After dining out the night before in Arlington at the wonderful, but simple, Istanbul Grill, we headed into Dc the next day to OTTOMAN TAVERNA, where the decor is almost decadent, the prices are higher and the food was indeed a step up. One warning is that the address is 425 "I" St, NW but the restaurant entrance is on Fourth St, north of "I"!! There's no parking lot here like in Arlington, and indeed parking in this hip new "Noma": neighborhood can be hard or nary impossible. We lucked out as it was a quiet Sunday night.
So at Ottoman Taverna it is a fixed-price four course mean and a quite nice and varied one, too. We four decided to order a selection of four cold mezze(one each on the menu) to share, then we chose three warm mezze(to share) and a main course and dessert each. It was a filling meal and a great deal for sure. The wine prices here are about 20% higher for the same wines we had the night before. we started with a Vinkara 2019 Kalecik Karasi which is indeed the Turkish kin to Pinot Noir. When ordering, be careful as they also have a white from Vinkara (called Hansedede) which we had in Turkey and love, but had to send back. Our server Bugra was apologetic and immediately whisked the wine away, but left me a small pour to enjoy! The red is a yummy medium bodied wine that goes with almost everything. Our second red was a bigger one that Bugra suggested, the KAV-a blend from Anatolya of Okuzgozu and Bogazkere varietals. Now you try to figure all that out!
Our cold mezze were Hummus(uneventful). Ezme (a sundried tomato paste with onion, pepper, garlic, parsley and Turkish spice), Pembe Siltan of beets and yogurt which we all loved and the very spicy Aton of garlic, yogurt, celery and sun-dried chilies!! The bread here was warm and delish and closer to focaccia than pita.
The warm mezze were Felafel with yogurt that was a tad dry, Patates Kofte, which looked like the felafel but was a potato cake with feta and yogurt and the yummy Sigar Boregi or feta and onion cigar-shaped bourekas.
Main courses were all delish and as I said there are a couple dozen or so.
-Adana Kebap is chargrilled beef kebab with red pepper and herbs on bulgar pilaf with ezme dip and carrot-red cabbage slaw on the side
-Beyti Kebop is Char-Grilled Spicy Ground Beef Kebap wrapped in Lavash Bread with Eggplant Puree, served with Tomato Sauce & Yogurt
-Doner Kebap is another variation with Thinly Sliced Beef Döner Kebab Served with White Rice, Ezme(Turkish Salsa) and Carrot-Red Cabbage Slaw
-Moussaka here is as rich as it gets with Eggplant, Potato, Ground Beef, Bechamel Sauce & Kashkaval Cheese
The desserts are very nice and simple. We tried the KATMER or phyllo with pistachio and cream, the Baklava and the Sutlac, an oven-baked rice pudding with cinnamon.
If you want a classier Turkish option downtown, this is a great choice for sure, and the service is friendly, and the decor is indeed very warm and lush.
