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Author Topic: Easter visit 2016  (Read 4875 times)

Offline alantj

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Easter visit 2016
« on: April 08, 2016, 08:26:03 PM »
We have just got back from our usual Easter trip out just to set up our villas for the season, I had intended to do some early reports but somehow never seemed to find the time, what with all the eating, drinking and sleeping; plus a fair bit of diy.

To make partial amends here is a summary of our trip, it’s a bit of a splurge and apologies for the lack of formatting, for some reason the website is not accepting any formatting commands.
     
We flew into an otherwise deserted Dalaman on the 28th , possibly not a good sign for the coming season but it did mean we got through the airport and into our rental car in record time.

As usual we had booked the car through economycarrentals.com and as usual we got a great price (£90 for 10 days) and very efficient service at both pick-up and drop-off.

The trip into Kalkan was uneventful with less road works than in previous years, arriving in Kalkan at around midnight we briefly thought about stopping off for a quick drink but no sign off life in the bars so it was off to the villa to unpack and a nightcap.

The next morning we woke to bright sunshine and completely clear blue skies, walking into Kalkan we found most of the bars and restaurants were still closed although enough of our favourites were open for this not to be a problem.
 
First port of call was to Hunkar for lunch, food was up to the usual high standard with probably the best Chicken Shish and wraps in Kalkan plus very good pizza and pides. Price for the six of us was around 200TL so still very good value but not as ridiculously cheap as in previous years.

Next we wandered down to the harbour to see if the newly rebuilt Kleo bar was up and running. Sadly the area is still a building site and all the new bars are some way off re-opening. Not sure about the design of the new buildings, at the moment they look very stark and somewhat incongruous with their surroundings.  However that may change once they are fitted out, so will reserve judgement until we are back in July.

On a brighter note Black and Gold was getting ready to open, with an adventurous new range of cocktails and the best value beers we found - Effes, Tuborg and Kozel all at 10TL (or 8.5TL with a VIP card).

Below is a summary of the restaurants we tried for evening meals over our holiday, in our order of preference:

Selonica: We tried to go there on our first night but it was full (must have had half the tourists in Kalkan inside) we did manage to visit twice over the holiday – The Meze plate for 6 was unbelievable, both for the range of dishes provided (all the usual, plus perfectly cooked Calamari, garlic/butter soaked prawns, Samphire with Pomegranate) and the quality of the food. The main courses were also excellent.

Kalamaki: For some reason we had never been to Kalkmaki before but we will be going back. Menu is very stylish (Turkish but different to the other Kalkan restaurants) and everything we had was excellently cooked and presented. Prices very reasonable considering the standard of the food.
 
Smallhouse: We are regular visitors and nothing has changed from previous years (a good thing). We had the usual excellent home style Turkish cooking with great and friendly service.
 
Rose: We have been visiting here for years (since it opened as Extinct) as usual we got well-cooked good value Eastern Turkish food. Given the location is a little out of centre. I thought they were being a bit ambitious opening so early, we were the only customers that night.

Mussaka: We visited it twice, good quality food as ever but not quite the standout flavours we had at Selonica and Kalamaki.
   
Coriander: We went here last Easter and had a rather poor overpriced meal but thought we would give it another go as outside it had a menu with nice selection of Turkish food, however when we sat down we were given another menu with the same range of tourist food we had last year.

Forewarned we rejected this, picked of the Turkish menu and ordered a selection of dishes. All were good, the Tavuk Sote and Mussaka especially so, the only downside was we assumed the low prices meant small portions and massively over-ordered. 

I have only put Coriander at the bottom as I assume they will have switched over to the tourist menu in a week or two. 
         
Overall the standard of cooking and range of food on offer seemed to have improved over last year. There also seems to have been a bit of a switch away from the international tourist cooking and back to Turkish, which I think is a good thing.

We also spent a day in Kas, stopping off on the way for a drink to take in the view from Adam’s place. He was as chatty as ever showing us the expanded hillside vegetable garden that will be supplying his restaurant this year.

Like everyone else he was worried about what the season will bring and keen that we let our guests know he is still offering a free minibus pick up and drop off – we left armed with numerous cards, bookmarks and fridge magnets to help get the message across. 

When we reached Kas we were surprised to see how busy it was compared to Kalkan, everything was open and lots of holidaymakers were around.
 
We decided to go for lunch at Cinarlar Pizza and Pide based on lots of excellent Tripadvisor reviews. Only slightly tempered by the owners reported tendency to take umbrage at the slightest criticism and throw customers out; actually this proved to be a good thing keeping the girls on their very best behavior throughout lunch. The food itself was very good, the free starter of breads, roasted vegetables in tomato sauce and chilli paste/dip were possibly the nicest things we eat all holiday.
     
Back in Kalkan, the choice of bars was fairly limited but again enough were open for it not to be a problem. We spent most of our drinking time at our favorite bar Black and Gold followed by the Blue Turtle, both of whom are trying really hard to build up their custom.

Good news for those who like a beer with more flavour than the standard Effes is that Tuborg is more widely available than last year, likewise the Effes breweries Malt and Bontempi beers. Even better the Effes company is now distributing the excellent Czech beer Kozel (its brewed under licence in Turkey but still tastes fine).

A couple of things to look out for:

Changing money in the shops wasn’t its previous good value, most were offering 3.80TL while I was getting 4.04TL drawing out money from the cashpoint on my Halifax Clarity card and 4.02TL at IS bank.
 
If you are going off the standard Effes track check the prices before you order, some bars are wacking up the prices e.g. Lime charges 14TL for an Effes malt.  Other like Black and Gold had all their beers at the same price 10TL (8.5TL with your VIP card). 

 


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Offline Kalkan regular

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2016, 10:29:47 PM »
Thanks for the great report on the happenings in Kalkan.

In Kas we always eat at Cinarlar Pizza & Pide and are always looked after by Firat (who only got back in the last day or so). Kas visitors tend to be more European and perhaps their press is less scaremongering re terrorism.For me their esme is the best I've ever eaten and the rest of their food is wonderful.

Beer having gone up in price in some places when the exchange rate has gone down and the number of visitors reduced isn't a good business plan. We normally don't look at beer prices but thanks to your info we will this year! I think charging 14 lira (£3.50) won't make their business viable as there is too much competition and the other places that have moderate charges will steal the visitors.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2016, 11:18:45 PM by Kalkan regular »

Offline kalkan4eva

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2016, 12:28:38 PM »
Our first holiday report of 2016!!! Thanks alantj.
The Coriander you visited last Easter is not under the same full ownership this year. The partners went their separate ways, in not too pleasant circumstances some of us may recall, mid season last year. The other half of the partnership now have Sopranos - which I understand is open - and based where the former Han restaurant was. We will probably try both this year, but thanks for the heads-up about the Turkish menu.
Did you notice Old Town Hotel Cafe...? I think it's just also just from Salonika? My restaurant list is growing....
So pleased that Burak is back this year in Black and Gold - think he's done a great job with this space, I hope it goes from strength to strength.
Kalkan regular, you are right about the pricing - it breaks all the rules of business to put prices up when demand is low but this seems the Kalkan way :(
« Last Edit: April 11, 2016, 03:20:05 PM by kalkan4eva »
Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt :)

Offline Babs

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2016, 01:44:52 PM »
Oh how I love a holiday report!
We didn't get to Salonika last year but we love that little road. It will definitely be on this year's list.
Interesting that Kas is so much busier than Kalkan......that's the effect of the British press I imagine?
Fingers crossed that things will improve for all the businesses in Kalkan as the season moves on.

Offline Lizilu20

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2016, 01:32:38 PM »
Thanks for a fab report alantj. It really got me in the mood the night before our hols and definitely very helpful, but for some strange reason I couldn't reply. Every time I tried my phone said "couldn't parse response". I'm on the trusty old iPad now and seems to be ok.  :)

Offline alantj

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2016, 10:32:21 AM »

Kalkan regular, thanks for reminding me of the name for the chili dish (Esme). I agree it is the best I have tried and would love to have the recipe. but no doubt it is a "family secret".

   

Offline alantj

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2016, 10:46:22 AM »
Something I forgot to mention is that the taxi drivers really have dropped their prices by 20%.

The trip up to our villa was 10TL down from the 13TL its been for the last 6 or seven years. Adding in the exchange rate that means that over that timespan the prices have dropped from a ridiculous £5.20 (for a 1km ride)  to a now more sensible £2.50.

Good news but why did it take so long for the drivers to see sense. When the prices went up we went from using the taxis twice a day to never and discovered the joy of the walk up the hill - bit daunting at first but gets easier each time, with the bonus that we now go home after two weeks only a couple of pounds heavier than when we arrived and actually feeling fitter.

Also we lost a two groups of regular guests who had been coming to stay with us for years, but were put of by the cost of the "commute" into town. As they stopped coming to Kalkan, the price rise was not good for either the taxi drivers or Kalkan. 




Offline Kalkan regular

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2016, 11:23:48 AM »
alantj I made esme at home a number of times carefully following a recipe I found on the internet only to be told that when Turkish people make it they always put in the basics but then just add any bits of other things they have leftover and that's why it's a bit different place to place. The problem with making it in the UK is that the tomatoes just don't have as much flavour as the ugly fresh Turkish ones and tend to have an excess of water.

Offline Jamera

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2016, 01:00:12 PM »
I also love the 'opening up' trip at Easter and it sounds like your visit was v similar to ours - nightcap on arrival, lunch at Hunkar, dinner in Kalamaki, Mussaka, Isos, Selonica, etc.  You must have tried to get in to Selonica on our first night there - it was a birthday party for Yardan - loads of music and dancing - a great night that we managed to gate-crash. We only had a week so left before Kucuk Ev opened up - never mind - I'll be back in July

Offline alantj

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2016, 01:12:12 AM »
Hi Jamera,

Sounds like we probably spent a fair bit of time in the same restaurants (forgot to mention Isos, it was as good as ever). I  heard that the Selonica party went on until 3am - did you make it to the end?

Easter is also my favourite time of year the weathers perfect, usually no problems getting into restaurants, people have time to chat and I even like the diy (basically lots of varnishing - tables chairs, sun loungers, doors windows). 

We are also back in July for two weeks.




Offline alantj

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2016, 01:34:21 AM »
Did you notice Old Town Hotel Cafe...? I think it's just also just from Salonika? My restaurant list is growing....
So pleased that Burak is back this year in Black and Gold - think he's done a great job with this space, I hope it goes from strength to strength.
Kalkan regular, you are right about the pricing - it breaks all the rules of business to put prices up when demand is low but this seems the Kalkan way :(

I stuck my head into the Old Town Hotel, they were getting ready for the season but the café/bar was not going to be open for another week or two - so probably opening around now.

I agree about Black and Gold its a great addition to Kalkan, I am sure you will like trying the new cocktail list - its got some unusual combinations Burak picked up over the winter (he went on a mixology course in the Netherlands).

Re pricing, the taxi drivers dropping their fares was a nice surprise, coupled with the rate change they are now very reasonable and should lead to an increase in business - although we will still be trudging up the hill in an attempt to burn off at least some of the excess food we plan on consuming.

Offline Bob & Jayne

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Re: Easter visit 2016
« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2016, 07:19:55 AM »
alantj what fab reports, and lots of very useful information, thank you.  Will definitely try out the Pide restaurant in Kas when we go in the summer, sounds fab.  :D Just reading everyone's reports on here this morning is really making me wish July would hurry up! not wishing the summer away of course!


« Last Edit: April 16, 2016, 07:22:11 AM by Bob & Jayne »


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