Kapadokya, 24 George Hudson Street, York

11:22am Saturday 6th September 2008

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Haydn Lewis finds some Turkish delight at York’s new restaurant hub in George Hudson Street.

WHEN you think about what kind of cuisine you’d like when going for a meal out, it’s rare that Turkish springs to mind.

York has a wealth of Indian, Chinese, English and Italian restaurants, but Turkish eateries are thin on the ground. So when I was asked to review Kapadokya, in George Hudson Street, I was eager to find out more about Turkish food.

I had been to the restaurant a couple of years ago, and enjoyed my meal, but in the interim several other restaurants have opened up in the area and created something of a hub.

We visited the restaurant on a Thursday night and the first thing we noticed was that it was pretty busy.

Inside, the decor is warm and inviting with brass plates and a fabric ceiling giving a hint of Turkey without being overpowering.

From our table we could see the open-plan kitchen area and watch the food being cooked while we made our choice from the menu.

My other half, Jordan, is a vegetarian and this being a Turkish restaurant famed for its kebabs and grills, I was a little bit nervous that the selection for vegetarians might be meagre. I needn’t have worried.

There is a really good cold and hot starter menu.

The cold starters include hummus and kisir (bulgar wheat, herbs, spring onions, onions and olive oil, mixed with a tomato puree) while borek, on the hot starter menu, features filo pastry filled with a blend of feta cheese, eggs and parsley.

Jordan plumped for menter sote (£3.75) and thought that the mushrooms in a tomato and Turkish cheese sauce made for brilliant comfort food with satisfyingly chewy chunks of half-melted gooey cheese.

I was spoilt for choice and went for a meze mix (£5.59) which included generous chunks of pitta bread to dip into a range of yoghurts and salsas, there was also stuffed vine leaves, a delicious light bite.

Among the traditional Turkish barbecue dishes to choose from are: chicken iskender; char-grilled chicken with pitta bread and sauces; halep, spicy char-grilled minced lamb with onion and tomato and butter sauce and adana kebab, skewed and char-grilled minced lamb with herbs, onions and spices.

The main courses feature a good selection of kebabs and grills, among them vegetarian options including the vege kebab (£7.50), which Jordan chose. This came as huge chunks of tomato, mushroom, onion and pepper served with savoury rice, salad and crusty bread.

Jordan loved the combinations of vegetables and was impressed with the size of the portions.

My main course, ali nazik (£8.75), featured ample amounts of succulent chunks of lamb served with a creamy sauce and more pitta and salad.

The portions were so generous, that having a dessert seemed like an impossibility, but in the interests of the review, we steeled ourselves. Jordan ordered a sutlag, a traditional cold rice pudding (£3.25), while I had seker pave (£3.25), which were honey-coated biscuits.

We sampled each other’s desserts and while the rice pudding seemed a bit on the bland side for my liking, Jordan preferred it to my biscuits, which I loved.

They were infused with honey and so soft that they melted in the mouth.

I washed my meal down with two glasses of Turkish white wine which was dry, tangy and crisp (£7.90) and Jordan had two glasses of lemonade (£3.20).

Throughout the meal, we had to wait no more than ten minutes between courses and the staff were both friendly and helpful.

Our bill came to £43.55, which was more than reasonable for the quantity and quality of the food.

Kapadokya made a refreshing change from the more prevalent forms of international cuisine on offer in the city and it would certainly be somewhere I’d recommend.

Kapadokya, 24 George Hudson Street, York. Tel: 01904 622 500.

Haydn visited on Thursday, August 28, 2008.

Fact file

Food: Tempting.

Service: Decent.

Value: Fair.

Ambience: Inviting.

Disabled toilets: Yes