With a luxurious aesthetic in the most relaxed surrounding, Spin the Spoon is new to this untapped pocket of eating in Brisbane. While not able to have the complete aesthetic look and experience that is often associated with a Turkish restaurant, it does itself well enough with more subdued charms and a modest level of service that grows on you.
Taking in three different birthdays at once, a couple of them were delayed, for my dad, big sister, and youngest niece, between my house mate and I, going on Groupon several possibilities were found. Among those was this new place in Milton, Spin the Spoon which we are talking about. The Groupon was for a six-person banquet, all preset with the choices to be gotten. Basically, that was booked in on one of the first nights that she and her husband were back from overseas. The arrangements went back and forth with who exactly went, but in the end it was the two aforementioned folk, the husband's dad, my parents and me with the two little nieces in tow. One of the nieces was still a wee baby, and some stuff was ordered extra for the older niece. Nevertheless, this is another night where a lot was shared and it was generally enjoyable.
For something that essentially only had a small lot of shop space to begin with, they have managed to use their location quite well to make it decorated. The actual shopfront looks like almost any old kebab shop, a bit plain and far more hygienic than normal. With the restaurant being in the fortunate position right at the far end of the street - just the last house before the train track - the area around the side has been pretty well utilised to make it aesthetically pleasing. Throughout the decoration, the colour purple is the main hue being used. Every table is decorated with the distinctive Middle Eastern pattern, and are all decorated with a candle on them. Heck, they have even paved out the garden to have a few tables on there for a bit more of a dining experience. That adds an inadvertent quirk to here, good enough for a photo to showcase it.
With some criticism about the service, granted it is not the most upfront and noticeable, but regardless the lady on the night was one hard worker going in and out constantly and taking orders. Not a whole lot of clientele was on that night, so this was an opportunity for her to make her mark. It is sort of at the right pace to be relaxed, though enough to know they are taking good care of you.
Essentially, the meal plan was three courses with preselected options. It started out with a bread and dips, then there was a choice of three different mains (it was one per two people, and with this family naturally all three were gotten to share) and then Turkish delight with coffee.
First before getting onto the food, a general glimpse at the whole menu. The menu here is pretty simple, especially compared to how most Turkish restaurants. It is definitely a place that is suited to take a few people and share some food with them (well, anything Turkish really is like that). Mezzes take up a good part of the menu, with breads (plus all sorts of dips), charred vegetables, and kebabs among others, plus a whole lot of pides. Getting beyond those (granted that you can), a few clay pots come up next alongside the chef's specials. The chef's specials include some seafood, and slow-cooked meat dishes that are complete meals in and of themselves. Then how can it be complete without several kinds of dessert on offer? These sweets have just as much of the sharing philosophy as the mezzes. Drinks are fairly limited here, merely to coffee, tea, and sodas.
So, in getting onto the banquet, first up it is the breads and dips. From what I can remember, it was having a choice of three different dips that went with freshly baked Turkish bread. What was not negotiable with one member of the family was that one of them had to be baba ghanous. In addition to that, the other chosen dips were beetroot, and the hot & spicy dip. The bread was hot and fresh, just toasted enough on the outside so that the inside had the distinct texture of being soft, fluffy and quite hot. Throughout it was subtle bits of garlic in it. Each of the dips were chunky, showing that they were freshly made on premises- the spicy dip had bits of chilli, tomato and capsicum among other mixed through it creating a combination of sweet and spicy flavours; the beetroot dip was also good, and a tad sweet as well; then the baba ghanoush came along. It was also not too bad, having a creamy texture and all that. These were not a bad way to start a meal.
Next in line were the mains. As it was already said, the options were limited. On the voucher, it was a choice between three different options. The three choices were between a vegetarian pide, and a chicken or lamb shish. It will be said again, all three were gotten to be shared - as if it was not already going to be the case. Two orders of each one were gotten for the table.
With the vegetarian pide, it had baby spinach, mushrooms, capsicums, and feta and mozzarella cheese. It was toasted, and cut up into bits This was pretty good. The vegetables were fresh, and just cooked right enough, plus the cheese on top was generous and melted quite well. Along side it was well toasted bread that had a nice shine to it. This was probably brushed with olive oil beforehand.
With the chicken and lamb shish, when it comes down to it both of them were just variants on the same kind of dish. One had one kind of meat, and the other had the other kind of meat. Both of them were marinated meats mixed with a pilaf, a seasonal salad and topped with a generous drizzle of garlic-yoghurt sauce. And with both, they were quite good. The meats were fantastic, tender and with a good depth of flavour. What I particularly preferred was the lamb, with slightly charred bits and the thick, crackling that was dispersed in there. Mixing with the garlic sauce was some spicy sauce, which created a great combination. Props to both of these dishes, showcasing the strengths of the two meats. And one last thing, am I the only one here who detect bits of Turkish bread mixed in throughout the dish?
Following up was the Turkish delights and coffee. In conjunction to that, there was also baklava gotten with the Turkish delights, and some rice pudding was requested as well. With the sweets, each one had what appeared to be a red jam (pomegranate flavoured?) drizzled around it. The Turkish delight was modest in size, and was especially dusted in icing sugar. It had its unique, and hard to describe or compare flavour, and was soft like jelly. Better yet was the baklava, with sticky honey, heaps of filo and the flavour of pistachio to compliment it all. I can't recall having any rice pudding, but I certainly remember the little girl enjoying it a lot.
The choices to go with the sweets were either a tea, or some kind of coffee. I went with the classical Turkish coffee for being alongside the sweets - it really suits the flavour and texture dynamic like no other kind of coffee does. Turkish coffee, as it can always be described, has that unique mixture of being very dark and strong, then having a slightly sweet undertone coming from the cardamom and is often pretty hot. After drinking one of these, and the small size looks deceiving, it will make an espresso look like small time.
From what I can tell about this place, Spin the Spoon may well be able to find some kind of success. It might need a bit more enthusiasm to push its name out there, though that might be indicative that it was a quiet night that time. The food is fantastic, and comparable to some of the more mint brethren from around town without breaking the bank too much. Let's just hope it finds its footing soon enough. Word is already working in its favour.
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