For our evening meal in Erzurum, we opted for a fish restaurant as Jonathan’s vision of trying some sort of fatty lamb dining option (a local delicacy, but seemingly all those restaurants sell) seemed just a little too decadent to me as I don’t like fatty food and I don’t usually eat lamb.
As an aside, it was a beautiful walk to the restaurant. The Google location was slightly wrong and so we thought we had got muddled up, but it transpired it was just one street over. We arrived at the restaurant and there was a friendly welcome and we were shown to a table immediately.
It was a cosy and warm environment, despite the snow outside. It was also relatively busy, with a large group in the centre of what is effectively a posh marquee.
This was the free meze selection that is placed down at the table, it’s really rather agreeable.
I went for the sea bass which had a pleasant and slightly sweet flavour, with a peppery coating from the seasoning, with the meat being tender. It went well with my lemonade, especially since I put a fair amount of lemon on the fish (from lemons, not the lemonade). Jonathan went for meatballs which seemed to surprise and delight him in a positive way.
We had the desserts of the Kabak Tatlısı and the Güveçte Tahin Helva. The first, on the left, is the pumpkin dessert which had a slightly firm texture and the nuts added extra texture, with the whole arrangement being sweet. The second, on the right, is a hot halva dish which was very sweet and quite rich, it’s apparently usually served after fish dishes and so that felt appropriate.
The exterior of the restaurant and the area where nearly everyone was seated is in the area to the side on the right. The main part of the restaurant wasn’t used, I think that they rather liked the cosiness of their marquee arrangement.
This was a pleasant visit, it was a vibrant and welcoming location and the prices were moderate. The staff were polite and helpful, speaking decent English which made ordering much easier as our Turkish isn’t exactly fluent at the moment. It offered something different to kebabs and there was a wide range of fish available to choose from.