and many restaurants with similar names, this particular one is a ‘must visit’. the decor supposedly hasn’t changed over the years and the restaurant is housed in several floors, each floor completely jam packed with locals and tourists – a good sign that the food probably will live up to the promise.
the menu is very simple. you have a choice of izgara köfte or the meatballs; thepiyazsalad made up of butter beans, onions, tomatoes served chilled and sprinkled with vinegar; the çorba or a soup made up of lentils, margarine and thickened with flour; kuzu şiş or lamb sheesh kebap; pilav which is not exactly the pulao that i had visualised but plain white rice and the i̇rmik helvası (pic further down) or the sweet semolina cake made with milk, pine nuts and semolina.
we were served the izgara köfte (below). the turkish köfte is lamb or mutton mince mixed with bread crumbs, minced onions and spices. interestingly, the köfte, which translates into meatballs, don’t like meatballs. instead, they are shaped into little cylinders and then cooked. and the izgara köfte, or the grilled köftes are usually garnished with onions, parsley and paprika. hardly any spice that is, but the sultanahmet köftecisi menu says that their köfte do not contain any spice. a mound containing palmful of rice, a few tanatalising pickled chillies adorning six flat cylinders of köfte, a plate of izgara köfte costs a maximum of 15 turkish liras and was accompanied by ayran or a drink made with blending yogurt, water and a pinch of salt.
if you are looking for that ‘dining experience’, feel the vibrating floor as the diners walk up and down the rickety stairs, gulp your delicious food down under supervision (remember the restaurant staff who’ll immediately inform the staff on the ground floor that a potential table might be there in the next 4-5minutes), and be a part of some kind of culinary history of istanbul, this is the place to be.
you can see pictures and more on my experience in sultanahmet köftecisi here... http://ishitaunblogged.com/2013/12/01/turkish-meatballs-or-izgara-kofte-sultanahmet-koftecisi-istanbul/