A pleasant atmosphere and good ethnic food, attractively served, are reasons to try Sultana Mediterranean restaurant, which opened last month at 1149 El Camino Real. The new Turkish restaurant is located in the former site of Le Pot au Feu, a Menlo Park landmark for 33 years.
Sultana owner Mehmet Karacuban has spiffed up the restaurant,which is now lighter and brighter. The yellow walls are adorned with Turkish artifacts. Copper pots, woven hangings, and portraits of lovely ladies (from the harem, perhaps?) add a touch of Istanbul.
The back patio has also been redecorated for outside dining when sunny weather finally arrives.
Many Turkish restaurateurs actually serve Italian food (the reason: everybody likes Italian), but Mr. Karacuban goes for the real thing. His menu is full of Turkish delights, listing specialties that sound intriguing and foreign. There’s not a pasta in the place, except for manti (Turkish ravioli).
Mr. Karacuban’s father-in-law, Sultas Ulas, is the chef. Mr. Ulas formerly owned Cappadocia restaurant in Redwood City, which he closed after suffering a heart attack.
Now Chef Ulas is back at the stove and ready for the new venture. It’s a family affair, with mother-in-law Nursel Ulas also presiding in the kitchen.
On a lunchtime visit to Sultana, I ordered lamb shish kebab ($8.95) — marinated grilled lamb, skewered and served with rice, grilled tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. It was beautifully presented on a large oval platter sprinkled with green bits of parsley and red sumac, a spice I last tasted in Istanbul. The lamb was delicious and tender. The portion could easily have served two. The platter also included a small green salad. This is a dish I can see ordering over and over again.
A fellow diner chose chicken doner ($8.95). The chicken is slowly roasted on a vertical rotisserie, then thinly shaved. It was served with rice, grilled tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. The chicken was rather dry. Our server brought a sauce for it, which helped a bit. Lamb and beef doner, which is served only on weekends, would probably be a better choice, since the meat would be juicier.
Another guest selected moussaka ($8.95), the layered dish made with eggplant, ground lamb, tomatoes and onions, served with rice. She didn’t think it was as good as the moussaka Maria Petrakis served at the now-closed Acorn Mediterranean restaurant.
“Be sure to have the rice pudding,” said a fellow staff member, who had it every time she could during a visit to Turkey. It came in a large bowl sprinkled with pistachios. It was good, but not your mother’s rice pudding. It is white and resembles cream of wheat. The baklava with pistachio ($2.50) was a satisfying ending to the meal, especially when served with a cup of thick, strong Turkish coffee.
For your first visit, go to Sultana for dinner. It’s much livelier. The waiters wear embroidered vests and the bus boys don fezes. Middle-Eastern music plays softly in the background, while candles add a warm glow to the tables.
Acting on the waiter’s suggestion, I ordered beyti kebab ($12.95), ground lamb and beef mixed with garlic, rolled in lavash bread, served with garlic yogurt and topped with fresh tomato sauce and melted butter. It was a beautiful presentation: The kebabs were cut into bite-size pieces, placed around a mound of garlic yogurt, and drizzled with bright red sauce. The tomato sauce was light and fresh — so different from the stuff that comes out of a can.
My companion chose the combination shish kebab ($13.95): two shish kebabs, one lamb, one chicken, served with rice, grilled bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. These platters are large enough to serve two. A good way to go would be to order, say three platters for four people, and share the way you do in a Chinese restaurant. There will likely still be enough left over to take home.
We also had an order of coban salad ($4), a lively mix of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and chopped parsley with lemon and olive oil dressing.
A bottle of Turkish wine sits on every table. On my last visit to Istanbul, I wrote that Turkish wines were pretty bad, but this was a nice red from the Kavaklidere region.
A combination platter ($12.95) could be a good introduction to Turkish cuisine for a party of four. It includes ezme (chopped tomatoes, onion and walnuts), hummus (garbanzo bean dip), baba ghannouj (eggplant dip with lemon juice and olive oil), tabbouleh (cracked wheat salad), dolma (grape leaves stuffed with rice), and kizartma (fried bell pepper, eggplant and zucchini with fresh tomato sauce and yogurt).
The dessert menu offers baklava with pistachio, chocolate baklava with ice cream, rice pudding, and kunefe (baked shredded filo stuffed with unsalted cheese and topped with syrup). The desserts are nicely presented on a silver tray for your selection. Prices ranges from $2.50 to $5.
For a while, it seemed every restaurant opening in Menlo Park was Italian. And while we all love Italian food, it’s nice to have a new dining experience. Delicious food at reasonable prices makes family-owned Sultana a welcome addition to the local restaurant scene.
Sultana Mediterranean restaurant, 1149 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, 322-4343. It is open daily for lunch and dinner.
