On a blustery Friday evening, we randomly pick Turkish Delight in Belconnen to fill our empty tummies. It’s on a whim – our first choice is full, and we’ve noticed Turkish Delight a few times and commented that it looked okay from the outside.
Inside, we walk down a long hallway with little slit windows allowing us to peek into the kitchen. Despite the action in the kitchen, the restaurant is largely empty.
We’re seated at a table next to the wall. The restaurant has a lot of colours: the chairs and tables and walls are all draped in rugs and other colourful material. The tables have glass tops over the fabric.
It takes a long time for our order to be taken, but our wine is then delivered quickly. We can’t decide on what dips to get, so order the mixed dips ($12.50), which the kitchen chooses.
These dips must be incredibly complicated to prepare, because they take a long time to arrive. We’re issued with an apology when they’re presented to us, but our waitress rushes off before we have a chance to ask what we’ve been served. It’s quite fun to play ‘what flavours we are eating?’.
Mixed dips: humus, pembe sultan (beetroot), cacik (cucumber) and tahinli patlican (eggplant)
Fun aside, the bread is warm and tasty, and the dips are really good with the right variety of flavours. I still don’t understand why we couldn’t have chosen the dips ourselves, but it’s hard to be unhappy with what’s brought out.
The delay in bringing the dips out doesn’t mean that our mains were delayed, and we’re not halfway through the dips when we’re doing some sort of sliding food/tile puzzle to make all the dishes fit properly.
Our mains come with a plate each of rice and token salad. There is a helluva lot of food.
Iskender kebab
My Iskender kebab has many, many slices of tender lamb layered on top of bread soaked in the juices. The tomato sauce gives it a real tang, but it’s the garlic sauce that makes the dish for me. I keep eating even when I fill up quickly – so incredibly moreish. My rice and salad is left untouched.
Pilic Kavurma
Boyfriend tells me his pilic kavurma (chicken and stacks of vegetables) was incredibly flavoursome and ‘quintessentially Turkish’ (whatever that means). The better indication of the food quality for me is that he finishes the plate!
Throughout our experience, a few other people enter, but mostly for takeaway. I’m not sure how the hit-and-miss service would hold up on a busier night, but otherwise it’s well priced and very tasty.
Date: Friday, 15 November 2013
Cost: $79.50 ($12.50 dips, $23 each for mains, $21 for the bottle of wine)
Where: 5 Weedon Close, Belco
Food creativity: 2 (out of 10) – unfair rating because it’s not meant to be creative
Ability to take photos without a flash: 1 (it’s very, very dark)
Waitstaff pretentiousness: Low – I’m more concerned about them paying attention
Worthwhile factor: Worthwhile
Want more? Try the website here.
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In The Taratory 
this sounds like a great restaurant for us.