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There’s help available in form of two fine dining spots serving up
an authentic variety of tastes from the large country on the
sub-Asian continent and its neighbours.
“Tandoori” is an authentic Indian restaurant, tucked away in a
little side street of Akaretler Suleyman Seba Caddesi, the road
leading from Besiktas’ Maritime Museum towards Macka. Hard to find,
the visitor gets reimbursed by the original atmosphere of the
40-seater restaurant, comprising decorations using fabrics, lamps
and cooking vessels and that leave, together with Bollywood music,
no doubt of its identity.
The few staff, exclusively from India and Pakistan, speak both
English and Turkish and are friendly and helpful, even cater for
wishes that might not be found on the large menu, which contains
classic Indian and Pakistani items such as Poppadoms with various
sauces, an appetizer plate with Prawn and Chicken Pakoras (fried
chicken cubes or prawns), onion bhajis, samosas and spring rolls as
well as Aloo Tikki (mashed potatoeswith spices and herbs) for
starters.
Main courses range from Tandoori dishes – the word “tandoori” means
“baked in the clay oven” – and there is chicken, lamp and prawns to
choose from. Alternatively, there’s the “classic” section with Lamb
or Chicken Tikka Masala, also dishes from Karachi, Sri Lanka and
variations in spice with Jalfrezi, Rogan Josh and Korma. Indian food
can be classified either regionally or in its degree of spicyness:
while creamy Korma is at the low end of the scale, Vindaloo is at
the top end and only recommended for die-hard fans of curry and
chili. It is of course possible to ask the waiter to prepare any
dish with less spice in order to keep the experience pleasant.
All dishes can be accompanied by a good selection of rice and
vegetable dishes such as Basmati, Potatoes and, if in season,
Brinjal Bhaji, an aubergine dish. There’s also a large menu for
vegetarians as one would expect in Indian cooking. There’s also the
obligatory Naan Bread.
The restaurant doesn’t sell alcohol, so it is probably an ideal
choice for an extensive lunch.
A group of diners might want to select a range of dishes in order to
sample many different tastes and if there’s still space for a
dessert, the Tandoori offers an interesting selection of sweet
carrot, banana and cream dishes.
A full three-course lunch or dinner for one person generally hardly
exceeds 50 YTL, which is very good value for money.
In summary this is an authentic experience of Indian cooking with a
modest price range.
Adress: Akaretler Suleyman Seba Caddesi, Cavdarcı Sokak No: 149, 1
Macka – Besiktas, Tel: 0212 236 75 51.
Website:
www.tandooriistanbul.com
How to get there: By bus to Besiktas Maritime Museum, then a 15-minute walk up the hill towards
Macka, the restaurant is in a side street to the left.
An alternative is “Musafir” (Guest) in Taksim. This slightly smaller
restaurant, with its popular location in Receppasa Caddesi, a
pedestrian street just off Cumhuriyet Caddesi, has somewhat adapted
to Turkish clients with its mix of Turkish and Indian staff.
Bookings are recommended as the eatery is often frequented by guests
of the surrounding hotels, however, there’s outside seating
available during the summer.
The restaurant is tastefully decorated, but doesn’t necessarily make
you feel you’ve just entered a different world. However, the food
does:
The menu features a wide range of classic Indian food, with various
Kebabs, Onion Bahjis accompanied by Poppadoms and Vegetable Samosa,
but also soups for starters. Main dishes comprise a selection of
different meats and vegetables cooked in a mild Josh sauce, a range
of chicken dishes in varying degrees of spicyness with Vindaloo at
the top. Here too, the waiters, who are very friendly and quite like
a chat, are happy to tell the kitchen chef to use less spice upon
request. There’s even fish and a good vegetarian selection too.
Rice, bread and salad complete the large menu, which only features
two desserts, but if you’ve eaten all of the above, you won’t
probably feel like one anyway.
There’s no alcohol available here either, but a good selection of
differently flavoured “Lassi”, the traditional Indian-style yoghurt
drink.
All in all the “Musafir” is probably the best choice for someone new
to Indian food in order to get a good impression, but doesn’t want
to go too extreme on their first outing. Prices are adequate and
probably compete well with other restaurants in the area with 60-70
YTL per person for a three course meal.
Address: Receppasa Caddesi, No.: 11/A, Talimhane, Taksim, Tel.: 0212
235 2741.
Website: www.musafirindian.com/tr/tr.htm
How to
get there:
walk from ksim square to Talimhane Metro Station, the
entrance is just around the corner 250 m down the street.
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