To my knowledge, Turkuaz is only the second Turkish restaurant to open in Jakarta. Sesai Zorlu, its owner and chef, worked in the first one, Anatolia, for 10 years. From what I've heard, since he left, the quality of the food in the latter has been deteriorating and it is no longer the great restaurant it used to be. If anyone can confirm it would be appreciated...
Turkuaz is quite small, with only about 30 seats available. There are plans to expand by the end of the year, with two private rooms and a lounge upstairs to smoke shisha. When we visited, on a Saturday night, it was full and we had to wait for 10 minutes to get a table.
Concerning the decoration, the restaurant looks simple but it is elegant, with black and white photographs of Turkey on the wall, some beautiful hanging lamps and an open kitchen. It is the kind of intimate venue you may be interested in for a date. Among the clients, it was mixed: Some Indonesians, some Chinese, some Turkish/Middle Easterners, and some Westerners. The waiters were friendly as often in Indonesia, and a woman who seemed to be the manager came to greet us and offered her help for the selection of the dishes.
I usually prefer ordering random stuff, and since we were 3, we all sampled the following:
For appetizers (no photos):
- Zeytinyagli Hummus (Rp45,000++): Simply put, the best Hummus I've had in Jakarta so far.
- Ispanakli Peynirli Borek (Rp40,000): Small pastries with pistachio and cheese. It was the first time I had these so I cannot give an expert's point of view, but for the amateur I am, it was delicious and a dish I would recommend.
Main course:
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| Burgul Pilavli Kuzu Incik |
- Burgul Pilavli Kuzu Incik (Rp 215,000++): Lamb Shank with Pilaf Burgul (wheat): The meat was very tender, but we thought the whole dish was lacking a specific Turkish flavor that would have made it perfect. The way it was, it didn't taste much different than if it had been cooked in a Western restaurant.
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| Yayla Kebab Lamb |
- Yaila Kebab Lamb (Rp115,000++): Excellent, particularly the creamy sauce and the potatoes
- Sis Kebab Lamb (Rp145,000++): A bit expensive and average. The lamb was good, but not exceptional for the price.
Overall: Turquaz is one of Jakarta's top Middle-eastern restaurants. I recommend it to anyone living in South or Central Jakarta, knowing that it remains more expensive than average (a 2-course meal should cost you around Rp300,000 excluding drinks). Good to know: Since no alcohol, except beer, is served in Turkuaz, you can bring your own bottle of wine for a reasonable Rp80,000 corkage fee.
Opening Hours:
Every day, lunch from 11.30am to 2pm and dinner from 6pm to 10pm
Turkuaz Authentic Turkish Restaurant
Jalan Gunawarman No. 32
Kebayoran Baru - South Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 7279 5853 or +62-8 78 89 102 169 (mobile)
If you like Middle Eastern food, you should read my Top 10 Arab & Middle Eastern Food in Jakarta
Overall: Turquaz is one of Jakarta's top Middle-eastern restaurants. I recommend it to anyone living in South or Central Jakarta, knowing that it remains more expensive than average (a 2-course meal should cost you around Rp300,000 excluding drinks). Good to know: Since no alcohol, except beer, is served in Turkuaz, you can bring your own bottle of wine for a reasonable Rp80,000 corkage fee.
Every day, lunch from 11.30am to 2pm and dinner from 6pm to 10pm
Turkuaz Authentic Turkish Restaurant
Jalan Gunawarman No. 32
Kebayoran Baru - South Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 7279 5853 or +62-8 78 89 102 169 (mobile)
If you like Middle Eastern food, you should read my Top 10 Arab & Middle Eastern Food in Jakarta
Ate there last week - agree with comments above, a shared starter platter, 2 main courses and 2 desserts with a couple of beers came to 750,000. The food was very good with well presented garnishes and little touches. Nice, buzzing atmosphere and open kitchen were plus points. On the negative side, staff still need more training, there were lots of mosquitoes and it's rather pricey.
ReplyDeleteJust ate there....was very happy with the food. Service was also good, and no mosquitoes for us (per other reviewer). Beautiful photos and lighting inside. Downside for us was that there is smoking allowed everywhere, and we didn't know in advance we'd have to bring our own wine, but neither was that big of a deal. Overall, I'd definitely recommend.
ReplyDeleteI have been just there. The Mercimek Corbasi (Lentil Soup) was average. However the Adana Kebab was excellent. The rice which came with the Adana, was excellent. But normally it is not served with this kind of kebab. Overall, although it is a bit pricey, but it is worth it and I would recommend.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat was not very impressed with the place. During lunch time, there were few smokers and even they were setaed in the front area, you can still breathe their smoke due to the size of room. Food was just ok. Waitress need more trainning for not getting "confused"
ReplyDeleteAte there and food is super!have even had it catered at friends homes a few times and its been good then too!not great for desserts but when you can order desserts from 2 CUPS SUGAR...life is good!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the basics of your review. Intimate venue, feel-good yet somehow vibrant atmosphere and absolutely deliscious lamb kebab, served over some cubed fried potatoes in an absolutely sublime Turkish-yoghurt style sauce. The minced lamb-meat for the kebabs was wonderfuly tender and seasoned perfectly. Portion sizes aren't huge, but adequate to the average appetite. The prices for the food are a bit steep, but the quality of the food served made it worth it! The Bintang, which was not on the menue, was reasonablewith 27k a glass. Service good, not too pushy except for the usual rushed "May I take your plate?"-question before even having swallowed the last bite, but that is to be expected almost everywhere in Jakarta except for Loewy's and Union... Nice touch was the cologne sprinkle on the hands on the way out, felt very Turkish indeed! :) Overall: 10/10 "come back for more scrumptiousness"-factor!
ReplyDeleteJust a little correction for the writer: "Ispanakli Peynirli Borek (Rp40,000): Small pastries with pistachio and cheese" the filling of the pastries is spinach (ispanak) and cheese (peynir). Delicious...
ReplyDeleteSUPERB. I love this restaurant, I am there every two weeks if not more. Acili Hummus (Chili Hummus) is probably one of my favourite dishes, and their kebabs are really well done.
ReplyDeleteThey also do a really great job with the lamb. YUM.