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Editor’s
Choice
The 26-year “young” white
tablecloth restaurant Park fiamdan
is my Editor's Choice for this issue
dear readers! If you don't know
where it is, it might be easy to miss
because it is tucked away on the
ground floor of a 4-story
apartment building on the corner
of Mim Kemal Öke Street which
is parallel to the fashionable and
trendy Abdi ‹pekçi Street.
Once you've found Park
fiamdan, as you go down the steps
towards the entrance, you will
notice a beautifully manicured
garden to your left. Once inside,
you will go down some more steps
before you turn left to enter the
venue. To the left of the entrance
is the bar and lounge which was
enlarged and renovated in 2006.
This is where I was led to wait for
my sister as she was running late
for our lunch date. Here, you can
sit at the bar which overlooks the
gardens or at the more
comfortable and plush leather
Park fiamdan is known
for serving the best of
what Turkish cuisine
has to offer. It is also
a haven for
vegetarians because
of their selection of
salads and cold
vegetable dishes
prepared with olive oil.
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Park
Samdan
chairs. As the bar was already
crowded, I opted to sit. I have
been to Park fiamdan many times
for lunch and dinner, so I've had
an opportunity to try their
cocktails. My favorite is the vodka
martini, but the bartenders are
adept at preparing any cocktail
you choose. Most bars in Istanbul
have their own popular drink and
since last year, Park fiamdan's
“special drink of the house” is the
“Bond Martini”, prepared with
gin, vodka and the French liqueur
Lillet. I hope to try this the next
time I go there.
My sister arrived shortly
thereafter and we were escorted
to our table in the main dining
room, passing the more dimly lit
interior dining area. This area is
mainly allocated for non-smokers
and at the far end of this room is
an area with very plush leather
armchairs for those who would
like to have cocktails before their
meal in a private atmosphere.
The main dining room is very
airy with windows overlooking the
other side of the venue's gardens
with another bar area at the far
end of the room - once again used
by guests for cocktails before their
meal. After being seated at our
window table, we were given our
menus and wine list. In the
meantime, our waiter brought
over a bread basket and a plate
with a spread prepared with olives
and butter to tide us over. The
wine list includes a good variety
of International and Turkish
wines with prices ranging from
moderate to the expensive.
Additionally, you can order any
of the Turkish wines listed by the
glass which is what I did.
The menu included a mix of
Turkish and International fare
and was quite overwhelming and
extensive! Daily specials are also
available and besides the “main”
menu, the vast choices listed on
the left side of the menu change
weekly. Here you can order
anything from frogs legs to caviar
to spring rolls to Caesar salad to
kebab with yogurt (yo¤urtlu
kebab) to talafl böre¤i (puff pastry
stuffed with pieces of meat, peas
and potatoes) to fried duck to
risotto. And... I am just touching
the tip of the iceberg!
As you can imagine - it took
us a while to make our decisions!
For our appetizer, we chose the
grilled calamari - which we
decided to share. When the dish
arrived, we realized we made the
right choice - not only was it
absolutely delicious, but it was big
enough for two to share. The
grilled calamari with teriyaki
sauce, topped with chopped
walnuts was served on a bed of
risotto with a side of greens and
diced red and yellow bell peppers.
I haven't had grilled calamari this
tender and delicious at some of
the best seafood restaurants in
Istanbul. Kudos to Park fiamdan's
Chef Recep Gümüfl. Gümüfl has
been at Park fiamdan since it
opened in 1981. This is just one
of the major reasons for the
venue's continued success
throughout the years - consistency!
Our choices for our main
courses were a little more
traditional. My sister ordered one
of the staple dishes at Park
fiamdan - kebab with yogurt. You
can opt to have this dish prepared
with a mix of beef tenderloin and
köfte (Turkish style meatballs) or
just beef tenderloin - she opted
for the latter. The meal is served
in an oval casserole dish and the
meat is served on a bed of sliced
pide bread, topped with plain
yogurt - tomato sauce is optional.
This dish got a thumbs up from
her. I too chose a meat dish - beef
tenderloin in a red wine sauce.
The thick piece of fillet of beef
was topped with thin shavings of
fried leeks and accompanied with
creamed spinach, rice pilaf and
french fries. It was excellent - the
meat was cooked just the way I
asked. The extra touch of the
leeks with the red wine sauce still
has my mouth watering now!
“No meal is complete without
dessert” does have its merits!
However, I on the other hand,
skip this most scrumptious part
of a meal! Most of our readers
know that I am constantly battling
my urges for sweets and lately I
have been winning the battle.
While I enjoyed a café latte, my
sister ordered the Coupe Krokan,
which I did taste! The dish is two
scoops of creamy vanilla ice
cream, drizzled with caramel
sauce and topped with slices of
almonds. Need I say more?
By this point we were totally
in a “feel good” spirit. It was a
beautiful sunny day, not one table
in the venue was empty and
occupied by guests - Turkish and
foreign - just enjoying the
atmosphere with friends or
business associates. Besides the
excellent food, the wait staff at
Park fiamdan does an excellent
job in ensuring that diners enjoy
all aspects of their meal. They are
Park fiamdan
Mim Kemal Öke Caddesi
No. 18/1 Niflantafl›
Tel: (0212) 225 07 10
Photos by Ahmet A¤ao¤lu
very efficient and knowledgeable
and you don't even notice them
changing your ashtray or refilling
your water glass! Not surprising
as most of them have been their
since Park fiamdan opened and
the “youngest” member of the
staff has been there 5 years.
Ersoy Çetin has been the
owner and manager of Park
fiamdan for the past 11 years. He
is a very “hands on” owner and
can be found at the venue most
days - I guess this is another part
of their success!
Park fiamdan will be moving
to Reina Night Club in
Kuruçeflme as our mid-June for
the summer. However, the
Niflantafl› location will continue
to be open during lunch
throughout the summer.
Make sure to include Park
fiamdan on your list of places to
visit on your next outing whether it is for lunch or dinner.
Reservations are highly
recommended.
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