Gallipoli – A trio of Turkish Delights

I think quite soon we may die form an overdose of Turkish food, but that is the future and we are enjoying it whilst we can.

There are many Turkish restaurants on Upper Street, which are proper restaurants, as we know them rather than the traditional Ocakbasi you may be familiar with in Dalston.

Gallipoli is the first in a trio of restaurants that occupies a small part of Upper Street close to St Mary’s Church. I’ve walked past this trio so many times, with it in my mind to sample what they had to offer inside.

To say Gallipoli is eclectic inside is an understatement. Lamps, car number plates, bowls all hang from the ceiling. The walls are covered with old and new photos from Turkey. Yes it is a tad tacky, but somehow it does work very well. I felt very comfortable here.

At lunchtimes they have a two course menu for £7.50p. A bargain, as a lot of the mains are a tad more than that. So we delved in with some starters and mains.

My starter was a simple bean salad, which would have been a lot better if it wasn’t fridge cold. But it has given me a million ideas for meals this summer I can do for work. Lina’s, what seemed like a spin on a Imam Biyaldi with a yoghurt sauce drizzled over was delish. Really nice. More ideas.

My main of stuffed aubergine with minced lamb and rice was really good. The rice needed a tad more seasoning but that was all. I did see some people have this dish off the mains menu, which was priced at more than our 2 course meal. The portion size was the same but on a much larger plate. Made me feel happier.

Lina’s pan fried sea bream was nice and juicy. The skin was crisp, nice salad as well.

This was a really nice simple light lunch and at less than £8 each was a real bargain. I think we shall have to return to Gallipoli more often, as it is a big change from the Ocakbasi’s we have been frequenting a lot recently in Dalston. 

Sunday Roast @ Le Mercury

Le Mercury is a good, not too expensive place to go and get some nice nourishing food. What it isn’t, is a good place to go for a Sunday Roast.

The food was good, I mean it best Sunday Roast I’ve ever had, but it also wasn’t the worst Sunday Roast. That still sits with The Bull. Still having nightmares about that.

What really spoilt it was the vibe of the place. If I was pre or post theatre, or on an early date with a girl, then this is the perfect place. It’s all very dimly lit, candle lit, romantically lit type of place.

The service is a little more than you would expect in a place such as this. It’s all a bit formal. It’s all a bit pre or post theatre.

It’s not for a Sunday Roast.

Saying that, the roast wasn’t bad. Nice cut of well cooked, juicy beef. A bit tight on the roasties, but they were good none the less. Well cooked carrots and broccoli. Pretty tasty gravy. The plate was restaurant plated, not Sunday Roast plated.

It’s just the vibe that killed the roast. I’m not really into eating Sunday Roasts in the evening, although I’ve done it a few times recently and there is something about it, that isn’t right.

It’s not for a Sunday Roast.

I want to go back during the week, and have a romantically candle lit dinner with the wife, and I know we will enjoy it.

It’s just not for a Sunday Roast. 

Byron Burger @ Upper Street Branch

Since returning from our mini stopover in New York back in March, we seemed not to have eaten a burger, and now I was beginning to have a craving for one or two.

As I noticed in New York, people there eat burgers probably two or three times a week, mainly as a quick lunch as we would eat a sandwich. They are very cheap and can eaten on the go.

The burgers there and the burgers here are so so different. Here, you pay a lot more but you also get a lot more. There, the burgers are in small buns and are not too dissimilar to those god awful chain specimens. Maybe that’s why they are still so popular.

Anyhows, I had a craving and it needed feeding. I noticed a branch of Byrons had sprung up on Upper Street. I’d seen another one in Soho somewhere, and heard of one in Kensington. The word on the street was that they did pretty good burgers.

That day I had been helping some friends move, and they had a lot of stuff, packed away in all sorts of boxes, draws, pots etc. Yes, they were not very good packers, but it did help me to realise how unfit I was. Very unfit. That will have to be put right. One day.

So, after a day of lugging too many tables up too many flights of stairs, I had a hunger that only a cow could subdue. I’m sure if we’d had been near to Buen Ayre, I think that is where I would have gone, we weren’t, but we were within walking distance of Byrons.

The welcome there is very friendly and so American. It is simply designed, lots of colour, which is good. Puts you in a happy mood. Which is the opposite from the outside. Bit bare really. Looks like they run pout of paint when they were doing it up.

The menu really has one burger on it, but with the addition of different toppings and extras you can build a masterpiece, or by paying £3.50p extra you can make it a double. They also have a chicken fillet burger and the lonely veggie option all the way at the bottom. It amazes me, as the few veggies I know do not like entering meat haven shrines. So why pander to them.

After a little time browsing the menu and looking around, we opted very simply for 2 classic burgers, onion rings and French fries. Thankfully the burgers are all cooked to medium as standard, as I hate when they ask how you want it, and they never come as you want. At least this way the cooks should be able to get them right.

First to the sides. The onion rings had that yummy sweet onion taste I love so much. The batter was a tad greasy, and being served in a bowl with greaseproof paper in the bottom. The grease made a nice little pool in the bottom. Lovely.

The French fries were ok, nothing special but cooked well and not too greasy.

The burgers though actually tasted of meat. Thank the lord. So many times recently I have tasted beef that does not taste of beef. The meat they say is ground and made into burgers fresh each day. These were seasoned very well, and had that beefy taste to them. The topping of lettuce and red onion slices are a standard that you either love them or hate them. Lina hates raw onion so I always get an extra helping.

A lot of burgers buns normally fall apart from being over soggy, as they do not let the burger rest before it goes on the bun. There was no such disaster happening here. The buns were actually really light and tasty. A compliment to the burgers.

We ordered two beers good ol’ yankee style. Not bad. I was in need of a beer after the day of hard slog I had, but on another occasion I would have ordered one of the shakes. Next time.

All in all it was a good experience considering it is a chain, but if you do one thing and do it well you will succeed. I think Byron will be around for a long time if they keep this up. Excellent. 

Sunday Roast @ The Bull On Upper Street

For me there is nothing better than going to a pub on a Sunday and having a few pints and a great Sunday roast. For me it’s part of being English. Nearly every Sunday for the first 22 years of my life, (until I started travelling) I always had a roast on a Sunday. Well 99% of the time anyhows.

It’s one of the things that I miss when I am travelling in other parts of the world. Although it’s not something I would have abroad. “As when in Rome.” But when I am here in England, it’s something that I want. It’s a reminder of days gone past. I have good memories spending Sundays with my family sitting around the table, eating, and talking. My Nan used to bring over (most weeks) pudding. Her rhubarb crumble is still the best I have ever eaten. I used to always order it in restaurants, but they were never as good as my Nans. So I stopped.

So a Sunday Roast is natural for me, and many other people, like an Argentine Asado. It brings people together. It’s something I missed in Colombia. We cooked a few roasts but in a small portable oven, it wasn’t easy but we kinda managed it. Not fantastic, but they were ok.

So, on our first Sunday back, I cooked some roast lamb for 7 people. Nothing kinda beats a home cooked roast, but sometimes it’s nice to go out to a pub and have it all done for you.

The Bull on Upper Street is not well known for its food, but we have had roasts there on many an occasion, but over time things went downhill. It was taken over by a pub chain, and I think the boil in the bag catering services took over. You can always tell that when on the bottom of a menu it reads, “Some of our dishes may contain nuts.” You’d know for sure if you cooked it your own kitchen.

But it has a good atmosphere, good selection of beers, and it was close to where we once used to live. But after this Sunday lunchtime meal, I don’t think we’ll eat there again.

I’m still kinda angry actually, as I only got 1½ roast potatoes. How can you as a chef/cook give someone 1½ roast potatoes? I was going to complain, but then that would only put me in a crap mood for the rest of the day.

All in all it was a pretty pants meal. My beef was over cooked and dry. The horseradish sauce was quite weak. Obviously out of a jar. The Yorkshire pudding looked like a pre made Aunt Bessie, but not as nice. The only good thing was the diced carrots and parsnips, they weren’t like mush, as you’d expect. They had some bite to them. Amazing. At least they gave me some gravy.

Linas lamb that I tasted only tasted of the mint sauce I dabbed on it. She had 2 good sized potatoes though. Maybe the cook took a disliking to me when I ordered. Who knows.

As we walked out I noticed everyone who was eating a roast had 3 potatoes. I think everyone must had thought I had lost my mind, as I was loudly mumbling about 1½ potatoes and the like. As you can see madness is starting to creep in.

Let’s hope the next roast is better than this bad attempt at a simple meal.