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Reviewer: mac
Reviewed on the: 16/11/2006 20:10:37
Overall Rating: 82% |
Atmosphere 
Decor
Value for Money 
Service 
Stars
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Food
Wine
Music
Transport and Location 
Overall Experience
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Now I must admit to having a couple of surprises when we went to eat a Baran's. The biggest of course is that this restaurant had only been open for 2 months. I was convinced that they had been open for years. Perhaps it's the fact that brothers, Baran and Cidic, have run Mesoptamia successfully for the last nine years that had me fooled.
What surprised me even more was that the magnificent location that they have, overlooking the Green market square from a second story balcony, had been vacant for twenty five years. Regardless of the age of the place, it always has plenty of atmosphere with the balcony in the sun over looking the colorful market. We unfortunately went in too early to see the belly dancer, and on the wrong day to get some of the live jazz (Fridays), so I'm sure that there some nights that this place absolutely hums. Of course the decor is all well keeping with the turkish style of the restaurant, and the shisha/hooka/hubbly bubbly room is unique and incredibly comfortable... In fact it was here that we ate our meal, well everything after the starter, which we had on the terrace.
The mezes (starters) were good, snails, guess who ate those, and a selection mezes platter which I think will be a treat for the adventurous giving you a selection of about 7 different mezes, many not available on the menu. Mains consisted of lamb guvech, the specialty, and springbok fillet, not forgetting the pepper sauce. Guvech is cooked in a clay pot, now it's not the pot that I had my doubts about, it was the lamb. I am not a lamb fan, but I must admit that once I had the first bite, there was no worry about me cleaning out the pot. There was also a seafood platter which was my second choice, unfortunately there was no ways I could have eaten both.
The food was good, however I must say that the prices were even better, and this even extended onto the wine list. Which was also extensive, but unfortunately lacking in vintage years.
One thing that we both noticed is that we were really enjoying the music, and I think that they would probably do even better on Fridays where you will find one of the brothers playing his saz with the jazz band while the other looks after the restaurant, and it's patrons.
Overall I enjoyed the experience, firstly for it's uniqueness, dessert was a shisha pipe, and secondly I had some really good food. Obviously Baran's location, the fact they aren't going to break the bank and the selection, make it well worth a visit. |