Like everywhere else, Istanbul Grill closed in late March with the lockdown. Unlike a number of other local places, they didn’t immediately keep going by offering takeaways and home delivery. But they started doing delivery a few weeks ago, using Deliveroo as an ordering platform but delivering themselves rather than using Deliveroo drivers.
We ordered three starters for the two of us. Bog standard stuffed vine leaves, pleasant enough when some lemon was squeezed over them. Patlican salatsi – the long cooked baked aubergine dish that you find all over the Eastern Mediterranean under different names. We are fortunate in this area that four restaurants in Cheadle offer the dish including the two Lebanese places where you’ll find it called makmour. All four make a good version. And, finally, a couple of grilled slices of halloumi and sucuk sausage. Alongside, some excellent bread – light as a feather but still with a bit of texture. Even better than the Turkish bread I buy from the Venus supermarket in Rusholme. There’s also a little tub of seasoned yoghurt (cacik) and another of a fiery chill sauce, to eat with these and the main course.
Adana kebab (named after the city) is a long kofta, lightly spiced and, to my mind, perfectly cooked, so it was still moist. This was a very generous plate of food. The kebab sat on more of the bread, which had soaked up some of its juices. To add to the carbs, there was rice. And a salad and a chilli pepper to nibble on. Much as I tried, there was too much to be able to finish.
My partner just fancied a very non-Turkish vegetable pizza. It was generously sized and tasted fine.
