Cooked like the Middle East

 1 July 2023

 

COOKED

Middle Eastern Café & Deli

Adelphi Centre, Main Road, Sea Point

 

How fortunate are we, said the wife and I, that not only can we eat food from various countries around the world without leaving Cape Town but also that we have experience of eating some of the same dishes in the countries of origin. We love Middle Eastern and Mediterranean style food and Cooked provides an intriguing variety of items from that part of the world.

 

Cooked occupies the space where the original iteration of Coco Safar  used to be  and it sure is a big, roomy space given that the internal divides of what made Coco Safar kind of cosy have been removed. The kitchen and deli area are at the rear of the space and the rest of the area is taken up by elegant wooden tables and chairs, with some booths on one side and banquette seating against the other wall, and even some tables on an outside wooden deck extension that can’t be pleasant because of the proximity to the very busy Main Road.  

 

Although the place is elegant enough, such a vast open space always reminds me of a cafeteria. It is a stark contrast to the opulence of Coco Safar.

 

The restaurant was never more than a quarter full when we were there but  the acoustics may be irksome when it is full.

 

The menu is extensive and has  a glorious array  of items of interest, to the extent that one will have to return more than once to try everything. You have your  bagels, toasties, latkes, falafel, nivik, omelette, salads, line fish,  lamb chops, burger, things served on khoubiz, a Lebanese flat bread, and also mezze.  

 

I don’t mess about with menus and my mind was made up as soon as I got to gözleme, one of our favourite Turkish dishes, though this version is made with khoubiz and not Turkish flatbread.

x

 

The wife chose the potato latkes with poached eggs and smoked salmon. The eggs were perfectly poached to the wife’s order and the latkes were supremely and delicately crisp and remained crisp even after the runny yolks and other sauciness. The amount of salmon was generous and I thought it was a very good variation on standard eggs Benedict.

 

The gözleme came with a supremely fresh Jerusalem salad and some tzatziki.  The khoubiz wasn’t as crisp as the Turkish flatbread is, but the deeply flavourful and mildly spicy lamb filling was generous and the soft, and the pliable khoubiz was excellent. My tastebuds were doing a joyous jig.

 

The wife ate a couple of mouthfuls of the gözleme and thought that it was better than the latke dish, though the whole thing would be too rich for her.  

 

I can’t lie. The two dishes were excellent;  the gözleme  are for sure worth a  return visit. So much for working my way through the menu.

 

Our sweet afters were a gluten free polenta almond and orange cake which was not overly sweet or too moist but just right, and a lemon and blueberry cupcake. The crumb was good, though not lemony, but apparently there was a secret kernel of delightful lemon curd on top, hidden beneath the icing. The wife thought the pâtissier should’ve simply scrapped the icing and allowed the curd to be the star of the show.1 July 2023

 

COOKED

Middle Eastern Café & Deli

Adelphi Centre, Main Road, Sea Point

 

How fortunate are we, said the wife and I, that not only can we eat food from various countries around the world without leaving Cape Town but also that we have experience of eating some of the same dishes in the countries of origin. We love Middle Eastern and Mediterranean style food and Cooked provides an intriguing variety of items from that part of the world.

 

Cooked occupies the space where the original iteration of Coco Safar  used to be  and it sure is a big, roomy space given that the internal divides of what made Coco Safar kind of cosy have been removed. The kitchen and deli area are at the rear of the space and the rest of the area is taken up by elegant wooden tables and chairs, with some booths on one side and banquette seating against the other wall, and even some tables on an outside wooden deck extension that can’t be pleasant because of the proximity to the very busy Main Road.  

 

Although the place is elegant enough, such a vast open space always reminds me of a cafeteria. It is a stark contrast to the opulence of Coco Safar.

 

The restaurant was never more than a quarter full when we were there but  the acoustics may be irksome when it is full.

 

The menu is extensive and has  a glorious array  of items of interest, to the extent that one will have to return more than once to try everything. You have your  bagels, toasties, latkes, falafel, nivik, omelette, salads, line fish,  lamb chops, burger, things served on khoubiz, a Lebanese flat bread, and also mezze.  

 

I don’t mess about with menus and my mind was made up as soon as I got to gözleme, one of our favourite Turkish dishes, though this version is made with khoubiz and not Turkish flatbread.

 

The wife chose the potato latkes with poached eggs and smoked salmon. The eggs were perfectly poached to the wife’s order and the latkes were supremely and delicately crisp and remained crisp even after the runny yolks and other sauciness. The amount of salmon was generous and I thought it was a very good variation on standard eggs Benedict.

 

The gözleme came with a supremely fresh Jerusalem salad and some tzatziki.  The khoubiz wasn’t as crisp as the Turkish flatbread is, but the deeply flavourful and mildly spicy lamb filling was generous and the soft, and the pliable khoubiz was excellent. My tastebuds were doing a joyous jig.

 

The wife ate a couple of mouthfuls of the gözleme and thought that it was better than the latke dish, though the whole thing would be too rich for her.  

 

I can’t lie. The two dishes were excellent;  the gözleme  are for sure worth a  return visit. So much for working my way through the menu.

 

Our sweet afters were a gluten free polenta almond and orange cake which was not overly sweet or too moist but just right, and a lemon and blueberry cupcake. The crumb was good, though not lemony, but apparently there was a secret kernel of delightful lemon curd on top, hidden beneath the icing. The wife thought the pâtissier should’ve simply scrapped the icing and allowed the curd to be the star of the show.1 July 2023

 

COOKED

Middle Eastern Café & Deli

Adelphi Centre, Main Road, Sea Point

 

How fortunate are we, said the wife and I, that not only can we eat food from various countries around the world without leaving Cape Town but also that we have experience of eating some of the same dishes in the countries of origin. We love Middle Eastern and Mediterranean style food and Cooked provides an intriguing variety of items from that part of the world.

 

Cooked occupies the space where the original iteration of Coco Safar  used to be  and it sure is a big, roomy space given that the internal divides of what made Coco Safar kind of cosy have been removed. The kitchen and deli area are at the rear of the space and the rest of the area is taken up by elegant wooden tables and chairs, with some booths on one side and banquette seating against the other wall, and even some tables on an outside wooden deck extension that can’t be pleasant because of the proximity to the very busy Main Road.  

 

Although the place is elegant enough, such a vast open space always reminds me of a cafeteria. It is a stark contrast to the opulence of Coco Safar.

 

The restaurant was never more than a quarter full when we were there but  the acoustics may be irksome when it is full.

 

The menu is extensive and has  a glorious array  of items of interest, to the extent that one will have to return more than once to try everything. You have your  bagels, toasties, latkes, falafel, nivik, omelette, salads, line fish,  lamb chops, burger, things served on khoubiz, a Lebanese flat bread, and also mezze.  

 

I don’t mess about with menus and my mind was made up as soon as I got to gözleme, one of our favourite Turkish dishes, though this version is made with khoubiz and not Turkish flatbread.

 

The wife chose the potato latkes with poached eggs and smoked salmon. The eggs were perfectly poached to the wife’s order and the latkes were supremely and delicately crisp and remained crisp even after the runny yolks and other sauciness. The amount of salmon was generous and I thought it was a very good variation on standard eggs Benedict.

 

The gözleme came with a supremely fresh Jerusalem salad and some tzatziki.  The khoubiz wasn’t as crisp as the Turkish flatbread is, but the deeply flavourful and mildly spicy lamb filling was generous and the soft, and the pliable khoubiz was excellent. My tastebuds were doing a joyous jig.

 

The wife ate a couple of mouthfuls of the gözleme and thought that it was better than the latke dish, though the whole thing would be too rich for her.  

 

I can’t lie. The two dishes were excellent;  the gözleme  are for sure worth a  return visit. So much for working my way through the menu.

 

Our sweet afters were a gluten free polenta almond and orange cake which was not overly sweet or too moist but just right, and a lemon and blueberry cupcake. The crumb was good, though not lemony, but apparently there was a secret kernel of delightful lemon curd on top, hidden beneath the icing. The wife thought the pâtissier should’ve simply scrapped the icing and allowed the curd to be the star of the show.

 

The bill, including an espresso, and two sizes of Americano, came to R510,00 before tip.

 

The food was good and the service was exemplary, with the only niggle that we never received the bottle of still water the wife ordered.

 

At, say, 14h00 on a Saturday afternoon it’s a great place to eat if you want a quiet, mostly empty environment to eat in, but there was a continuous coming and going of customers throughout the time we were there. The restaurant closes at 17h00 on Saturdays.

 

The bill, including an espresso, and two sizes of Americano, came to R510,00 before tip.

 

The food was good and the service was exemplary, with the only niggle that we never received the bottle of still water the wife ordered.

 

At, say, 14h00 on a Saturday afternoon it’s a great place to eat if you want a quiet, mostly empty environment to eat in, but there was a continuous coming and going of customers throughout the time we were there. The restaurant closes at 17h00 on Saturdays.

 

The bill, including an espresso, and two sizes of Americano, came to R510,00 before tip.

 

The food was good and the service was exemplary, with the only niggle that we never received the bottle of still water the wife ordered.

 

At, say, 14h00 on a Saturday afternoon it’s a great place to eat if you want a quiet, mostly empty environment to eat in, but there was a continuous coming and going of customers throughout the time we were there. The restaurant closes at 17h00 on Saturdays.