Kazan (Turkish) – London, England (8.5/10)
Dec 12th, 2008 by admin
I’d never even heard of Turkish restaurant Kazan in Pimlico, but when a friend suggested dinner there last week, I was more than happy to try a new and recommended eaterie. On Tuesday evening, it was looking difficult to get a table (we were told there would be a 30 minute wait), but after about five minutes, the owner found us a good table by the wall.
The interior is very dimly lit (hence the quality of my photos), and the tables are close together, but it’s stylish and modern, with a buzzing but pleasant atmosphere. The service is also fast, efficient and friendly, and best of all, we weren’t told that we’d have to vacate our table by a certain time, even though there was a crowd by the bar after 8pm. It’s clearly a popular local restaurant, so popular in fact that there’s even a branch in the City now.
According to the restaurant website, the Ottomans used to carry a kazan with them, ‘a large cooking pot in which all the ingredients they collected were cooked over an open fire’, and the food is representative of the best of Ottoman cuisine. The extensive menu, with good descriptions of each dish, took a while to read through (it’s online if you want to study it). Of course the meat dishes dominated, as well many hot and cold mezze dishes, but there were also several seafood and vegetarian mains. For starters, we ordered cold mezze of humus (£4.95), tarama (£4.95) and hot mezze of hellimi – pan fried Cyprus white cheese (£5.95).
I knew I would have to order the kuzu pirzola – marinated lamb chops, served with salad and a choice of garlic mash, rice or chunky fries (£14.95). The others had salmon kebabs – marinated cubed salmon, skewered with Mediterranean vegetables, cooked on the chargrill and served with ezme salad (£13.95) and pasha koftesi – The Pasha’s favourite dish – chargrilled minced lamb mixed with herbs, spices and Kashar cheese, served with creamy garlic mash (£13.95).
Our friend is a regular at Kazan, and I have to say, I wish it were my local too. My lamb chops (4 of them!) were perfectly grilled, and pink in the centre. Despite being in company, I couldn’t resist picking up the bones and gnawing all the meat and fat off them! My garlic mash, on the other hand, wasn’t very exciting in comparison. I could barely taste the garlic and it was too puréed for my taste.
If you’re wondering where the photo of the lamb chops is, I was so excited when the plate arrived that my hands shook as I took the photo! You’ll have to visit Kazan to see them for yourself. As nothing was left on any of our plates, it was obvious that the quality of the food was very high overall. With wine and Turkish coffee (and tap water), dinner came to under £80 for three people. I’m still thinking about the lamb chops…
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All London restaurant reviews are archived here.
Contact details:
Kazan Victoria
93-94 Wilton Road
London SW1V 1DW
Tel: 020 7233 7100
Kazan City
34-36 Houndsditch
London EC3A 7DB
Tel: 020 7626 2222
www.kazan-restaurant.com
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
mmm, we had an office party here once and they laid on a belly dancer afterwards to keep us awake, she had all the directors up dancing!
Oooh I do love a good lamb chop. I’ll add it to the list!
kate – belly dancer would have been interesting!
Lizzie – I have to say, these were near perfect lamb chops. There’s one in the City too, if that’s closer.
Helen Yuet Ling
£80 for 3 seems very reasonable , the dinner looks really good, i love grilled meat!
Garlic mash is always welcomed
bit of a trek for me this one, but I’ll have to try it out sometime.
thank you for the review
kang – I love grilled meat, especially lamb chops. The garlic mash didn’t taste of much, probably because the meat was so full of flavour. There’s a branch in the City too if that’s closer?
Helen Yuet Ling