simplicity is underrated, specially in the restaurant world. its almost impossible to find a restaurant in dubai which serves exactly 6 main dishes, a salad & 3 desserts, but that's exactly what tarihisultanahmetkoftecisi has been doing for almost a century. and doing it well. i see the logic here. a short menu means they spend a lot more time ensuring the quality of the dishes on order, and that definitely reflects in the food.
so what are these dishes? first and foremost on the menu, and the dish you'll see being devoured at every table, is the izgara kofte, or turkish meatballs as they're called. they're not exactly meatballs, more like mini kebabs, and so bloody delicious i ended up proclaiming them one of the reasons why cows even exist. yup, that good. there's a lamb version as well, for the non beef eaters, or for some istanbul resident who's looking for a change that day, which is good but not in the same league as the beef. the other options on the mains menu i rarely saw ordered in the few times i visited this place. the pickled green chillies served alongside the kofte deserve a special mention for their quality. the baguette served with the kofte was a little too crusty for me, but went really well with the meat.
the other menu item very commonly ordered was the piyaz, or butter bean salad in english. simple, flavourful & satisfying, it really hits the spot. i didn't bother with the desserts because of the excellent options nearby, so can't really comment on those.
other thoughts? ambience is pretty old school, as can be expected from a 94 year old establishment. if you're looking for something fancy, this is definitely not for you. the place is packed any time of the day you go in, but finding a seat is easy since people have their 1 or 2 dishes & leave. the prices are dirt cheap for the quality of food you get. the wait staff is ultra efficient, but could be a little more polite.
bottom line. if the thought of (excellent) mini beef kebabs excites you, you should not miss this for the world.