Yuzdeyuz offers one of the greatest places in Konak Pier which is a historical building with great features.

I found Yuzdeyuz on their website which seems appealing. I have made a reservation for two without any hesitation. They reserved one of the best tables they have actually nearly half of their tables have the same beautiful view of Izmir and the seaside.

Konak Pier is a unique beauty for İzmir, there is however a parking problem, at least some times it is not easy to find a place to park and there is vale parking which I do not prefer, I don’t like to handout my keys. If you are  also not ok for this take a taxi instead.

There was a lovely atmosphere in the building and also outside the building where we preferred eating at nearly 28 C hot Izmir night. The service started with a complimentary service of water and absolutely delicious olives served with olive oil, thyme and dried tomato. Well baked small breads are also offered in a basket. I have to say it that tiny olives were extremely tasty.

There is a wide selection of food mainly Italian Cuisine but you can also find some Turkish tastes scattered around the menu. The waiters by the way have a lot to learn. They were mainly not so experienced and younger than I expected. Some times this leads to a lack of service quality and you can also feel their anxiety due to lack of experience. Anyhow they manage to fill your stomach!

The food was above average I can easily grade 8 out of 10 without any reservation. I personally tried Sunshine Pizza which is an interesting combination of dried tomato, mozzarella, black olives, turkey bacon, dried onions and a pinch of thyme.  The pizza was thin and well cooked even though there was nothing to complain there was nothing special too.

My company tried grilled meatballs which is a quite big service for such a place however there is also nothing special for it and eatinizmir do not recommend you to try grilled meatballs too. I wasn’t on the mood so I did not try the steaks, they are said to be superior to the other choices. Dry aging process seems to crate perfect meat therefore perfect steaks. Interestingly they offer Steaks with UNLIMITED french fries! which I found appealing

In general the food was quite above average (7-8 out of 10), the service was not so powerful aspect of Yuzdeyuz (6,5 out of 10), the atmosphere and the ambiance however was great (9 out of 10), prices are quite expensive generally speaking 1.5 more than you should pay in Alsancak (6 out of 10)  and finally overall performance of the place has a lot of room for improvement (8 our of 10).

Eat in Izmir, recommend you to visit Yuzdeyuz if you are not expecting first class service but a great view of the city and see and also  marvelous breeze of the Aegean Sea and sunset. You can enjoy your meal or some beer while watching sunset and listening to the voice of the waves.

How to get there:

Yuzdeyuz

Konak Pier AVM

Konak İzmir

Tel: 0232 4415593

e-mail: info@yuzdeyuz.info

Ayvalık Şehir Klübü, entrance

I’ve eaten in many good restaurants in the past couple of years in places as far apart as Izmir and New York. Only a few of those restaurants became true discoveries. Ayvalık Şehir Klübü (in Ayvalık, an old town 2.5 hours away from Izmir)  is a lucky exception. It is one of the best seafood restaurants in and around Ayvalık, and its delicious octopus and mussels dishes have earned compliments to the chef from the food critics at EatInIzmir.

Unlike in most restaurants favored by the tourists visiting the neighboring island of Cunda (aka Alibey), some twenty minutes from Ayvalık, the food in Ayvalık Şehir Klübü is reasonably priced (we spent about 140 YTL for a dinner with alcohol for four people) and the portions are quite generous.

You can go with six to eight kinds of meze – a variety of appetizers usually accompanying a bottle of Turkish rakı – or you could order a small meze and the main course (this is a seafood restaurant, so fish would be the best choice).

Ayvalık Şehir Klübü is right by the sea and a great sunset view from here is guaranteed. Excellent location and great food allowed Ayvalık Şehir Klübü to exist for more than a hundred years. Ayvalık Şehir Klübü, as we know it, was created in the early years of the Turkish Republic. Until then it was the most famous French cafe in Ayvalık, Cafenion Kanelo. It then became known as the Taş Kahve and in 1934 – Ayvalık Şehir Klübü.

Recommended Recipe: Clams in Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

• 50 small clams in shell, scrubbed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Clams, or sand mussels, from Ayvalık Şehir Klübü

Carefully wash clams to make sure no dirt or sand particles remain.

Add olive oil into a large pot and heat it up on medium. Add garlic. Saute until it becomes tender. Add white wine. Keep boiling until half of the wine evaporates.

Add clams, close the lid and steam until clams start opening up. Add butter, close the lid, cook until most of the clams open. Throw away any clams that didn’t open. Add parsley and serve as a meze or with pasta.

How to get there:

Ayvalık Şehir Klübü

Ayvalık Şehir Klübü is located by the sea in the city center of Ayvalık.
Tel.: 0266-312-1519, 0266-312-3676

Deniz Restaurant: The Flavour from Sea

Entrance of Deniz Restaurant

Deniz Restaurant offers a big hall with a seat capacity of 150 and a NON-SMOKING HALL with 50 seats for winter season and a garden with 200 seats, offering the pleasure of eating seafood outdoor with a sea view for the summer season.

Your table is ready!

Deniz Restaurant is placed in a brilliant point to provide you one of the best locations in “Kordon” and to feel the gentle touch of Izmir’s soft wind.

• Couvert
• Seasonal Salad
• White Cheese Plate
• 2 Kinds of Seasonal Olive Oil Dishes
• Fried Squid and Shrimp
• Sea Pastry
• Fish ( Laos, Red Bullet, Sea Gilt Head Bream or Sea Bass)
• Dessert or Fruit

Shrimps in Deniz

Recommended Recipe

Ingredients:

• 150 gr. Lagos Fillet
• 2 Tomatos – Peeled and sliced into six parts
• 2 Green Pepper – Charliston or Paprika
• 1 Dessert Spoon full of butter
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 50 gr. Mushroom
• 1 Tea spoon full of Thyme
• 1 Tea spoon full of Basil
• 1 Tea spoon full of Red Pepper
• 3 Gloves of garlic – minched
• 1 Dessert spoon full of cremê
• A pinch of salt
• Flour and Sunflower oil

Directions

Cut the Fish Fillet in small parts, add salt and then sip the fish in the flour and dredge sunflower oil.
Heat up the olive oil on another frying pan and add green pepper and tomato as listed. Mix them until they soften, add the fish and other materials. Let them cook for 7-8 minutes. At last, add creme and spices and serve hot.

How to Get There:

Deniz Restaurant

Contact Information:

Address: Atatürk Cad. 188/B Alsancak Izmir

Tel: 0090 232 464 44 99

Web: www.denizrestaurant.com.tr

]]> http://www.eatinizmir.com/deniz-restaurant.html/feed 0 http://www.eatinizmir.com/belkahve.html http://www.eatinizmir.com/belkahve.html#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:46:18 +0000 Elena http://www.eatinizmir.com/?p=9 Belkahve: A cup of tea with a little history

On a quiet evening in September 1922, Turkish commander-in-chief Mustafa Kemal Pasha stood on top of a hill in a place called Belkahve and viewed Greek-occupied Izmir. He then turned to the armies, waiting below for his orders, and, pointing to the stretch of the Aegean coast at the distance, told them to go “as far as the Mediterranean to regain Turkish lands!”

Belkahve is now a café, located approximately where this historic scene took place. In our crusade of the best eating places in Izmir and whereabouts, we found no better entry point than this.

Belkahve: The outside view

First, let’s clarify a point of confusion: on the Izmir-Ankara highway, around the location of Belkahve, you may see two different signs: Belkahve and Mavi Yeşil. Don’t let this puzzle you: these are, essentially, the same eating place! We call it Belkahve because it’s a better-known and more historical name.

Belkahve is a family-friendly place with a playground for children, a summer café overlooking Izmir and an indoors restaurant. The breezy outdoors area provides an especially pleasant venue for a chat and a cup of tea. The only danger is: sometimes it’s gets too comfortable, and, coupled with soft classical music, this place can put you to sleep!

The menu offers a variety of foods: Turkish kebab, pizza, salads. Belkahve also serves a range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

However, our special recommendation for your visit to Belkahve is the famous Turkish dessert kemalpaşa tatlısı, named after no other than Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Best regards,

EatinIZMIR.com