REVIEW: Dream Turkish Kitchen was "the best food we've ever had"

I was lucky enough to be able to review Dream Turkish Kitchen last night and it was some of the best food I’ve ever tasted in my whole life. 

Neither myself, nor my husband Dave, who I brought with me, have ever been to Turkey or had Turkish food (short of a very anglicised kebab), so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the food was incredible. 

Friends of ours had raved about this place ever since it opened, so we knew we were going to be in for a treat, but it exceeded expectations in every way. 

We were welcomed with a drink, I had the Pinot Grigio and Dave had a San Miguel 0% (which he tells me is “the best” non-alcoholic lager), which arrived in an iced glass, and mint water on the table - already off to a cracking start. The drinks range is perfect, a great choice of red and white, cocktails and a good alcohol free selection - virgin cocktails, fruit juices and soft drinks. 

The menu is extensive and well-described, and we were able to get a taster board of lots of different meze (entrees), to have a little taste of everything and it was HUGE. It was beautifully presented on a long wooden board, lifted off the table, which meant it was easier to see and fight over who got what. 

We had everything from buttered king prawns, Turkish sausage, halloumi, vine leaves stuffed with rice, stuffed mushrooms, pastrami hummus, and my personal favourite - the icli kofte - little tiny pasty-esque, beef-filled delights. 

Everything was completely homemade and bursting with flavour. You could tell by tasting it that it was filled with tradition and a real passion for the food. The cacik (Turkish tzatziki) was amazing, and I tried to put it on everything - if there are rules about what to put it on, like the nonsense about only having Yorkshire puddings with beef, then I broke them and I don’t apologise for it. 

That honestly could have been enough for us, size wise, but then the mains came out. We were treated to a mixed grill with all the different cuts of lamb and chicken, stuffed aubergine and ali nazik - lamb and chicken on a bed of pita bread and yoghurt - all served with rice, potato wedges and dips. 

Again, everything tasted amazing. Not sure you’re supposed to say ‘oh my god’ quite so often at the dinner table, but every dish was just perfect. Even the rice. It’s rice for goodness sake, but here they cook it with little pieces of vermicelli pasta in it and something delicious I’m not cultured enough to recognise and it was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. I could have just eaten a giant bowl of that and I would have been happy. 

To finish, we had Turkish baklava - pastry layers with pistachios and sweetened with honey - with vanilla ice cream. Not sure how we fitted it in but we weren’t leaving it! 

Dave had a Turkish coffee, which was presented on the most stunning dish with water, Turkish delight and chocolates. Turkish coffee is full of spices and tastes almost alcoholic, without the alcohol, and would definitely wake you up in the morning -  Dave described it as “being fly-kicked by a mule”, and immediately began Googling the best way to make it at home. 

The atmosphere at Dream Turkish Kitchen was impeccable - the music was the right style and volume, the design and decoration was beautiful, the staff were friendly and welcoming - we were served by Anastasia, who was delightful, and the owner Erkan could not have been nicer. 

You feel like you’re having the best home-cooked meal at your friends’ house, while also getting the fine dining experience you want for a meal out. 

The only complaint I had about the whole evening was that there isn’t a separate room full of cushions that you can go and immediately lie down in, because we both needed that after the absolute feast we enjoyed. 

I could not recommend Dream Turkish Kitchen more - book yourself a table now. I promise you won’t regret it. 

Psst…they do takeaway too!