Upon entering we discovered a unique decor to suit the Turkish theme. Paintings around the ceiling, chandeliers and dark furniture with rich red upholstered chairs.
There is an extensive menu, almost too many to choose from. The menu itself is unique with its many pictures of Turkish meals. We immediately thought that these pictures were of the meals offered, but were a little confused as to which picture fitted which meal. The waiter informed us that these weren't for the particular meals on the menu, but were to just show a variety of Turkish dishes. I immediately thought this was a waste of a great idea. Not having eaten at a Turkish restaurant before it would have been great to have had a visual of what the meal was going to look like. Perhaps the owner of Alaturka should consider revamping his menu so that it has corresponding pictures to dishes on offer.
I ordered Pizolo - Grilled Lamb Cutlets served with Alaturka Dips, $27.50. It came with a crunchy garden salad that had a wonderful pomegranate and olive oil dressing. The rice was light and fluffy with almond slivers however it was fairly bland. There were four lamb cutlets, they weren't very big so I didn't get a lot of meat off them. I found the lamb cutlets to be edible, but they lacked flavour. Two Alaturka dips came with the meal, a yoghurt and cucumber dip and a mixed vegetable and Turkish sauce dip. Once I added the mixed vegetable dip to the rice I was happier with the flavour. My meal wasn't very big but I did enjoy it.
My dining partner ordered Hasan Chef's Mixed Grill, $35.00. This had a combination of Lamb, Chicken Wings, Adana and Kofte all in one dish. This dish looked like it would have been quite filling, having lots of meat on it. It also had the crispy garden salad with pomegranate dressing.
Both dishes were decorated with garnishes. Unfortunately they really weren't practical. One was made from a grapefruit and consisted mainly of the peel. The other had raw zucchini which I couldn't bring myself to eat. An experienced chef once informed us that a garnish served with a meal should always be edible. Inedible garnishes should only be used on presentation platters.
We decided to try the Alaturka Mixed Dessert, $25.00. I would have to say I was a bit disappointed with the desserts. The Turkish Baklava I thought was nice, although it was fairly thin and didn't have a lot of flavour to it. I managed to eat the fig, even though they have not been a favourite of mine previously. I quite liked the rice dessert, but not the icecream on top of it. As for the other one on offer, well it didn't taste like much at all, and I can't even begin to describe what it was supposed to be - maybe a shredded Baklava.
I decided to try the Turkish Coffee and was so glad I had done so. Lightly sweet, not too thick, just absolutely delicious. At the end of the evening we ordered cups of tea, unfortunately due to the restaurant being so busy and the fact they were understaffed, our tea did not arrive.
We were entertained by a belly dancer. Congratulations to the restaurant owner for providing a form of entertainment, not many restaurants around town do this.
Overall, I would have to say that I enjoyed my visit to the Alaturka Turkish Restaurant, even though the meal was not what I had expected, it was still enjoyable. The staff were pleasant and more than willing to answer our questions. They were almost packed out, a testament to how well this restaurant is frequented. I was particularly pleased with the fact that the waiter took off the cost of the Turkish Coffee, this was to compensate for our cups of tea not arriving. A great way to apologise for the inconvenience and to ensure customer satisfaction.
