First Night in Istanbul - A Revelation of Kebabs
Being citizens of the United Kingdom we thought we were familiar with the concept of kebab. Large slices of greasy meat, slathered in sauces, served in some equally greasy pita bread alongside something which may have once, in the distant past been lettuce. That’s all there is to it right?
Istanbul does kebabs a little differently as we found out on the first night in the city.
Groggy from lack of sleep, we were effectively lassoed from the street by a rotund smiling moustachioed man. Grabbing two ice waters as he went, he quickly ushered us to a table outside the busy Bilice Kebab.
The Menu at Bilice Kebab
Bilice Kebab’s menu was full of sharing platters. Mr Moustache directed our attention to the menu options that were suitable for two people (there were choices for one person, two persons or a small army of persons).
The menu seems to pride itself on lamb, but there were other choices of meat and it even catered to vegetarians (see our notes on this later). We opted for the Lamb Kebab with Lamb Kofta.
The Kebab
The first arrival to our small street side table was a massive circular metal platter with 8 side dishes arranged around the circumference. The platter was so large it overhung the small table on all sides and the colourful side dishes were in such generous portions that they could have been a meal in themselves. Indeed, the vegetarian man dining on the table beside us had a very nice meal consisting primarily of just these side dishes.
As we salivated in awe of the platter before us, the headline act came to the stage. A woodcutter's bundle of metal skewered lamb kebabs, straight from the charcoal grill landed on the table. This was joined by a slab of kofta and two types of bread. It certainly didn’t look like any kebab we’ve had before.
Just for context we had been travelling since 4am. It was now 8.30pm. All we had eaten that day was a Greggs Sausage, Baked Bean and Cheese Melt pasty (thinking back, this was quite a fitting last meal in England) from London Bridge station and a portion of aeroplane food pasta. Our stomachs were not so much growling, as full on roaring. Ellie had passed through the hangry stage and was now glaring at strangers, eying them up like a ravenous beast. At this point it would have taken a flame thrower, several Rottweilers and possibly an armoured elephant to prevent us tearing this meal apart. It was a good job that this was a no cutlery meal!
It was a messy affair, possibly not helped by a hunger driven desperation to shove as much food into our faces as possible. Tearing off a small sheet of the thin, grilled bread and stripping a skewer of deliciously barbecued meat we started to construct our first kebabs.
Ellie played it classic. Hummus, plain bread, barbecued lamb kebab topped with a tomato, cucumber and pepper salad. John went avant garde, and started with the bread that came pre-dipped in glorious kebaby juices. To this, he added a mint and onion salad, a yogurty dressing and using his fingers to tear off a piece, smashed in a chunk of lamb kofta. In a testament to the Chef, our two approaches, although wildly different, were equally delicious.
Over the next 40 minutes we experimented with all the side dishes; sweet pickled onions joined lemony potatoes and grilled meats. Kofta was paired with tomato and chilli salsa and a coriander and red onion salad. There were endless combinations but I don’t think you could have made a dud choice even if you had tried.
Final Thoughts on Bilice Kebabs
This place is hardly off the beaten track, it’s well known, frequented by tourists and within a stones throw of a major thoroughfare connecting Gelata Tower to Taksim Square. It could just have been our hunger, it could have been the excitement of the first day of our adventure, it could be our lack of knowledge that led us to be so impressed with this meal. But sitting on the warm street, sipping our Turkish teas whilst people, scooters and the ever present Istanbulian cats flowed past us, we were loving it. This was our first meal in Istanbul, and the first of our adventure. We were finally travelling and we were happy.
Oh, and also the whole thing cost us £7.20 each (150 Turkish Lira / $8.67 USD)*
Thanks for reading.
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
If you are looking for accommodation in the Galata and Beyoğlu area of Istanbul check out our guide to the area here and our handy hotel map below:
The aftermath
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