16 types of jam........
Tucked away on the left, halfway along the flat straight road that runs across the valley floor towards Kirazli, is the little Seyfi Dayi Koy Sofrasi run by Mehmet Mersin, a village local who supports his Mum and family with this small but perfect restaurant.
We had a wonderful breakfast with 16 different types of home made jam including aubergine and orange with whole crystallised fruit, fresh made gozleme, fluffy bazlama bread and the best tapenade I’ve ever had in Turkey.
I’ve got to recommend it because it was different; there was more spice in the food than we usually find here and there were hints of cinnamon in the jams and there was a creamy dish of chopped peppers that packed a real punch of heat.
There are other larger restaurants, there are sofrasi with better views and more manicured gardens but the food here was brilliant and they served us stuff I had never seen before including a green salad where I could only identify about half the leaves. To find something new and exciting after eight years here is always a joy.
Seyfi Koy Sofrasi is open every day apart from Friday afternoon during the summer and weekends during the winter, they are open for evening meals but close early if its quiet so go before 8pm if you want to eat in the evening.
. . finding the unique, or nearly unique is always a treat. In Ortaca is a 50s house where a few ladies serve a very limited but daily changing menu of regional dishes. Open for just a few hours at lunch time it is another of those gems.
Thats exactly the kind of place we all look for, sometimes Turkish cuisine is too subtle for me, I can’t really tell the difference between one white cheese and another, so when you find something that is really interesting and different it makes your week!
I know a tiny little place down in Kusadasi, only a couple of tables, a really bright pretty place because the original owner was into interior design as a hobby, the new owner is a brilliant cook and the food is fantastic and nobody would have any idea where to find it and again it’s something a little different and it’s regional food that is really good.
K xxxx
We also love trying out unusual eating houses – where about in Ada is your latest find, Karen?
It’s two streets behind Garanti bank on the seafront Ann, in the street behind the Active Blue Dive shop, it’s called something Mutfak and it’s really bright and pretty and the food is excellent and the owner very nice. Tiny little place, just the owner and a girl serving, lots of vegetarian options if you have vegetarian friends. K xxx
I’m going to start an address book of bloggers’ recommendations and keep it in the car.
Should be coming to Kirazlıköy any day soon, Karen. Would be great to meet you. Pat
That would be brilliant Pat, just let me know when and we can meet up and go for lunch/late breakfast. K xxxx
It sound delicious; homemade food is so much nicer. There’s a wonderful little cafe/restaurant, run by a young woman, on the road into Odemis. She always has a fantastic range of jams and savoury preserves, all made in season; a real treat when driving from Izmir early in the morning.