Category: MEZZE

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"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; 
Second, by imitation, which is easiest; 
and third by experience, which is the bitterest."

(Confucius )

It was the long hot summer of 86, and the school was out, the days were endless.

The soundtrack to the summer was Kenny Loggins “Danger Zone” and the summer blockbusters were Top Gun.

It was a summer of discovery, in more mays than one.

One morning my dad decided to take us to Alton Towers, the thing was our dad was a super driven, focused and a  work addict and we used to crave some time with dad.

So when dad said we were going on a road trip we were beyond excited.

We decided to leave the Ice white Jaguar behind that day and take my chachas sports car.

The Alton towers trip  was amazing, however what was even more amazing was the stop over for dinner in Manchester,

We had dinner in Wilmslow Road, and back then it was a very exotic place stuck in a time-warp part Mirpur and part Lancashire mill town.

It was all very different from the Kurdish Benidorm it is now.

As we drove into Wilmslow Road my dad showed me the first restaurant,The upmarket restaurnt’s exterior was embeleshed in white mosaic and it had suited waiters serving.

But as we drove down Wilmslow Road my dad pointed out that the first restaurant was the genesis, and the others copied the first restaurant, so whereas the owner of the first restaurant had the vision and taste for a truly great restaurant, the subsequent restaurants were a poor imitation of the first, as they did not have the same ethos, ethic , vision  or motivation.

This week I was in Mirpurshire, Also known as Bradfordstan.

It was a place where brown munday roam the wide plains of the Yorkshire dales in there souped up Golfs , wearing the latest sportswear chic outfits and the obligatory cross body bags and addressing there peers with salutory “yaara” and “coosee”… pepered with “kusmay”

I decided to try out the new boy in the Bradford food scene, a weird import from Dubai via Istanbul… SZN Burak.

CZN Burak is named after the chef Burak Ozdemir, whos is famous for…being the poor mans Nuseret Gōkçe or Nusr Et.

i could not find any other redeeming thing that stood out to make this more interesting. SZN Burak is unashamedly a imitation designed to get back water yokels in Bradfords and such to bask in the glow of a “glamorous” Dubai import.

First up was the Grilled Haloumi, which was rubbery, squeaky and ice cold, The Sajouk was luke warm and i was going to give the dish a 2 but in all fairness the Sajouk had a nice spice kick to it so it was redeemed.

The Mezze Platter was presented nicely, however it was grossly overpriced, the five small dips outstripped central London in its pricing.

The Humous was passable, there was not lemony kick nor the smooth olive oil that makes the humous silky.

The Mouhamara tasted commercial, there was no nuttiness not the tart sweetness of the pomegranate molasses, it was just a red pepper paste.

The Baba Ghanough tasted of chopped raw aubergine, i could not feel the roasted smokiness.

The crispy toasted pitta was a good shout

The last up was the mixed grill, The mix grill was again passable, I suspect the food was pregrilled and kept warm in Rational Ovans.

The Adana Kebab was tander, moist and had a nice spicy neuance, however the size was a wee bit stingy, especially to a Scotsman like me.

The tavuk şiş or Shish Tauok was cubes of under-seasoned chicken breast , admittedly it was tender but still under seasoned and luke warm.

The Kuzu șiş, or lamb kebab was unusual, now it could be I am wrong but the lamb tasted a bit funky, a bit off.

could it have been sitting for too long in the moist heat but it definitely tasted funky to me.

The redeeming item of the mixed grill was the solitary Lamb chop, nicely frenched and lightly marinated.

In Conclusion

SZN Bradford was style and marketing over substance

the food food was mass produced and commercial, the food was an afterthought to the decor and branding. Basicaly it was for a less sophisticated market, hence why it opened in Bradford first rather than London.

The service was attentive and unobtrusive. I was looked after by Dallas who was friendly and cooly efficient even with a restaurant full of baying Mirpuris.

The Decor was Turkish minimalist chic.

Lastly , the gents washrooms were dirty and messy, does that reflect on the cleanliness of the Kitchen?

Star of the Meal

I would tentatively go for the wee Adana Kebab, nicely seasoned and texture,

Honourably Mentioned.

So how does SZN Burak compare with its peers, but how do we compare, if it was like for like manufactured turk food band then Nusr Et wins hands down for the sheer showmanship, but for the quality of food then that goes to Günaydin.

Secondly, if we were to compare SZN Burak with just the quality of the food then we dont have to look far…EDA in Glasgow, serves a way better product.

Further away in Edinburgh, Shish also maintains the food stakes (no pun intended) over SZN.

Casting the net wider still we have the powerhouse Turkish restaurants of Gökyüzü, Antipililer and Gokyuzu on the Grand Parade North London, the blow CZN out of the water unfortunately.

Halal Rating.

The Chicken and Lamb are halal

No Alcohol is served.

100% impartial Guarantee

Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not accept free meals in return for reviews.