Ottoman Shisha Bar

I was invited to Ottomans by Kerry to explore some Turkish food.
Well, the atmosphere seemed to be slightly dark and cold rather than warm and cosy (stone floor, black tables). It was also quiet, and just later in the evening, a bigger group of people (possibly Turkish) came for a dinner.
I’ve ordered myself haloumi for starter (salty but delicious!), the one of two vegetarian options (well, can’t really blame the restaurant seems like Turkish cuisine is actually about the meat) and a glass of ayran. Main was ok, not the best of Turkush I’ve eaten, but still pretty good and tasty. Ayran might seem slightly suspicious — it’s either really authentic or not. I still liked it, but would prefer the mainstream one, salted, watery youghurt drink (as Kerry mentioned, its not something what you would like to drink from a wine glass with a straw! A metal cup would be a right dish for it).
The prices were alright, as for £15 I felt pretty full.
I suggest, Ottomans is a right place for big, noisy family-​type socials, rather than dinner for two. However, if Ottomans could work on actual environment (and try to make it more homie), it would be a much better place.

Having not really seen or heard much about the Ottoman Shisha Bar before going, I was not expecting the slick and modern interior of this place when I walked in. For some reason, I had expected a much more cosy and dim-​lit setting (no idea why) but alas I was greeted with modern décor and seated at a bright table by the window.
This place is small, but it was very quiet (Thursday night) so there was really no need to book a table for 7pm, as I had done! The staff who greeted me were very friendly and seated me with a smile.
This was my first real experience of Turkish food, so I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. The menu, from what I could see, seemed fairly extensive for meat-​eaters. There was lots of lamb, rice and yogurt on the menu, which suited me just fine! For vegetarians, however, the options were rather limited at just 2 set veggie dishes on the menu…
Luckily I had an experienced foodie with me, to help recommend things and explain the cuisine a bit more (thanks Karolina G!). I opted for the lamb kofta and an Ayran to drink.
The food was really great! The meat was moist, which seemed essential alongside sauceless-​rice and a side salad. The flavours were there and it was really enjoyable. The food was simple — meat, rice and salad — but still looked and tasted fresh and original. It wasn’t boring, though I must say I am a bit of a plain/​dry food lover, so if you’re into sauces and condiments, then this might not be your cup of tea. The meal came with some lovely bread as well. Even this was not the bread I’m used to! It was slightly tough (intentional, I think…) with a sprinkle of herbs on top.
The drink was certainly a new experience for me too! I’m still not sure how I feel about it and didn’t finish the whole thing… Essentially you’re drinking what tastes like watered down goats cheese with a pinch of salt and some little lumps of… I don’t quite know what… I’m not one to turn down a new tasting experience so I did drink half of it and it was certainly unusual and not half as bad as it sounds. That being said, I don’t think I’ll be ordering it again! Anything that has lumps of cheese in it should not be drunk with a straw, in my opinion.
So, all in all, this place was good! I wasn’t blown away by it all, but it was a nice meal out and a great first experience of Turkish food. I might be back, but I think I’ll be more inclined to try somewhere else and see how the food and drink compares.
The prices were not cheap, at about £9−10 for a main, but the meal was very filling, so this didn’t sting quite so bad.
Note: The lovely waitress who was serving us did try to get us to stick around so we wouldn’t miss a belly dancer that was about to arrive, so perhaps we just left before this place really kicked off and came into it’s own!

Authentic. Doesn’t feel like Brighton when you’re sat in there. Good fresh food and don’t forget to try the rice pudding !

We just visited Ottomans for our christmas meal, the service was great, and the food was lovely, some of us had not eaten turkisk food before and they thoroughly enjoyed it. We had crackers and party poppers and decorations which made the meal feel really christmassy. We had the cold and hot starters which were heavenly very nice collections of flavours. The mixed grill was lovely and plentiful. Would definately go back there again Thank you.

Good Turkish restaurants are a bit of a rarity in Brighton. We have plenty of the greasy, late-​night kebab variety but nothing serving up authentic, tasty Turkish food in pleasant surroundings. Or so I thought, until I stumbled upon Ottoman Cuisine on the Lewes Road.
For those that don’t know, Lewes Road isn’t the greatest area in Brighton but this really is a hidden gem. The table are large with Turkish rugs instead of tablecloths. There is an indoor BBQ where many of the meat dishes are cooked to order, and they even make their own bread on the premises. There is a bar at the back and a small outside seating area as well as a private carpark.
The staff are all Turkish and very friendly. Even more telling was the fact that a large number of the clientele were also Turkish, a definite pointer towards authentic dishes.
I went for the Sigara Boregi (feta and parsley in filo pastry) for my starter, my dining companion went for the halloumi. I asked the waitress for some advise when choosing my main as there was such a large selection of kebabs, I didn’t know what was what. I knew I wanted lamb cooked on the BBQ and the waitress recommended the Lamb Sis Kebab — large chunks of tender lamb on a skewer cooked to perfection. The flavour was lovely and worked well with the bulgur rice, yogurt and chili accompaniment. One word of wording, the chili started off fairly tame but had a surprising heat kick in the middle! My companion went for a similar dish but the lamb was pan fried in smaller pieces — also tasty.
The wine list only had a couple of bottle of both red and white, but it turned out that neither whites were available. We were presented with what they did have in stock, a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc which was passable, but not fantastic.
The prices here are also amazing. Dinner for two with a bottle of wine came to £40, definitely a bargain in pricey Brighton.
My one complaint is that they brought the main courses to our table before we had even finished our starters. I guess this was preferable to leaving the meat to overcook but it did mean that the starters were rushed and consequently not enjoyed as much as they should have been. Rectify this and it could be a five star experience.
They also do take away and free home delivery — kebabtastic!

Hmmm where to start with this place? Let me start off by saying I consider myself a connoisseur-​in-​the-​making of Turkish food, though I’m not Turkish. The good news about this place is that the food is decent. My lady and I went on a busy friday night and were seated outside. Like I said, the food is just about solid, but where Ottoman Cuisine lets itself down is all the trimmings. Depending on your standards this may or may not bother you.
In Turkish restaurants, complementary bread is usually brought soon after you sit. They were so busy and didn’t have enough waiting staff that I knew I’d have to remind them to bring the bread which I did when we placed our order and still hadn’t received any. We waited in vain, but when the food came I asked again and it finally arrived.
When it came to ordering drinks, they didn’t have any Ayran! A Turkish restaurant without Ayran? Doesn’t say much for their organisation but hey, hiccups always happen so we can overlook that.
As for the food itself, my wife ordered the Chicken Shish and I the Lamb Shish. Mine was fantastic, top notch, almost perfect. But her chicken was so hydrated that it barely resembled chicken! Much too soft, and flavourless. If they switched to free-​range I’d become a regular.
Also, they didn’t serve any fresh lemon with the dish. This is de rigeur in ALL turkish restaurants I’ve been to, even cheap n cheerful take-​aways. And when I asked for chilli sauce I was given a bottle of Branston Chilli relish! I’m not joking. Again, any kebab shop worth its salt makes their own delicious warm chilli sauce, but when I asked the waiter he said that we don’t do it because we want to keep it traditional. but we will start making it soon. Yeah, he confused me too.
The rice portions are on the small side too but with the complementary delicious bread it seems churlish to complain about this.
Finally, as anyone who’s been to a few Turkish restaurants knows, it’s customary to be offered a complementary small glass (or two or three) of Turkish tea afterwards. Not only were we not offered tea, but when I asked for some I was told that they turn off the samovar earlier in the evening! ‘Traditional’ my foot.
The overall impression is that if you crave that charcoal kebab taste and you’re over this side of town then it will do the job, and service is friendly, but it’s not the real deal. You get the impression they don’t really know what they want to be: there’s this really cheesy bar area with that tacky holiday resort feel to it. It wouldn’t be worth mentioning but after all it calls itself Ottoman and features the tughra all over the windows, so this side of it seems a bit incongruous or even disrespectful to the term Ottoman.
It’s good that Brighton has a second sit-​down Turkish restaurant, but in my view Istanbul BBQ near Waitrose on Western Rd is still the one to beat.