The Basque Flavors In Izmir: Mancar Alsancak

Having started its journey with a name that shouts “I’m from the Aegean Region!” Mancar Restaurant is originally located in Alaçatı.

 

As I wrote about Mancar Alaçatı in detail during the summer season; Mancar opened its doors with the intent of raising the region’s cuisine to the universal gastronomical standards.

 

The restaurant, where the dishes are varyingly interpreted in Basque and Emilia style, have three important names at the helm. One of them is Daniel Lopez, the chef of “Kokotxa” located in San Sebastian, the most important stronghold of gastronomy; he visits the restaurant for at least two times a year as an advisor. Fabio Gemignani is the person who takes over the restaurant in the absence of Daniel Lopez. The third name is the young chef Fatih Göktaş, one of the long-standing members of the staff.

 

As I said it was in its infancy period during the summer season, I was sure all along that when Mancar opened its İzmir headquarter, we would see a satisfying picture, grounded and representative of the restaurant’s original mission.

 

Indeed, they didn’t fail me.

 

I visited the restaurant as a guest on its first day, November the 17th. It made a successful start proving that the restaurant was well prepared to set on its journey.

 

A Menu Open for Improvement

 

Easily accessible to the Izmirians, Mancar Izmir is located on the ground floor of Swissotel Büyük Efes, in the place where Sir Winston Tea was located before.

 

With its cozy and refreshing atmosphere furnished with the quality materials, the restaurant have a capacity of 65 seats inside while its garden can serve up to 25 customers. Besides, it looks like the stylish bar will be very popular for those who want to pass some time before their meal.

Not only the dining hall but also the washrooms have a rather chic design. As there are no any big visible signs or writings on the doors, the door handles inform you through the small witty writings placed on them. First it baffled us for a moment, and then put a smile on our faces.

 

With its open design that enables us to watch the staff of 11 members, the kitchen offers a tasting menu and a la carte menu. In addition to these, they also offer another menu consisting of dishes from the Izmir cuisine that changes every week.

 

As we chose to start our night with the tasting menu, the amuse-bouches were on the stage as the first guests of the table. There were two types of these bite-sized hors d’œuvres in the past: the hot ones was called “amuse bouche”, and the cold ones “amuse gueule”. As the time passed on and the difference between those two terms were blurred, they all happen to be called “amuse bouche”.

 

Following spherical yoghurt and parsley which was the small version of the “tzatziki in reverse” I ate in Alaçatı, and hot crunchy bread of pastrami as well as a mixture of pickle juice, soda water and grated lemon zest; we began to wait for the starters.

 

First, the solid materials for the onion soup were served. At this point, the labneh and the white cheese were transformed into three lumps of cream and placed in the dish. The sprinkle of olive powder, chives and a layer of red onion were put on the top of the lumps. After a piece of dried tomato was placed on its center, the mixture was submerged in the onion soup. While the soup was cooked in Basque style rather than classical French style, I found it quite successful.

 

The following dish, mantı was filled with squid. The reason why I give the dish an average mark is the squid sauce was so intense and its dough was rather thick. But the dish was revised after that night, as I learned from the Chef Fatih when we met again.

 

When it came to papardelle with mushrooms, the dish had just the right taste and its dough was cooked “al dente” just as it should be. Although I found that the dish had more butter than I expected, its contribution to the overall taste was undeniable. While the Chef Fabio was present at the table, we recommended that he could use oyster or çintar (a type of mushroom peculiar to the Aegean region) instead of the porcini mushroom. But it should be that the chef want the dish to be served all around the year with no dependence on the season, he preferred to go with the same recipe.

 

 

It was followed by risotto, which was cooked with red wine, garlic and some additional meat. As the parmesan cheese was replaced with marrow, the dish pampered our palates.

 

Sea bass again was another dish that we were familiar with from the menu of the Mancar Alaçatı. As it was again liked by the diners that night, this time, the sea bass was accompanied by some sautéed seasonal vegetables instead of the eggplants with some squid sauce.

 

Although I’m not a fan of the technique; cooked with the “sous vide” method, the veal cheek successfully got my liking. After a special and slow cooking method, the grilled meat was served with the accompaniments of baked sweet pepper sauce and potato puree.

 

With its look, a bit more outstanding than its taste, the beef sweetbread was charming to the eyes like a painting. It was the last dish to put an aesthetic end to the meals.

 

There was again another good-looking dessert served at the end of the night: lemon pie. As there were two Italians at the table at that night, we had the opportunity to have a long conversation with the Chef Fabio. He didn’t turn down our wish and added some tiramisu foam on the top of the pie just to embellish it a bit more. With the harmonious dance of sugar, lime and lemon, the dessert was transformed into a completely different taste thanks to the chef.

 

As the restaurant guarantees a delightful night with its menu which is made with the Aegean ingredients and can be improved in the future, I can say Izmir has gained just another value to keep.

 

Of course, as a Turkish, I hope that Turkey will have more restaurants which will share the same mission with Neolokal, Gile and Yeni Lokanta. But again, as I think Mancar successfully interpreted the Aegean cuisine, I’m happy to see it opened another headquarter in the city to be closer to the Izmirians.

 

Mancar Alsancak proved that the signs of success it had showed earlier in Alaçatı were true. I wish it doesn’t lose anything from its quality and continue its journey with a sustainable success and a constantly growing potential.

 

Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…

 

Mancar İzmir

Şehit Nevres Bulvarı, No: 2G 2H, 35210

Alsancak, İZMİR

+90 232 484 12 14