SUMAHAN Terrace Restaurant

View from Sumahan Terrace Restaurant

Designed by two brilliant architects, Sumahan is an absolutely beautiful boutique hotel on the bosphorus. Every room has a view of the straight, most have their own fireplace and the public spaces (which includes a beautiful library) fairly scream 'design experts!' Out on the terrace, the tasteful decor continues. We were impressed before we even picked up the menus.

guests enjoying their food

Mina's Verdict:


We started off with a taster of mezes. The cold aubergine salad was yum, the thick yogurt was lovely and creamy, the hummus was good, but my favourite had to be the spicy tomato-onion paste ('ezme'). We ate the starters with three different types of fresh rolls which arrived along with small plates of olive paste in a light olive oil.

tomato ezme, aubergine salad, yogurt, hummus

The second course was manti (little bits of pinched pasta filled with spiced mince) which was delicious. If I had any complaint at all, it would be that the portion of the yogurt covered manti's was so big that I didn't have enough room for my main course: yogurt kebab. One word on that plate: Yes! The meat was tasty, the bread underneath was both crunchy and sauce filled at the same time (the way pide under kebab should be!) and the tomato sauce was just the right about of sweet/sour and extremely fresh.

manti with yogurt and tomato sauce

Although I had to skip dessert (was too full!) they looked great, and they brought little heart-shaped brownies and lavender shortbread (creative and great tasting!) with my coffee - thank you very much!

Chocolate Brownies and Lavender Shortbread

Lovely food, lovely ambience and good service. This is exactly the kind of place to bring a first-time-in-Istanbul guest; they'll love you for it (yes Blythe, you better love me for this since I brought you here!)

Patrick's Verdict:

The prime location for an Istanbulian eatery is right down on the Bosphorus, with the gently sparkling water one feet away.  Sumahan is one of those places.  Situated in the pretty district of Cengelkoy on the Asian side of Istanbul, Sumahan is a wonderfully presented boutique hotel.  

We began our culinary feast with a selection of Turkish mezze - starters for everyone to share - and a selection of breads. They were really very tasty - hummus, tomatoey ezme, garlicky aubergine puree and yoghurt infused with dill.  I absolutely stuffed myself which proved to be a bad idea given the gigantic amount of food I then consumed!  The second course was Turkish manti - little balls of pasta dough stuffed with spiced mince, smothered with fresh yoghurt and finished off with a tomato sauce.  The lively conversation around the table died down when the manti arrived as everyone tucked in.  It was cracking!  Light, fresh and wonderfully flavoursome.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Thinking we were finishing dinner I prepared for dessert...yeah, still the main course to go though!!

Crispy Chicken Kebab

I opted for crispy Turkish chicken.  Yum!  Four or five large pieces of chicken, blackened on the grill, covered in spicy tomato sauce and covered in long green Turkish peppers.  Jings, my mouth is still watering.  The chicken was fantastically moist, the chargrilling gave it a great smoky flavour and the portion was the perfect size.  I was a happy Scotsman.

Chocolate Pudding and Ice-Cream

For dessert, I went for a melt in the middle chocolate pudding with vanilla ice cream.  It was a perfect way to finish the meal being both rich and light and the ice cream was wonderfully vanilla-y.  

Sumahan Terrace Restaurant is a great place for dinner.  The setting is perfect for Istanbul, right on the water listening to the waves and the food is properly good local cuisine - I doubt I’ve had better in Istanbul.

Blythe's Verdict:

Sumahan is an absolute gem, twinkling subtly on the Asian side of the Bosphorus in Cengelkoy. A labour of love in the assembly, it matches simple, suave stylishness with killer views across the city, all bathed in an atmosphere of cool chic.

The setting is always going to be the first memory when reflecting upon your time there, and it's so spectacular that there's a sense in which you're praying that nothing about the restaurant is going to detract from your appreciation of that awe-inspiring view. And you know what - they get things spot-on.

We were fortunate enough to be guests, on this occasion, and were treated to beautifully executed dishes, friendly and welcoming service, making for an evening of simple perfections and heady pleasures.

We opened with a simple mezze starter, matching light, fresh bread with a classic array of dips. Everything was on the money, with the yoghurt and dill a particular standout.
We chose from a classic Turkish menu of main courses. I opted for the kebab with yoghurt, which promised pieces of beef and meatballs served with bread and topped with yoghurt.

Yogurt Kebab

But before the kebab arrived, we had a little stop-off in manti town. Manti is a sort of Turkish equivalent of ravioli, featuring small mince-filled parcels, typically served with yoghurt and a tomato/pepper sauce. It's the kind of dish that brings a little whisper of mist to Turkish eyes at its mere mention. There's something intrinsically comforting about it. I'm a big fan, although presented here where you might sometimes find a fish course, it was a little unusual. Our full bellies at the end of the night were largely down to this pleasing little diversion ;-)

Kebabs and other mains arrived, and I have to say that they looked great. Chefiness and kebabs don't play well together, but enough care and attention had been applied to convey the same stylish ethos that pervades the rest of the place. The meat was extremely good, the sauce the perfect blend of support and enhancement, and the dish came together in to gorgeous mouthfuls of Istanbulian goodness.

Now I can eat, but I was comprehensively defeated by the meaty delights. I'm not really a dessert person (the veracity of that statement will be called in to question, at some point), so I was happy just to deal with some good espresso.

Overall, Sumahan is just lovely. We had a beautiful evening, in a jaw-dropping setting, with excellent food, attentive service, and spectacular company. With its fabulous water-front setting, I look forward to docking back there, on a regular basis.

Scores
Mina scored Sumahan:

4/5 for food4/5 for presentation
5/5 for setting

5/5 for service

giving an overall score of 18/20

Patrick scored Sumahan:
5/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
5/5 for setting

4/5 for service

giving an overall score of 18/20

Blythe scored Sumahan:

4/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
5/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall score of 17/20

We drank: beer, wine, coffees, etc, etc!

We ate: mezze, manti, kebabs, chocolate fondants, brownies.