TRY: Terrace Restaurant @ Blue House Hotel

Have you heard of the dish known as 'Sultan's Delight' before?

On the first day of exploration in Istanbul, Turkey, my BFF and I immersed ourselves in the old city. Aimless walking was pretty much the agenda for the evening. We wanted to visit a particular terrace restaurant, but failed to locate it. Hence, we ended up dining at the topmost floor of Blue House Hotel.

I'm not too sure why it's called Blue House Hotel, but its terrace restaurant offers an unobstructed view of the famous Blue Mosque, which picture I'm going to at the end of this review. Pika's advice: Do note that the al fresco restaurant is only open between May and October every year.

Bread

The wind was quite chilly that evening, and I left my jacket in the hotel room. The soft and warm bread thawed my freezing fingers.

Pacanga Borek ₺24.00 (~S$11.50)

Taste: 8/10

For appetiser, we ordered the delightful pastry stuffed with dried meat, yellow cheese and red peppers. While the filling was truly savoury, I felt that the pastry could be crispier. Having said that, it was actually the best item for the evening, where I really wanted to order a second serving.

Hunkar Begendi ₺34.00 (~S$16.25)

Taste: 6.5/10

Literally translated as 'Sultan's Delight', the main course featured a small amount of veal cooked in tomato sauce on top of a huge portion of mashed eggplants. While the former was so-so, the latter was smooth and slightly chewy. I wonder if any sultans would be delighted to have more mashed eggplants than the meat? :P

Ottoman Kebab ₺36.00 (~S$17.25)

Taste: 6.5/10

A generous portion of thinly sliced lamb topped with tomato sauce was presented on a metal plate with bread and yogurt underneath, Even though the meat was quite tender, it seemed to have lost its natural sweetness. The yogurt was enjoyably creamy, but the tomato sauce could be sweeter. 

Baked Rice Pudding ₺11.00 (~S$5.25)

Taste: 7.5/10

Our second stomach called for chilled baked rice pudding. It was aromatic, although its texture could be improved. I felt that it wasn't cooked slow enough as I could still feel a bit of the rice grains. Apart from that, it was mildly sweet.

Blue House Special Cocktail ₺29.00 (~S$13.90)

Taste: 4.5/10

I'm sorry for being blunt, but I felt that the special cocktail of the restaurant that my BFF had was a fiasco. A concoction of vodka, tequila, malibu, orange juice and grenadine, it was somewhat alright at the beginning, but it soon turned heavy and tasted like cough syrup.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 6.5/10

Ambience: 8.5/10

Service: 6/10

Overall: 7/10

Service was pretty efficient, but somewhat cold, just like the weather that evening. While the food could certainly be improved, I enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere there.

Terrace Restaurant @ Blue House Hotel

14 Dalbasti Street

Istanbul

Turkey

(Daily in May-Oct: 12 noon - 11.00pm)

http://www.bluehousehotel.com/

*Prices quoted are nett prices.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)