Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => Holiday Reports and Reviews => Topic started by: alantj on April 27, 2012, 05:39:26 PM
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After a few years of visiting Kalkan its always hard to find a reason for visiting new restaurants rather than going back to an old favourite. To help overcome this natural reluctance to risk spending valuable eating opportunities trying new and possibly not up to scratch restaurants its good to have up to date recommendations. So here are our recommendations from our recent visit to Kalkan:
Cafe Ev Our first visit was to take refuge from the elements on a night when the Kalkan weather resembled a particularly cold, wet and windy night in Blackpool. When we got there it was packed out but they quickly created a space and moved in a table from outside. The food was all excellent and a little bit different from the Kalkan norm, best dish was probably the mushroom and meatball starter - doesn't sound great but it was.
Rose (previously Extinct) We tried this on the night it opened last year, we weren't impressed so didn't go back. However, we were passing and thought we would give it another chance. It was a good decision, the best meze we have had in Kalkan was followed by some almost equally good Eastern Turkish dishes (Slow cooked lamb with flavours I couldn't quite place). Overall great value and great food, suffice to say we found time to go back twice more despite only being in Kalkan for a week.
We also tried a few of our regular haunts,
Kaya Food was as good as ever and the magic tricks continue to get more amazing each time we visit.
Next were three of our favourite places for traditional Turkish food, all serve great food at very low prices.
ISO's
Bus Station restaurant (cannot remember its name)
Ali Baba I thought it had gone downhill a bit last year but it's definitely back on form this season
Looking at this list its hard to believe we managed this in a week, but we did and loooking forward to our next visit in June.
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From our recent visit I would thoroughly recommend:
Sofra: 1st time visit for us. Excellent food and reasonable price
Isos Kitchen: Another first and fantastic. Loved it and will be back when we return in June
Hunkar: Again, 1st visit and for such cheap prices the food amazing
Chillies: We always go to Chillies several time for lunch time mezes. One of my personal favourites
Akin: another first and possibly the best meal of the week. Beautiful!
Fener: Great location, very reasonable. Possibly best meze of the week (sorry Chillies!)
and the others
Mussakka: Has been a favourite for years and hate to say it but was a little disappointing this time. My summer steak was over done. Gutted!
Ali Baba: was terrible! So disappointed. The food was so over cooked, tasted like it had been cooked the day before!
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Being here all the time, we do not eat out as often as when we used to come on holiday, we have become a bit risk averse and rarely try out new restaurants - returning again and again to old favourites, where we know we will never be disappointed . So it's great to have other people's recommendations and we will now become more adventurous................
We have this season already tried two that are new to us - The White table - just opposite Salt and Pepper, probably the most interesting and imaginative food we have ever eaten in Kalkan, with good service and very reasonable prices
and Kosk, which for some reason, we never go to, despite it having such a good reputation. Our meal there was way beyond expectations. The menu is imaginative, the cooking excellent and again, prices very affordable. At Kosk we were particularly taken by the service which was so friendly and very professional and we were delighted to discover that Huseyin, our favourite waiter in Kalkan, who has been at Merkez for the last 10 + years is now at Kosk and is as wonderful as ever.
And a perrenial favourite at any time of day, is always Fener (lighthouse) Cafe, where I'm going for lunch today, just hope it won't be too hot (sorry all of you in the UK suffering in the current deluge)
Lantana
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Mussakka: Has been a favourite for years and hate to say it but was a little disappointing this time. My summer steak was over done. Gutted!
Ali Baba: was terrible! So disappointed. The food was so over cooked, tasted like it had been cooked the day before!
We also had a dissappointment at Mussakka. We went but found it pretty average, so much I forgot to include it and cannot even remember what I had to eat.
Surprised about Ali Baba, I really enjoyed it and thought the food had improved since last year. Are we talking about the same place, we went to the canteen not the restaurant,
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Mussakka: Has been a favourite for years and hate to say it but was a little disappointing this time. My summer steak was over done. Gutted!
Ali Baba: was terrible! So disappointed. The food was so over cooked, tasted like it had been cooked the day before!
We also had a dissappointment at Mussakka. We went but found it pretty average, so much I forgot to include it and cannot even remember what I had to eat.
Surprised about Ali Baba, I really enjoyed it and thought the food had improved since last year. Are we talking about the same place, we went to the canteen not the restaurant,
Yep Same Ali Baba.......we've had the complete reverse experience to you! I will be reluctant to go back I'm afraid, the food so average. Shame, but there are far too many good restaurants to waste a valuable meal time on a mediocre one...
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Being here all the time, we do not eat out as often as when we used to come on holiday, we have become a bit risk averse and rarely try out new restaurants - returning again and again to old favourites, where we know we will never be disappointed . So it's great to have other people's recommendations and we will now become more adventurous................
We have this season already tried two that are new to us - The White table - just opposite Salt and Pepper, probably the most interesting and imaginative food we have ever eaten in Kalkan, with good service and very reasonable prices
and Kosk, which for some reason, we never go to, despite it having such a good reputation. Our meal there was way beyond expectations. The menu is imaginative, the cooking excellent and again, prices very affordable. At Kosk we were particularly taken by the service which was so friendly and very professional and we were delighted to discover that Huseyin, our favourite waiter in Kalkan, who has been at Merkez for the last 10 + years is now at Kosk and is as wonderful as ever.
And a perrenial favourite at any time of day, is always Fener (lighthouse) Cafe, where I'm going for lunch today, just hope it won't be too hot (sorry all of you in the UK suffering in the current deluge)
Lantana
We had quite the opposite experience at Kosk last summer! Just goes to show ya!
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g297964-d1464276-r117896130-KOSK_Restaurant-Kalkan_Turkish_Mediterranean_Coast.html#REVIEWS
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Ooh Lantana cannot tell you how envious I am of your visit to Fener for lunch ???
Love Fener and always a favourite for breakfast,lunch or dinner. Also love Akin and Hunkar so very much looking forward to our next visit :D
Thankfully up here in the "frozen north" it's dry and sunny but still very chilly.
(on day 19 of no smoking so Kalkan without my usual pack of Monte Carlo will be a different experience ::) ::) ::) )
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Going on past visits our favourites are; Kalamaki, Zekis la Terraza, Chillies, Ozalp, and Mussaka(have to speak as we find and always had a good meal here).
New ones to try this year for us are; Sofra, Marina, White table, Olive garden, as well as fitting in the old favourites!!
Can't wait for June to hopefully get some sunshine, so fed up of this rain!!
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Only back from an 8 day holiday in Kalkan. Ate in the evenings at Sofra, Nar, Aubergine, Trio, Sade, Marina, Rami's and Mussakka. Great meals at all with Mussakka probably just clinching it as No1 this time. Very impressed with the new Sade where Mussakka Brasserie used to be, excellent food, service and very reasonable. Trio was the most expensive. We eat at Kosk every year and have never been disappointed. Missed it this time as it only opened the day we left. Great lunches too at Fener and Cafe Ev.
Look forward to doing it all again in the summer!
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Itstime - congratulations on 19 days no smoking. That takes real willpower and o. With all the money you'll save not buying cigarettes, think of all that extra shopping and eating in Kalkan.
Looking forward to hearing how you are doing as you kick the habit
Lantana
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Yes I agree with Lantana Itstime - very well done. I stopped about 5 years ago now and have never regretted it but I know how hard it is to stick with it. Keep it up it will be worth it in the end. :) :) :)
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thanks Lantana and Skunk :) It is really tough and seems to be getting tougher rather than easier. Twice I've gone into a shop to buy them but managed to walk back out empty handed. Other problem is I'm eating like crazy ??? so I definitely need the hills of Kalkan to walk off all the extra "treats" I'm having. If this continues The Kalkan coastguard will be busy answering calls from people reporting a beached whale on the town beach in July :o :o
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I hope the money you are saving from not buying cigarettes is going into the "itstime bag fund" ;D ;D
Well done you, keep it up :)
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getting a bit off topic here, girls!
PW
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Good luck with the no smoking itstime :-) I gave up in 2009 and still not smoking, feel so much better.
from one of the girls!! x
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getting a bit off topic here, girls!
PW
Sorry Mr PW :-[ Admin please feel free to remove my pain in fact anyone who can please remove it immediately ;)
Thanks everyone for your support and K4E if I manage to keep it up I'll definitely be on a big spending spree next visit although I may need all the money to keep up my overeating habit ::)
from one of the getting larger by the minute girls :-[
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....getting back on topic to please the self-appointed topic police ;) :-*
thanks for posting on this year's restaurant experiences, good to know some of our old favourites are still there and doing well.
I'm particularly looking forward to going back to White Table, so pleased its opened up again for the new season ;D Bit surprised about Ali Baba's though - the Soup kitchen is one of our usual haunts and we will always pop in there - I'm obsessed with their spicy lentil soup. We will also make a point of going to Oz Adana, even though its new location is less favourable. It wouldn't be Kalkan for us if we didn't go to these two places at some point during our stay ;)
Would be great to know what people think of the new restaurants too - thanks for posting about Sade, Charlie. We like to try out a couple of new ones every year, so we'll give this a go in June.
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K4eva Sade was great. Excellent food and at a terrific price. As you know it is a very small restaurant so you'll need to book - even when we visited at the beginning of April is was booked up most nights. Also lunched at Oz Adana, although further out of town once there the view is divine and still the same wonderful food and service at great prices. Our only disappointment - they don't sell alcohol, so no efes or wine with lunch :( They're hoping to have the licence sorted soon.
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I would be grateful if someone could tell me where White Table, Sade and Olive Garden are situated. I know Cafe Ev, Fener, Kalkan Park, Aubergine and the magicians restaurant although I can't remember the name. Staying the Samira so directions from there would be great. Thanks a lot. This time tomorrow we'll be leaving for the airport.
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Sandancer. If you go to the KTLN Kalkan Business Map http://kalkan.turkishlocalnews.com/portal/kalkan-area-map (you need to be logged in), tick the 'food and drink' box , then you can see all of the restaurants in relation to where your accommodation is on the map. Bob
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Thanks, just did that. Help, so many restaurants, so little time.
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Just got in from visiting Akin, FAB FAB FAB food a must for any one visiting Kalkan.
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thanks for the heads-up on Oz Adana, Charlie. I hope they have their licence sorted soon as I do think this will affect their business. We'll have a wander up there early on as it will be nice to see the new place. We never went when it was Luka, even though we used to pass it every night walking in from Komurluk, so I hope Oz Adana regulars will show their support for the new location.