Three weeks in Kalkan.....not a brilliant start!

[wackyjackie]

Well, we got back on Saturday after three weeks in Kalkan, staying at the Patara Prince resort. First timers, so was glad to have found this site before we went, and was equipped with a list of bars and restaurants to try. Thank goodness for all the reviews on here, we would never have known where to start, even with three weeks we didn't manage to try everything on our list! We arrived in Kalkan at about 4.30am, thankfully our apartment had a wonderful welcome hamper awaiting us, we slipped into our complimentary fluffy white towelling robes and opened the wine (early start or late night cap - who cares!), sat out on the balcony and looked across the sea to Kalkan - it looked like fairyland with all the lights twinkling - couldn't wait to get to see it! Bagged a few hours sleep then headed into town for brunch.
Sadly this is where I have to make a complaint - the walk to Kalkan was a bit of a nightmare! No, not the distance, we are used to walking (hills and all), but the road. There was no safety barrier, this had been dug up, forcing us to walk towards the fast and frequent oncoming traffic, diving into the pile of earth and stones to avoid certain death! We have been told by different people that by next year a) this will be paved, b) there will be a new lower road c) there will be a promenade built, the latter sounding the best of the three.
Anyway, road tackled we headed down to town, starving hungry and desperate to try the Efes! We stumbled into the first place we saw open (not on our list!), - Tomato - which sadly left a lot to be desired. We ordered poached eggs on hot buttered toast and two beers. The waiter was not at all friendly, he brought out a basket of bread with the beers, which we ate whilst waiting, he then brought out our eggs, with no toast! We waited a while, then decided to eat our eggs and go. The bill was 21 TL, we gave him 25, we sat and waited again, no change was brought out. In the end we asked for our change, which he brought out with a shrug - not a good introduction to the friendliness and excellent service that we were later to experience in Kalkan, and a prime example of why reviews are so helpful! Wandering around Kalkan that Sunday we were amazed at just how many places there were to eat, and how lovely the place was, so relaxed and pretty, and hot! We put the negatives behind us, had a few more Efes, and let the holiday begin......

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=6599.0

[Blue Lizard]

Thanks Jackie.....looking forward to more of your experiences.......lets hope they are better eh?i'm sure they will be

[Mrs Enjoy Kalkan]

Have to agree the walk from Patara prince isn't good at the moment. We usually get a taxi or drive in. The boat was still running when we were there last week but think it stops at 6pm. Looking forward to rest of the report.

[wackyjackie]

Well, sorry to start with the negatives, guess I had Kalkan in my head as the perfect place, and of course nowhere is 100% perfect! After our miserable first 'meal', am thrilled to say things just got better and better, it seemed each evening for the first couple of weeks we would go home and say 'that was the best meal'...and although we made a pact not to go to the same restaurant twice, in the third week we did find ourselves breaking this rule! So here's quick rundown of where we ate and drank...
Ottoman's - great decor, music, atmosphere and staff. Went for drinks quite often, and ate there once on the roof terrace, please note they include service in the bill.
Alternatife - was not on 'the list', but it looked so pretty...food ok, lots of freebies, even a glass of free wine when our bottle ran out! Lovely people too.
Kaptan - lovely view, staff courteous but not over friendly, food delicious, top end prices and no freebies!
Chillies - was desperate to try this after reading such good reports, lovely free bread and meze, not much choice for veggies/fish eater though. Very reasonable prices and lovely people.
Adams - beautiful location, wonderful people, loved watching the chickens chase the cats away! Slightly dissapointed in our calamari but everything else was pure perfection, and of course Adem comes to pick you up and take you home again. We wish him and his family good luck.
Oz Adana - lovely rooftop setting, great staff, free meze, best chips in Kalkan! Very reasonable prices and one that we did return to in the third week. Not a lot for veggies unless you want pizza or pide though.
Extinct- one that I wish we had time to go back too! Free starters and desserts, 2 fish courses, beer, bottle of Angora, all for 60TL. One of the best meals we had.
Pisces - the only time we were turned away because they didn't have a table - must be good! Booked for the following night, it turned out they were catering for a huge Birthday party of about 40 people! Live music and local colour made this a night to remember, the food was great and we were made to feel part of the celebrations.
Rendevouz - another that was not on my list, but the nice guy on the door said if you don't like it, you get it free, so in we went! The food was excellent, as was the view, the service and the price, although we both had a veggie option. We liked - we paid!
Omar's Kitchen - very friendly and informal, very popular with the Brits who it appeared congregated here to discuss very loudly things like Xfactor, football etc. Ok if that's what you like, but not exactly romantic. Shame 'cos the food was really scrummy and very reasonable with free meze and after dinner tipple!
Olive Garden - this had been recommended to us for our wedding anniversary, so thought we'd try it out first. We were not dissapointed, it was stunning. free luscious olives, meze and liquers, at a not too high a price. We booked it again for our anniverary, table 5 (best table), were not dissapointed but no freebies second visit!
Ozalp - another not on the list, but the smiley man on the door promised us the best meal in Kalkan - we couldn't say no, and it was indeed one of the best, although we did feel a little squashed together on the roof terrace. Wonderful atmosphere though and lovely views and people.
Akin - went for lunch, lovely views, food ok, no freebies, lovely owner who we had a nice chat with.
Cafe Leon - good English cafe style food, cheap but we felt a little bland (although the carrot cake was divine!). Would recommend for lunch or breakfast.
Odak - dissappointing, there were only two other diners waiting for food, and they got the order wrong. Well life goes on...Pizza was ok, my fish kebab was dry and tasteless...maybe we'd just been spoilt!
Kalamaki - my faith was restored! Although on 'the list', we had avoided it because it looked so expensive. However after going there for a drink we looked at the menu and decided to give it a go - wow - free meze and bread, shared starter, two pasta mains, carafe of wine, free vodka shots, 80TL, beautiful linen and crockery and presentation, and of course the charming Jimmy - we felt very special! Loved it so much we reserved the balcony for two for our last night, and again had a wonderful evening.
IBO - our second dissapointing evening! We had to move our table inside half way through the meal (not their fault we know - there seemed to be a hurricane blowing up that night - the start of the storm?) The 'barbecued' fish was very overcooked with no flavour, my veg stew was tasty but tiny. no homemade bread! Oh and avoid the house wine unless you like the skin stripped off your palate! We were also sad to see they had a large screen TV on in the restaurant.  The best part was the toilets - amazing - might be worth doing just to see them!

Overall we feel very lucky to have been in Kalkan and to get to try so many lovely places, and meet so many nice people, and in the whole three weeks not one tummy upset (perhaps it's something in the Efes...). Sadly I had a very nasty fall at the end of my first week, which put paid to exploring as much as we would have liked, although we did manage to get to Kas on our anniversary! Sadly on our last night we saw the little kitten at Zakamoz get run over and killed, which obviously did take the edge off the last night, the lady there was distraught and even if we had the language, we would not have had the words....
So a big thank you to all in Kalkan who made our holiday so special and memorable, we wish you all a good and well deserved winter break!

[Mrs Enjoy Kalkan]

Glad your holiday got better- how did you find Patara Prince ?

[wackyjackie]

Hello Mrs Enjoy Kalkan, we thought Patara Prince was beautiful, we had the most stunning views and comfortable apartment. A couple of things we felt could have been improved - the toilets around the main pool were simply awful, the worst we found in Kalkan (which were all spotless), the smell was so bad in there I refused to use them, hardly warrants a 4 star we feel. Some of the sunbeds around the main pool had seen better days, and mattresses were either free or 5tl for two - depending who was on duty? We feel the shuttle boat should have run later, 6pm was a wee bit early for us to go out, however we found we had to leave by 6.45 anyway in order to avoid walking in the dark, we certainly had not budgeted for taxi's home at 10tl a throw, so couldn't justify getting them into town too! We also found steps and things leading to our apartment were very badly lit - hence me slipping and receiving a nasty injury! The staff were all very helpful, always smiling, very friendly, and the minibus was a godsend after my fall!

[alantj]

I am glad you found and liked Extinct, it is our favorite restaurant in Kalkan for both hospitality and food quality. As well as great fish dishes, according to the kids, it also serves the best pizza and pide in Kalkan. 

The fact that it is also one of the cheapest is just a bonus that helps keep our holiday spending down.   




 

[AllanChris]

Sounds good, but haven't tried Extinct yet. Can you tell me where it is situated please. Cheers, Allan.

[itstime]

Extinct is at the side entrance to the Samira, just nest to Oz Adana

[AllanChris]

How long will they let me nest for, what are their rates, does it include breakfast,? Are there any 'extras'!?