Alancha Istanbul: Epicurean Breezes From Alaçati To Istanbul

When Alancha, the first Turkish restaurant which offers experiential tasting menu, announced it would open another restaurant in Istanbul, it caused a wave of excitement in the culinary world.

 

Located on a high hill of Alaçatı, Alancha was opened in 2005 and started to welcome its customers in its peaceful atmosphere, free from all the hustle and bustle of the city. Despite its location far from the city center, it was soon caught on the radar of the gastro-enthusiasts.

 

As my followers would know, I already wrote about Alancha Alaçatı and the Chef Kemal Demirasal whom I’ve known since his time in Barbun Restaurant. He deserves to be called a “self-taught” cook with his past as a surfer wending his way to the culinary world thanks to his inquisitive and creative personality.

 

With its glamorous opening at Maçka Kempisnki Residence on February 23rd, Alancha Istanbul hit the headlines of even Financial Times. And of course, I visited the restaurant at the first opportunity.

 

As the restaurant is pleasing to the eyes with its chic entrance, high ceiling, refreshing and minimalist decoration, it is run again by the Executive Chef Kemal Demirasal, Murat Deniz Temel who was the first Turkish chef to do his internship at Noma and the Chef Yiğit Alıcıoğlu whose background includes Relae in Denmark.

 

With a capacity of 80 people, Alancha Istanbul is a two-story restaurant.

 

The restaurant has a dynamic profile with its ground floor that feels like a botanical garden, its “beets” menu with its weekly-changing ingredients cooked in Alancha style, stylish bar and dj corner. It also has another menu called “lineer” which is served on Sundays and essentially consists of a combination of dishes gleaned from breakfast, lunch and dinner mealtimes. Those who would like to have a long Sunday brunch would love the idea of “lineer”, which is served from 10:30 to 18:00.

 

The bar of the restaurant looks like a chemistry lab. Created by the Mixologist Göksel Güleç with the techniques like brewing, centrifuge and distillation, cocktails are exquisite with such creative ingredients as celery and hibiscus salt. Plus, the crispy and warm sunchoke chips are a marvelous accompaniment for the drinks.

 

On the top floor, you go through the kitchen before sitting at the table where you will have your “Big Migration” menu (240 TL).

 

Created from the reworked versions of Anatolian culinary legacy that left a big impression on the Turkish cuisine, the big tasting menu consists of 20 dishes.

 

The first arrival at the table, breads were made in the restaurant and accompanied by tulum cheese cream instead of conventional butter presentation. Started with such a great opening, we continued our long gastronomic trip with the following dishes:

Mushroom soup; fermented oyster mushroom soup and lemon grass oil.

 

Mussels; mussels marinated with Tiper’s Milk (a combination of lime juice, coriander seeds and garlic), Garum sauce (a type of fish sauce used in Ancient Greek dishes), seasoned rice, tarragon oil. Absolutely a marvelous starter!

 

Lahmacun; grilled flatbread, raw sirloin steak, walnuts, Urfa red peppers, pomegranate syrup. Since its topping didn’t agree with my palate, I’d say it was one of the weakest dishes of the menu.

 

Tripe; deep-fried lamb tripe, blackberry powder, tarator sauce (made with garlic, walnut and bread crumbs). Although I liked the reworked version of the offal, I don’t think everyone would love this innovative take on the tripe.

 

Vine leaves; dried vine leaves, humus, pine nut powder. It was befitting the creative profile of the restaurant.

 

Circassian chicken; deep-dried Circassian chicken, special stuffing and fermented mushroom powder.

 

Bosnian Sirloin Steak; 24 days aged sirloin steak, truffle cream. Although it didn’t look so appetizing, the taste was amazing when I dipped the crispy steak into the truffle cream and gobbled it.

 

Lettuce heart; Yedikule lettuce marinated with salad juice, brown butter sauce, seeds of some spices (coriander, celery, parsley, dill). With the help of the hidden seeds, every bite tastes like a bowl of fresh Aegean salad.

 

Wheat soup; smoked chickpeas, wheat, lentil sprouts, mint leaves, puffed wheat, yoghurt sauce. Absolutely the star of the menu! As the soup was served in an ice bowl, it was both pleasing to the eyes and to the palates with its acidity.

 

Fresh nuts; pistachio cream, fresh nuts, citrus thyme, lemon zest.

 

Raw tastes; marinated zucchini and shrimp, watercress, rocket oil, chives sauce. Although it was rather successful, more shrimps would be appreciated.

 

Greek salad; grilled cherry tomato, shallots, cucumber, cheese cream, dried green olives, thyme oil. Created last summer in Alaçatı, I could taste the richness of grilled and smoked flavors.

 

Sea bass; pickled stonecrops, grilled sea bass, garum sauce, tarragon oil. It got a good mark from the table with its texture as it was crispy on the outside and juicy inside.

 

Cold cuts (söğüş); lamb head (tongue and cheek), foam made from lamb brain, parsley oil, lemon grass powder, crispy lavaş (thin bread). Presented with a different style from the one in Alaçatı, the dish was again delicious. As it was served a bit lukewarm, to me, it was one of the best dishes of the night.

 

Stew; grilled pita (or pide in Turkish), caramelized onion cream, dashi sauce.

 

Goose; grilled goose meat, caramelized yoghurt, lavender oil, fresh mulberry, mulberry sauce. As it followed the cold cuts that left an impressive aftertaste, I should say the taste of goose meat was a bit weak.

 

Yoghurt mousse; yoghurt mousse, salted caramel, dried beet that was marinated in its own juice, basil oil, puffed wheats.

 

Tahini mousse; tahini mousse, pomegranate molasses, milk crisps, sourdough juice.

 

Kerebiç; gypsophila foam, cinnamon. It was a great rework of kerebiç, a traditional dessert of Mersin.

 

Carrot cezerye; dried carrots rehydrated with coconut milk and coconut shreds.

 

Baklava; baklava dough, panna cotta with pistachio, pistachio flour. A striking taste to end the menu!

 

To continue its mission in Alaçatı, the dishes can be paired again with local wines. Besides these quality wines, -although I don’t favor much- I recommend you to give shot at the special vegetable and fruit juice to pair with the menu. As they though carbonated and sweet drinks wouldn’t go with the taste of their dishes, they serve creative and delicious dishes in interesting glasses to complement them.

 

Alancha Istanbul, again, has a big team as it has in Alaçatı.

 

As in the example of Noma restaurant where a team of 45 people serves to 40 diners, Kemal Demirasal seems to have wanted to realize the same concept in Turkey too. Because, the dishes are served by the kitchen staff, which means there is no other servicing staff than the chefs in the kitchen. As the servicing man or woman is directly from the kitchen and probably contributed to the preparation of the dish, when you ask a question about the menu, they don’t look at you with a puzzled face thinking of a possible answer to give, as it is the case with some restaurants where the staff is inadequately informed. At Alancha, you always get satisfactory answer paired with a smiling or excited gesture.

 

Since I’m acquainted with almost every member of the staff, I feel at home at Alancha Alaçatı. Again, Alancha Istanbul has done a satisfying job too, befitting its original restaurant. However, although I witnessed and appreciated the effort of Alancha Alaçatı, I wouldn’t say the taste of the dishes was settled enough to be sustainable, only this time in Istanbul I was rather pleased having found the dishes had sustainable settled tastes.

 

If they aim high and increase their overall quality, I don’t find any reason why this Izmir-based restaurant wouldn’t enter the list of “50 best restaurants of the world”.

 

Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…

 

Alancha İstanbul

www.alancha.com/tr/istanbul/index.html

Vişnezade Mh., Şht. Mehmet Sk No:9,

Beşiktaş / İSTANBUL

+90 0212 261 3535