Ottoman Coffee House, Glasgow
Ottoman Coffee Shop
73 Berkeley St.,
Glasgow G3 7D
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“.Yeniçeriler yemekleriyle ünlüdür. Belki bir tatmak istersin?… Suleiman the Magnificent
Janissaries are famous for their cooking. Perhaps you’d like a taste?
I was standing on the Eminonu Ferry on the shores of the Bosphorous, as I looked back on shore a Turkish Poem flashed into my head
“I looked at you from another hill, dear İstanbul! I know you like back of my hand, and love you dearly. Come, come and sit on my heart´s throne as long as I live , Just to love a district of yours is worth a whole life.”
As you can imagine Istanbul sits in a special place in my heart, I was visiting Istanbul with Ralfy Foodwala and we decided to go for a walk in the old winding streets of Sultanamhat, as we wondered the centuries old streets around the Topkapi palace and Four Seasons Hotel which incidentally was the infamous prison in Midnight Express in its previous life.
As we crossed the Hajia Sofia square we decided to stop for Apple Tea and Lokum, as we sat and watched the world go by , an old gentlemen dressed in a elegant double breasted suit unusually without a shirt yet a cravat, and a Lambskin Asterkhan hat , he was smoking his Nargile and singing quietly to himself.
Our curiosity got the better of us and we asked the old gentlemen.
“uncle what are you singing…it sounds so heartfelt and spiritual”
he stopped singing and looked at us , his eyes were blue and wet with age, he looked at us for what seemed a eternity and then spoke.
“you boys are from Pakistan, our brother country?”
he went on to add ….i was singing a famous Turkish Folk song, where Moghul Emporer Hamayun met with Solieman the magnificent in Golestan Persia, Sulieman had conquered all the land from Constantinople to Golestan and Hamayun had conquered all the land from Dehli to Golestan.
At their fateful meeting as a mark of respect the conquering heros brought gifts for each other, Solieman the Magnificant bought Lokom (turkish delight) as he knew Hamayun had a sweet tooth. Hamayun brought his tandoor and had his chef make the most magnificent grilled meats.
that was the genesis of the Mangal Ocakbasi in Turkish cooking and Mithai and Halwa in Pakistani cuisine.
This week Shai Foodwala and i were in deepest darkest Finnieston and we found ourselves at the Ottoman Coffee Shop.
How would I describe the Ottoman Coffee Shop, Well its like a love child of a threesome between the little shop of curiosities and the Ottoman version of the hard rock cafe crossed with Starbucks.
On paper it should not work however what you get is a Bohemian Turkish Chaiwala.
£2.50
7 out 10
First up was the Humus with nan, the Humus was rich and creamy, with the tahini and chick peas was finely balanced, The nan was freshly made and light yet fluffy. the Humus could have done with a little Citrusy tang to cut the creaminess, however thats a personal foible.
£10.50
8 out of 10
The Handi of the day was grandly announced by the waiter as the Tarka Dall, then he sheepeshly came back after a few minates and said the Dhall was sold out and the new handi of the day was Sagg Aloo.
I was a wee bit mystified how the Dhall could run out within a hour of opening, yet not of the customers were eating food, i suppose there are some mysteries out there which are not to be solved.
Anyhow the Sagg Aloo was a decent effort, the Sagg tasted homemade, rather than the commercial tinned spinich and smooth due to the butter tarka, the potatoes were nice and pillowy. a nice dish.
This was not, a Biryani, this is clearly a Trading Standards reporting reportable offence…I jest… however since we have established this is not biryani, we can get on with what it is, it was clearly lamb curry mixed with rice, however the concoction was tasty, the lamb was soft and tender and the rice, although not basmati was decent attempt.
£8.20
4 out of 10
There was a Shawarma Grill in the kitchen but who is to know what happened between the grill and the table.
Possibly the Shawarma is not a popular item at the Ottoman Coffee House so it is reheated with some sweet and sour sauce from the local Tesco Express.
Another mystery!
£10.50
7 out of 10
Last out was the Chicken Kebab, the upside was that the portion was generous and the chicken was subtly seasoned.
i felt the chicken was wee bit dry, and was reheated in a microwave.
In Conclusion
The Ottoman Coffee House, is a welcoming, homely bohamian space which is always an advantage.
the food is simple and mostly tasty, however it is let down by the Shawarma , although it is nothing major, mostly the food has homemade vibes.
The service was confident and friendly, the young man was accommodating in our requests and knew the menu which always helps. one bugbear is my personal irritation where the waiting staff dont write down the order.
Star of the Meal
That accolade goes to in my humble opinion to the Sags Aloo, tasty homemade and well seasoned, desi style.
Honourable Mention
Since Ottoman Coffee House is a Hybrid desi coffee shop/ pakistani canteen. so it has a enviable niche position.
In the Food stakes we have Yadgar, in Govanhill and Kebab Mahal in Edinburgh offering Desi home style cooking.
In the desi coffee and chai offering we can loosely mention Chaiwala and its many mutant offsprings but Ottoman has a more Bohemian following.
Halal Rating
Lamb and Chicken is 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.
