[Portsmouth, Southsea] Nemrut

Nemrut, Albert Rd, Portsmouth

A favourite for many years and one I always try to squeeze in a trip to when visiting family in the area.

Family owned/run for the best part of 20 years.

We returned this week and ordered our regular dishes:

Cacik: a particular thick, creamy and delicious version of this yoghurt based sauce/dip.

Ezme: an excellent Ezme salad, very finely chopped, with a bit more chilli and a bit less parsley than a lot of other versions, which ticks the boxes for my personal taste.

Adana: The level of smoke flavour they consistently get into these from the mangal is very impressive. Always without any acrid smoke flavours and never overcooked. The house rice that comes with these is excellent. The salad garnishes on the side are not very impressive (red cabbage, lettuce and grated carrot) , but if you have some Ezme or another salad side dish then it’s fine.

Babanos: star of the show is Babanos. Lamb fillet grilled over charcoal and cut into small pieces the size of dice, and served on a bed of a creamy yoghurt and smoky aubergine sauce, which as far as I can tell is basically a chunky baba ganoush mixed with yoghurt (which is in keeping with the name of the dish).

The house-made bread is the best. It has a greater depth of flavour and chewier crumb than a lot of the Turkish bakery bread in the UK, perhaps with a slower proove and less yeast than is typical. I can’t help but order extra bread every time and often neglect most of the (quite excellent) rice in favour of the bread!

Cost for 4 above dishes and extra bread (which will feed two very hungry people): ~ £40. Excludes drinks and service.

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Good review. And one to file away - it’s possible I’ll be visiting the city later next year.

I can’t recall seeing Babanos on Turkish menus round here but it sounds just up my street. One to look out for.

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Thanks, it’s definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. I can’t recall seeing Babanos on a menu elsewhere, and Google doesn’t seem to recognise it as a dish either, so it may well be one of their own creations!