Sunday, October 21, 2007

1. Turkey: Anatolia Restaurant

Anatolia Restaurant,
5112 Dundas Street West (east of Kipling),
416 207 0596

A nondescript strip mall in former Etobicoke is the last place you'd expect to find a warm, welcoming and somewhat exotic family run restaurant. The cheery Mediterranean interior of the Anatolia Restaurant makes you feel you're in for a treat - and you are.
Iggy, Guppy and I agreed that our shared appetizers were the best part of the meal. We started with Sigara Boregi: six crispy, light pastry fingers stuffed with feta cheese and parsley and Meze Tabagi (four spreads pictured here): Hummus, Ayse's Walnut spread, Patlican Ezmesi (eggplant pureed with olive oil and lemon) and Domates Ezmesi (a blend of fresh tomatoes, green peppers, onions and herbs) served with superb freshly baked bread.
I opted for Imam Bayildi - stuffed eggplant with Bulgar rice and shepherd's salad ( tomato, green pepper, cucumber, onion and olives in an olive oil ,pomegranate, lemon dressing) and am not disappointed. Iggy ordered Ezmeli Kebab - marinated and grilled lamb shish kebab - and found it well seasoned but not as tender as he would have liked. Guppy chose the Anatolia Mixed Plate which is a selection of the restaurants most popular meat dishes.
The service was prompt & professional although somewhat detached.
We found the wine list unimaginative and over priced. The Chilean house red, Gato Negro, was unremarkable but reasonably priced at $16 for a half litre. We round out the meal with Turkish coffee and Turkish delight, pictured here.
Rating:
Ambiance (4)
Service (3)
Food Presentation (3)
Food Quality (3)
Value for Money (2)

No comments: