Without a doubt, one of the highlights of Brisbane's dining scene, there are few places even remotely like it. That is, Ahmet's Turkish right in the heart of South Bank. Not only does it aim to get the food as good quality, and as authentic as possible, the staff at Ahmet's want to make it exactly as if you were dining all the way in Turkey itself. How well they do it, .... I haven't been to Turkey so no input there, but for good food - yes!
I was meeting my friend as per usual every other week, and same idea, same plan - movie and a place for lunch. After looking around at some of the choices, he thought that he might give Turkish a try and this was the one closest, so Ahmet's it was.
It almost becomes such a farcical term, since it is bound to be over-used when trying to describe something, but it ought to be said - eating at Ahmet's is not only about going there for great food; it is a whole experience. They not only have such a great range of Turkish foods, but even the whole look of the place has had a whole lot of effort put into it. The whole dining area is massive, and has many rooms. Lord knows what the seating capacity is, but it is sure to be in the triple digits. This is a big place, that can be entered from both side roads.
There is not one inch of the interior that is not somehow covered in satin, all with the distinctive design from the nation or some form of the colour red. Tables are a bit cramped together, and if you really want to ottomans are available as a choice of seating. On some nights there is a belly dancer, and you can rent a hookah, and live music plays. It wasn't there that day, but being there in its presence would bring the whole paradigm of it out. Much recommended to go then, if you can.
All kinds of lanterns, artworks and murals adorn all around the place. You cannot say that it is not a feast for the eyes as well. Now this is somewhere you want to show off that you have visited. One last thing, the kitchen is both central and a show. In a window, you can see the big bits of meat being char grilled slowly for hours.
If there was one area that might need a bit of improvement, it would be the service. Not that it was bad, far from it. It was not quite busy and bustling at the moment, and to their credit, the staff were in constant momentum. A bit more attention might have been appreciated - perhaps offering refills of water or getting a jug. Other than that I have no gripes here. Food is brought out really quickly, and thus ordering more is likely always possible.
There are so many good things on the menu, that as a forewarning, you will probably end up spending more than you intended on doing. And that is even in being "modest" with the items you order. Ironically, the original plans were to order one of the banquets and that would have ended up being cheaper in the end.
And how to describe the menu? Ahem! It has one of best, and most realised varieties around town. It attempts more as a crowd pleaser rather than a people pleaser; this is made to have everything in the middle and being shared. Most of it is finger food, starting with the classical bread and dips - with plenty of exciting twists and well-known classics. Next is a bunch of mezes, all sorts of greats from meatballs to pastries to char-grilled meats. Speaking of char-grilled meats, that is what comes next on the menu - in a bigger form. Skewers of meat served with rice and bread; simple, but effective.
Of course, you can have your sides of salad coming up all different to what might come to mind with the word. Also, one that is a must if you have not tried it yet, is the Turkish pizzas. These are a completely different style to the normal ones - made with pide, they are like an open face kebab and are simply delicious. Heaps of topping, heavy on the oil and .... just try one if you have not. More traditional, and modest dishes come up next finishing off with plenty of sweets.
And as with the drinks, there are just as well plenty of options. Cocktails by the jug, classical Turkish drinks - mostly non-alcoholic, mocktails, all the usual soda varieties to be expected as well as the juices (plus pomegranate) and coffees (including the classical Turkish variety). This is alongside the big list of spirits, beers and wines among many, many others. So, are y'all good for a good night out?
More or less, I was in the driver's seat (again) and ordering was done on the fly.
Starting off, it was getting one of the dips to sample complete with a side of Turkish bread. The chosen dip as "acill ezme:, which is a matching of chili and capsicum. The bread was pipping hot, soft and delicious. The dip, a slight bit tangy and certainly had a little bit of heat to it. Not too runny, and looked freshly made. It is certainly a good choice out of the many tempting options available.
Turkish is all about the mezes, so I got around three of them: the midye, the mani and the boregi. The midye were a bunch of mussels and cauliflower flash-fried and served with a side of aoili. Tha manti were lamb dumplings in a yogurt sauce and a paprika butter and the boregi was more or less a spanokopita.
Each one of these mezes was delicious. The "Midye" was an odd combination, not a couple of foods I would think about pairing together, but nonetheless they went together well. The mussels were soft, juicy, and not so strong on flavour. They were pretty mild overall. The bits of cauliflower were quite large, and still maintained quite a bit of crunch.
What I didn't expect to turn out like they did were the "Manti". These were a small serving of tiny dumplings, filled with lamb in a sauce; the thing they most reminded me of was tortellini.The sauce was fantastic, and it is worthy of being adapted into a fusion-style pasta dish - the creaminess of the sauce, and the buttery texture behind it finished off with a bit of a tang.
It is a simple and commonly done combination, and that is so because of how good it works out. Layers of spinach and feta cheese between sheets of pastry. Need more be said? Okay, fine. The pastry is really buttery, and the creaminess of the feta mixed in with the freshness of the spinach makes for a good version of a pie. It is moderately oily, and tastes fantastic because of it. The feta creates a sharp taste which is offset by the more natural tone of spinach. Been a favourite since childhood, and it is one I still hold on to.
Well, I said it was sort of needed to order one if you have not tried it yet, so a Turkish pizza for my good friend. Asking the waitress what one she recommended, it was the "Suuck Pide". This was Turkish salami, tomato and mozerella cheese - more or less a twist on the basic pepperoni pizza. It was quite good. Less full on with the flavour compared to other items on the table, but still good. The bits of salami were cut really thick, and were slightly spicy, and the amount of cheese was really generous. The base was crusty and suited it well. All up, this was a good choice as well.
Finishing it off, you cannot possibly go to a Turkish place and not drink the Turkish coffee. Getting an order of those, a couple of orders of the izmir iokma were gotten. In retrospect, had I known they were both quite a few doughnuts just one would have done - err and learn is a way to live. The doughnuts were small spheres, dosed with honey syrup and cinnamon. They were hot, delicious and the combination of honey and cinnamon works wonders. Getting onto the coffee, this was tiny in size - probably smaller by a margin than an espresso, but you definitely feel the jolt from it. The flavour of it is laced with cardamon and the texture is smoother, cleaner, and has less oil than espresso. Whether or not it is better, I don't know - it's strong, black coffee, good enough for me.
Hoo boy! Was that a feast, and that was like a shaving off the tip of the iceberg. Managing to fit it all in, I was beyond satiated. This is definitely where you go when you want a good meal, if the price tag is not too much of an issue.
After hearing about it so much, and walking by it so many times, it was finally worth it coming to this legendary restaurant. All the awards and hype that it has received over the years is not for nothing. The food is fantastic, I give plenty of prompts to the atmosphere and design, plus it has one of the best fit-outs on either side of the river. So, if you got friends, got family, got a group of people, make sure that this is on your bucket list, and that it gets ticked off as soon as possible.
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