It must have been at school that I learnt that the Russian word for ‘sofa’ (‘divan’) is one of the borrowings from the Turkish language. The other day I discovered that Divan is also the name of a classy restaurant located on the top floor of a building in the legendary Istiklal Avenue.
The terrace was closed due to rainy weather, but they seated me at a table by the window overlooking the point where Istanbul’s three waterbodies, the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara, meet. A friendly waiter smiled reassuringly and said the priceless ‘you are enough for us’ after asking if somebody was joining me and getting my negative answer.
I felt like a glass of dry red wine, and they recommended a combination of two sorts, Öküzgözü and Boğazkere, which was very good. They also brought a complimentary starter with it, delicious olive paste to spread on fresh warm bread, which led me to discover that the words for ‘olive’ are similar in Arabic and Turkish.
I was so impatient to try the colourful and fragrant Rice Meatballs in Egg & Lemon Sauce that I forgot to take a picture before starting. The untouched fragment I did photograph shows compliance with a guideline I’ve also remembered since my housekeeping classes at school, which is to give a similar shape and size to different ingredients in a dish. In this case the potatoes, carrots and courgettes were cut to match the meatballs, and it all tasted as impeccable as it looked. I didn’t even ask about the dessert options as I didn’t seem to have any stomach space (c) left. Next time then.
