LivingLife Magazine reviews the Airman Kitchen.
Our food connoisseurs on this occasion would be John (editor), and his wife, Kate. Opting for an ‘early doors’ visit, arriving at around 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon. The restaurant was already quite busy, so it is advisable to phone up and book a table in advance to avoid disappointment.
We were greeted by our waiter, Tolga, a delightful man, and he escorted us to our table. We soon had stylish black menus in our hands - a traditional Turkish menu, with hot and cold starters, traditional meat grills, grilled seafood, a selection of special Turkish dishes, homemade specials, and vegetarian dishes.
Kate is a big fan of falafel and chose ‘Falafel with Humus’ for starters. John opted for the ‘King Prawns’ starter, which comes with garlic, mushroom, parsley and butter sauce.
Before our starters arrived, Tolga delivered a tray of Turkish flatbread, accompanied with chilli sauce, olives and garlic yoghurt. This was yummy, and we both remarked upon how good the chilli sauce was, very refreshing, with subtle, unfamiliar flavours. Our starters were equally appetizing and very well presented.
Whilst we waited for our main course, we checked out the décor. The Airman Kitchen is a traditional inn, with a rustic feel, with exposed ceiling beams and open fire. All very cosy and relaxing.
For mains, Kate ordered the ‘Chicken Shish’ – lean chunks of chicken breast skewered and grilled over charcoal, served with rice, couscous, and salad. The chicken was out of this world. This method of cooking, over charcoal, gives the chicken an amazing taste and texture. You really do have to try this.
John ordered the ‘Lamb Shish Yoghurt’ – marinated lamb grilled over charcoal, with yoghurt and tomato sauce then drizzled in butter. This was served with rice, couscous, and salad. Once again, the meat was cooked to perfection, so succulent, and very tasty.
We decided to try one of the non-alcoholic ‘Mocktails’ - the ‘Airman Love’ and these went down a treat, containing cranberry, apple, strawberry puree and soda water. Highly recommended. After eating so much delicious food we opted to share a desert, and profiteroles were the perfect way to finish our meal.
After our meal we chatted with Ali, and he talked about and his plans to extend the restaurant. We won’t go into details here, but to keep up to date on what’s happening at the Airman Kitchen be sure to follow their page on Facebook.
Ali explained how much time and effort his team put into the food preparation in the kitchen, for example, the chilli sauce has a total of 11 vegetables in it, creating an amazing sauce with subtle tastes that get the juices flowing.
Finally, Ali gave us a guided tour of the kitchen, and we were fascinated with the three-metre-long charcoal grill used to cook the meat. It was really interesting to see how the food is prepared and cooked.
A very enjoyable meal and lovely experience, we simply can’t wait to visit the Airman Kitchen again.
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