Our dinner post Kanaat at Reina was less exciting. Reina is one of those places that it is good to see and be seen. Its in Ortakoy part of an upmarket strip of nightclubs and restaurants near the first bridge. The Boyfriend, his friends and guidebooks all seem to have a similar opinion on Reina – they love to hate it. They hate the occassionaly chavvy and over the top-ness of the place, the pretentiousness , overpriced drinks and service, and the crowds, the mix of gold-diggers, too old businessmen and tourists, and yet people, including The Boyfriend and his friends go there a lot... We visited on both a Monday and a Thursday and on both times the place was packed.
I am still divided on my opinion of the venue. The concept of having six restaurants and a nightclub in one, is a concept that could just never fly in London it would be far too un-cooth, the glittery rooftop is much like the ceiling in the eurotrash Jalouse, the cinema sized TV lifted high above the dance floor is so unnecessary, and in general there is very much an air of pretentiousness about the place. It is fairly loud and yes, you do kind of feel like you are eating in a club. And yet, compared to anywhere you could drink in London, it is wonderful. You get the pleasure of drinking and dining, staring at the architectural beauty of the first bridge, the glittering blue of the Bosphorus, and the twinkling lights of the city across the water. If you had these geographical opportunities in London, and created a similar space, I’m quite convinced the place it would be packed every waking hour of every moment and yet obviously the majority of locals don’t appreciate this. You get used to such things... Travelling from Istanbul to anywhere must be thoroughly disappointing.
Anyway, we ate at Park Samdan. It was technically Turkish with an international spin, appealing to the tourist crowd, who I'm sure are its main patrons.
The Turkish, as a whole seem to love the concept of over-ordering starters and between the four of us I am convinced we had about eight. Only a couple really stood out. The artichoke cooked in olive oil and lemon was to die for. It was slick and smooth without being slimy and tangy without requiring another component to correct it. It was quite possibly the best artichoke I have ever eaten. The liver, a thing I normal really dislike, tasted so unlike liver, fried with a dose of dill, an unusual combination but very compelling. The “hairy prawns” were average, and the cheese pastry massively lacked cheese. The Boyfriend adored the calamari risotto, cooked in an overtly sweet balsamic sauce, tempered slightly by the risotto it sat on, but I found the whole thing far too sweet. Grilled halloumi and eggplant was unmemorable. Kulbasti – or flattened lamb was better, but nothing I would rush back to try.
Our main courses were more standardized in terms of quality. The Boyfriend’s swordfish was overcooked according to most definitions, lacking any pinkness or rareness in the centre and yet was impressively tender. The mash potato “ball” that accompanied it however was weirdly tough.
My seabass was beautifully cooked, flaky and soft and, as is the Turkish way, left without any sauce. It was a great fish but no culinary fireworks appeared in my mouth.
Stuffed from the sheer amount of food we went without dessert. The bill was steep to say the least, 80 pounds a head, although we had twice as many starters as neccasary and two bottles of wine. The whole experience was fun, you have a great view over Reina's dancefloor and you could easily spend the rest of your night in Reina.
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