Friends of ours suggested ISTANBUL GRILL in Ballston in Arlington and the unpretentious place is a gem indeed. Wines are $40 or so a bottle for excellent Turkish varietals that can be hard to find in the USA as well. The food is low priced, hearty, tasty and filling. We tried the Majestik 2019 Syrah and Kalecik Karasi blend first and loved that and our server, Suat, suggested the Yakut 2019 Kavaklidere which we also loved. Two hearty reds that stand up to the food as well.
Warm pita-like bread and olives arrived, and we started with the Cold Mezze Platter which has plenty for everyone: Hummus, Cacik(cucumber dip akin to Tzatziki), Babaghanoush, Haydari(Thick yogurt, walnut, garlic, mint and dill) and KIRMIZI PANCAR TARATOR(beet dip with yogurt). The Grilled Octopus Salad with Beans is huge and a really super dish. It uses the main part of the tentacle, so for those who don't like the little cups on the legs, this is perfect! A super dish that one does not see often is Patlican & Biber Kizartmasi which is pan-fried eggplant and pepper in a yogurt sauce= DIVINE! The eggplant was cooked perfectly and then smothered with yogurt but was not gooey or slimy at all.
Main courses are many and we chose to split some:
The MANTI here are made from ground beef in dumplings with a yogurt and tomato sauce and taste delish, while I would normally not order fries, these are wonderful with a nice spice on them. A large group can order the double MIX GRILL PLATTER, but I would stick to a single and then get another dish as these platters are huge and loaded with everything from Doner Kebab to Lamb to Sauteed Beef and Chicken Adana (kebab like).
We were more than full, and plenty left to take home. What a deal and what a simple, yet great place. My only qualm was the nice linen napkins were quite frayed and torn to shreds :-(
