Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Cafe Istanbul + earlier that day

I've had my eye on Cafe Istanbul for some time, partially because I have a soft spot for Mediterranean food but moreso because I'm a sucker for cool decor, and I was curious as soon as I saw the pics on Yelp. We finally had a chance to stop by for dins on Saturday.

Enormous chandelier -- they got three of these guys throughout the dining area.

Apple tea! Basically a hot apple cider but there was something... Mediterranean-y about it? The cup is teeny but it came with free refills -- I wanted to just sit there and keep requesting more until they closed but I didn't want to be that customer.

So awkward -_-;

Complimentary bread and dip! Always makes me happy :)

Doner Kebab - hand carved marinated ground lamb and beef. It resembles a gyro platter, but way more food and higher quality than your typical gyro.

My lamb shank, which was the weekend special. It's wrapped in eggplant and sits on a bed of root veg and it was crazy succulent. The meat was fork tender and just falling off the bone, the flavors were perfect, and it was just healthy enough. I'd say that this ranks among the best lamb dishes that I've tried (and I've tried a lot), and was infinitely better than the last time I ordered a lamb shank.

Waiting area, what cool-ass plates

I would definitely come back. Next time I'm ordering the Sultan's Favorite -- I have no idea what's in that dish, but it caught my eye when I was checking out the menu and it has such a cool name, ergo I have to try it eventually.

And a few pics from earlier in the day. We stopped by the topiary garden downtown.

I want a puppy, any puppy...even a topiary puppy will do.

Harassment -_-;

3983 Worth Ave.
Columbus, OH 43219
(614) 473-9144

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