The Humble Gourmand

Zinhan Kebap House at Stork
Ragip Gümüspala Cad. No: 54-56 Zindan Han
Eminönü District
Istanbul, Turkey (212) 512 4275

rezervasyon@zinhan-kebap-house.com

Hours: Every day, 11:00AM-11:00PM

Price: For a few glasses of wine, appetizer, entree, and dessert: about 85TRY (US$70)

Only one restaurant has rendered me silent with awe at its setting and ambiance — Zinhan Kebap House in Istanbul, Turkey.

While there on business, three colleagues and I were lucky enough to stumble on this gorgeous rooftop patio restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus River and the Galata Bridge. After hitting up the Blue Mosque, Ayassofiya, and Grand Bazaar in one afternoon, we were tired, hungry, and ready for a good glass of wine.

As we watched the sun setting over the seemingly infinite orbs of blue-lit mosques, we were caught off guard when the Sheikhs began to sing their calls to prayer; each mosque’s song seemed to answer and question the others. To my non-Arabic speaking ears, the eerie and beautiful Sheikhs’ songs were an other-worldy accompaniment to an earthy, sophisticated meal.

My wine expert colleague (a recurring character in these reviews) began the night for us by choosing a local wine, the Egeo Cabernet Savauigon Blanc, from Turkey’s Anatolia region. The 2005 vintage was a great drinking wine and an even better drinking-while-eating wine. It was very smooth and earthy with lots of tannins. The Egeo also served as the guinea pig in my colleague’s discussion of how to identify a wine with good “legs.” I’m still not convinced it makes a difference in the taste, but according to him, this local wine was very well-rounded and impressively long-limbed.

Of the appetizers we tried, the winner was the Turkish Pizza, by far. A naan-like pita topped with lamb, spicy onions and tomato, with just enough parsley, the individual coaster-sized pie was a delectable blend of juicy and spicy toppings with a crispy and charred base. The hummus was slightly gritty and much nuttier than that to which I’m used, but not totally unpleasant. I just wasn’t left licking the bowl like I usually do.

For the main course, we split the mixed grill and the restaurant’s specialty, Zinhan salad. The mixed grill was by far the group favorite; the best of the sampling were the lamb ribs, with a very intense spice rub and just enough crispy fat to make it really taste like Turkish barbeque. The grilled lamb kebab and grilled lamb slides were thankfully mild and really took on the flavors of the kebab vegetables, including incredibly large peapods. The Zinhan Salad was made with arugula (rocket), flat leaf parsley, and spicy chili. The chili was spread somewhat unevenly around the dish so I got a few mouthfuls of very spicy salad. The pita chips alongside were soggy and logged with salad juice by the time I got around to tasting them.

Beyond the view and ambiance, dessert was by far the best part of the meal. The chocolate soufflé with ice cream elicited groans from all who tasted it, and my colleague declared that she “could die now having eaten that.” The soufflé had beautiful creamy texture in the middle and was the perfect temperature for melting ice cream to swirl with chocolate sauce and pool on our plates. We also tried the Turk Tafli Tabage (Turkish dessert trio) which featured honey-drenched fig sweets and wheat germ halvan with ice cream. The Sange Kadayif, a very sweet Turkish shredded wheat, was very light and sweet.

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