Dinner At The Recently Opened Sultan Turkish Restaurant In Alfreton
Published On Thursday 10 Oct 2024 by Sticky Beak
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It’s always nice to see a new business open up in your nearest town, especially when it serves up one of your favourite cuisines: Turkish. Sultan Turkish Restaurant is on Alfreton’s High Street, so there is limited parking outside it, but around the back there is the large car park near the bus station. Having grabbed a spot, we wandered up the ‘jitty’ past Lotus Lounge and up to the corner position of Sultan.
We’d booked an early table at 6.30pm, but there were already several tables occupied and the aromas drifting over the restaurant were making me drool! A warm greeting was extended to us and we were shown to our table, near the window. Sultan is unlicensed, so you do need to take your own alcohol; soft drinks are available to purchase, and obviously there’s always good old ‘council pop’ from the tap.
After a bit of deliberation, His Nibs and I decided to go for the Cold Mixed Meze Platter (£14) to share as it had got some of our favourites on it: Cacik, Ezme and Shakshuka. Whilst we were waiting for the platter, one of the team came over with a trio of small bowls and fresh Turkish Bread for us to graze on; as well as mixed Olives, there was garlicky Cacik and zingy Ezme. Although we were going to be having more of these morsels, we didn’t mind as they are super tasty.
Chef had got a large party booked in (who had pre-ordered a lot of dishes), so there weren’t any stuffed Vine Leaves or grated Beetroot and Yoghurt left. To be honest, though, we weren’t bothered as we got extra Ezme and Cacik…and more scrummy bread. This relaxed start to our meal allowed us to settle in and chat about what a busy and eventful week we’d had. We both said that this platter literally had all the textures, tastes and colour your senses could desire; and the presentation was exquisite. Delicate roses had been fashioned from fresh Tomatoes and Cucumber slices arranged in to heart shapes: incredibly cute…and edible, more to the point!
Sultan is open plan, with pale wood laminate flooring, complimented with darker wood tables and free-standing chairs in shades of blues and greens. The grey, marble-effect walls are bare, with the exception of a colourful canvas of hot air balloons. If I had a criticism, it would be that the team have missed a trick in using rugs or photos of landscapes from beautiful Turkey, and the same with the lighting; rather than the bare [bright] lights, I would have liked drapes and decorative lanterns suspended from the ceiling tiles. However, with it being a very new business, maybe this will change going forward; who knows?
Owner, Cengiz, came over to check that we were enjoying our starter and was very happy to hear that we were. It wasn’t long until our mains - Combo Kebab (£16, my choice) and Lamb Sautee/Casserole (£17, The Man) - were being carefully placed in front of us. I had opted for rice rather than chips with my Adana Lamb and Chicken Shish, and the fluffy grains had been presented as a perfect, domed timbale. Since first having Turkish Rice in Fethiye years ago, it has been one of those foods that call to my soul; teeny-tiny pieces of Vermicelli or Orzo are fried in butter until golden and added to the rice, and it is just moreish!
The Chicken breast meat in the Shish kebab had been cut into large cubes before being skewered and charcoal-grilled, whereas the seasoned, minced Lamb in the Adana kebab was shaped into the typical long sausage. Both meats were lovely and moist, the Lamb more highly spiced, though not so much that there was any tingle factor. I’d also ordered a Shepherd Salad (£5) as a side dish and this was delightfully flavoursome; proof that you don’t need thousands of ingredients or complicated cooking methods to produce a tasty treat. Shredded Lettuce, chopped Tomatoes, Red Onion and Peppers had been mixed together and dressed with fruity Olive Oil, Salt and heaps of chopped, fresh Parsley and Lemon; the result was an intense, multi-layered taste sensation.
His Nibs’ Lamb Sauté was served in a skillet/pan and was piping hot. The chunks of Lamb were succulent and wonderfully rich in flavour, standing up to the thick, Tomato-rich sauce brilliantly. Coarsely cut pieces of white Onion and Red Peppers were that perfect level of softened-but-firm to provide a nice level of texture in this dish. Cafer had brought out another basket of that delightful, soft bread, and this was swiftly broken up and dunked in the sauce. I lost no opportunity to pilfer some bread and mopped up the light, zingy juices from the Shepherd salad; something that amused Cafer – who promptly confessed that he does exactly the same thing!
It was nice to see that Ibrahim, the Chef at Sultan, came out to help serve the large hen party in order to expedite the process. Whilst Ibrahim was ‘on the floor’, so to speak, His Nibs and I took the chance to say how much we’d enjoyed his dishes. All too often, Chefs don’t get to hear the compliments that diners verbalise to their servers.
Now, we were pretty stuffed at this point, but there was absolutely no way we were passing up the opportunity to have some tooth-tinglingly sweet Baklava…especially when we learned that Ibrahim had made it himself only a few hours earlier. Given the choice of Turkish Tea or Coffee (which is the usual stuff, not the earthy Turkish type), we both chose the tea. I loved the curvaceous glasses that the steaming hot tea is served in and, having taken a sip of it, determined that no sugar was required; the bitter edge was palate-cleansing, but not overwhelming.
Cengiz had said earlier that the Meze was complimentary (and it was so with the Tea) but we were speechless when there was nothing to pay on our bill at all! Humble thanks, Cengiz, your generous hospitality was very much appreciated.
As we left, hands were shaken and customary cheek kisses exchanged, whilst we said that we’d certainly be returning. Hot Wings happily given to this new Alfreton gem. To book a table ring 01773 475330 and check out the Facebook page: Sultan Turkish Restaurant Alfreton. Sultan is open 7-days-a-week: Sun-Thurs Noon-10pm; Fri & Sat Noon-11pm. I might just have to have a Cheese Pide (Turkish boat-shaped equivalent of Pizza; very tasty) for lunch one day!!
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