Oklava, 22nd December

I read one review of Oklava and decided their food had to be in my mouth as soon as possible. With Alison (a once frequent character on these pages) back in town for a couple of nights, I thought it would be perfect for us to go and have a few bites, some wine and catch up. As it indeed was. Considering the weather was quite dreadful and it was Christmas week, it was still fairly busy and we perched at a side bar.  Choosing what to eat was an enjoyable chore as everything sounded so good. And pretty much everything I ate made me want to go back and try more. Even the moreish bread with date butter (date butter!) which shows how a simple twist could elevate something ordinary to a star dish. I can almost taste the sweet and creamy richness in my mouth right now.

The cherry pearl barley with crispy kale, yoghurt, chilli butter and curls of sheep’s cheese was so intensely flavoured it was my other star dish of the night. Next came our lamb fat potatoes (how indulgent) with salty hellim (halloumi to you and me) on the side and a rich duck egg on top. Small plates are for sharing but how I loathed giving up any of this dish to my friend.

The monkfish was good but I feel the portion was too small for me to get the most of the flavours (citrus, urfa, chilli and coriander as it happens), as again, we split it between the two of us. My friend ordered the prawns with garlic, chilli and fennel, of which I had one. These were very decently sized specimens, and succulent.

Last up was our lahmacun. We were advised to take it and roll it up with the pickles inside, which is what I did, giving me a very fresh, crunchy and light sort of burrito. I liked this, even if the lamb on the bread didn’t come through all that much.

Each of the dishes were good enough though, to make me want to pop by again to try a few more.