Istanbul - Shrewsbury

Sorry? What’s this? I only came in for a dodgy kebab and a quick coke before the Theatre. I seem to have received a Turkish banquet that is epic both in terms of flavour and value, I'm confused.

The Istanbul stands in a row of shops directly opposite the Severn Theatre in Shrewsbury and when Mrs P and I went up there to see my brother in his seminal performance of Shakespeare’s As You Like It (that’s the almost funny one), we needed some quick dinner before the show started so we wandered about 20 feet over the road and bumbled in to the warm, bright interior which although it looked like it was furnished back in 1983 with stock photo’s and faded plastic signs stuck on the walls, the tables were spotless and staff ushered us in with warm smiles and assurances that we’ll get to the show on time. We were sold.

A quick note about the staff, our waitress was lovely, warm and quick with a fantastic sense of humour and we were also waited on by what we assumed to be the owner as she was full of such pride and passion for her dishes that it was it was like walking into her café off a plaza in Turkey. They worked the front of house so well in fact, that we went back for a night cap after the show but more on that later.

First there was the sharing bowls and fresh bread.

Hummus, cacık (Turkish tzatziki), some cous cous, a spicy tomato dip and an aubergine salad were served alongside some fabulously crispy haloumi cheese and that fresh bread. If we believe the owner, everything (except the cheese cake and the ice-cream) is cooked from scratch right there and having seen the start of the meal, you and I have no reason to doubt her. The bread was soft and light, while the dips were distinct and full in terms of both depth and flavour. And then there was the haloumi. Haloumi is one of Mrs P’s not-so secret pleasures. I suspect that Nando’s could well be kept afloat by her single handed obsession with the squeaky cheese and this example was one of the best she’s experienced. Perhaps it was simply because we were so hungry that we liked it so much, or maybe it’s the difference between the not-bad-but-not-great mass market Nando’s offering versus a hand-picked, individually prepared plate of salty, crispy cheesy golden nuggets. Who knows?

But it got better, a sharing platter bedded with soft fluffy rice layered with beautifully moist lamb chunks, then a spiced lamb kofta that was alive with the sort of flavour that can only be extracted from a spice cupboard that has been brought from the Sea Coast without passing through Asda on the way. A portion of fresh salad on the side completed our plated ground works.

Nestled along side that were some chicken wings as well as some harissa chicken breast that were seasoned to within an inch of their delicious lives and were also gone in minutes.  Then, on top of that we had some lamb ribs. These were end of story, hands down, full stop, finish up, get out, hold in, crack off, shut the fridge; the shizz. The. Shizz. The crust on these things held out as deep, spicy and bold with subtle herby and fragrant efforts coming in when you don’t expect them. Just give me a pile of these things to gnaw on like a cave man and I’ll die a happy man.

Good food is all about the experience and experiences don’t get much better than the Istanbul, so much so that after the show, we went back for pudding and Turkish coffee (although I had apple tea which was a new experience for me and bloody amazing). We also had some home-made Baklava which I usually find far too sweet and cloying, but Mrs P assured me that it wasn’t anywhere near as tooth meltingly hideous as those I had sampled before and I should give it a go. True, it was still too sweet for me but the pistachio was a much better balance against the honey than previous efforts I've tried and I liked it much more than I thought I would. We were also treated to some hand made Turkish Delight which were much more like cubes of nougat than the nasty chocolate covered, rose flavoured chemical jelly that we all know over here.

Even the sugar was Turkish! At least, I assume that's Turkish...

I can’t find much to fault in the self-styled Istanbul restaurant steak and BBQ house, and at 100 notes for four of us including drinks, the value is phenomenal. Having never been to Turkey, I have no reference but it's as authentic, real as I can imagine and certainly as far from your local kebab shop as you can possibly get. I probably won’t get the chance to go back there very often but it’s right up there on my list of pocket gems that I will recommend wholeheartedly. I have no idea who or what is going on behind that grill but the people of Shewsbury are lucky to have a kitchen pumping out such seriously tasty grub and if this is what my Brother-in-Law is eating every day then he might have a hard task getting rid of us when we finally get out there to visit next year.