Emma Anatolia is a new Turkish restaurant on the corner of St.Vincent street and Hope street where Arisaig used to be. We popped in to try out their 2 Courses for £6.95 and 3 for £7.95 lunch menu, and we’d had a tip-off that it was very good, but we were also told to avoid the soup as it was watery!
This was only my second visit to a Turkish restaurant (the first being Alla Turca on Pitt street which I enjoyed) so I’m not an expert on Turkish food but I immediately noticed that the menu looked exactly like one you’d find in a Greek restaurant but with er, different names for the dishes. I love Greek food so the signs were good.
We noticed that out of a choice of 8 starters, 7 were vegetarian and the 8th Tarama (whipped cod roe in other words Taramasalata in Greece!) was pescatarian-friendly.
We both opted for Imam Bayildi (Aubergine, onion, green peppers, tomatoes, parsley & olive oil) as it sounded a bit different. Wrong choice! It was cold and slimy.
Thankfully the huge portion of pide (bread) we also ordered redeemed the first course. Between us we couldn’t finish it over the duration of the meal.
The apple tea was lovely and the Turkish tea was basically just the same as black tea without milk or lemon. A coffee was also purchased which was a standard type – i.e. not Turkish coffee!
So total price, £21.20 for 3 courses each and 5 drinks between us.
Overall, disappointing starter and meat eaters may feel let down by the choice but this is made up by the mains, which are big, meaty and tasty. Desserts disappointing but the tea was lovely, and the bread was huge so we both left with full bellies. If you like Turkish (and for that matter Greek!) food you should at least give it a go. The lunch menu is served 12 till 2.30pm Monday to Saturday.
Love the bread in Anatolia, and the chicken shish – the restaurant is very close to my work, and great value for lunches so we’ve been a couple of times.