Turquoise

Cheap and cheerful Turkish fare in International City 4 Reviews

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A Turkish restaurant filled with Turks: usually a good sign. And as it was a Turkish friend that stirred me in the direction of Turquoise I had high hopes for the place, even if it was tucked away inside International City. Furthermore, I was hankering for a good Iskender kebab – a glorious combination of slivered meat, tomato sauce, yoghurt and bread.

When I pulled up to the obscurely placed restaurant with a date I didn’t let the cafeteria-style surroundings dampen my excitement for what was to come. After all, some of the best food in Dubai is served out of equally sterile settings. What we found in our meal, however, was not the city’s best food. It was good, but not worth an ambling taxi ride.

The meal was an austere affair. The menu was bare bones. There were kebabs and mezze, and that was it. We quickly realised this wasn’t going to be a drawn out meal. We started with a baba ganoush, which the waiter explained to us, assuming these two westerners would be ignorant to the glories of smoked aubergine. This was a lovely, tangy variant. Unfortunately the venue was a bit stingy with the bread and we ran out of pita before we finished our dip, and weren’t offered any replenishments. When our waiter saw that we finished eating, he merely took the bowl away.

But I wasn’t here for mezze anyway; I was here to get reacquainted with one of my favourite types of kebabs. So how did my Iskender fare? The mutton in the dish was appropriately thin and juicy, though a tad too oily. Unfortunately the tomato sauce was dark and rich and, I suspect, not made fresh (it might have had a ketchup base). It was OK, but it wasn’t a dish that sang. My date’s shish taouk came with tender morsels of chicken, and the whole meal was well priced. I imagine that if you live in International City it wouldn’t make a bad place for a cheap, cheerful meal, but unless you are based in the area you might be less inclined to make this expedition.

The bill (for two)
2x Water Dhs4
1x Baba ganoush Dhs8
1x Shish tawook Dhs27
1x Mutton Iskender Dhs30
Total Dhs69

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