So yakamoz (their lowercase on that first letter) has opened where the Windmill used to be. My partner really wanted to give it a try and curious myself we went along on a Saturday night.
Shiny new sign
Upon entering we were asked to sit where we wated and chose a table in front of the ice filled counter full of very attractive fish cuts. Along with the menu the waiter gave us a list of soft drinks; my partner had noted the corkage cost sign on the front so we figured they hadn’t got their licence sorted yet just a couple of weeks after opening. We both opted for mango juice.
Starters
We were also bought some appetisers of bread, onion salad, cucumber and yogurt and, erm, the stuff on the right of the photo. Which is nice as we waited for about 15 minutes for one of the two waiters who were dealing with the 6 occupied tables to take our order. The chap who did seemed to find taking our order a little tricky. But off he went and before long my lentil soup arrived.
Lentil soup, with pickled peppers and olives.
The soup was very nice. Not as think as some places but very nicely seasoned and tasty. However, there was a wait for my partner’s calamari to arrive. Quite a wait…
While you picture the 10 minutes after I finished my soup we were waiting let me paint the picture a bit more. The front table we chose was in front of the counter and so next to people coming in for take out. Not a problem tonight but not so fun later on a Friday or Saturday night. Yasar and Urfa both have some level of segregation from their seating area.
They had some soft jazz playing which was pleasant. The decor is quite a mix. On one side is a pink wall with tassled lamps on it like a 1950’s B&B. The rear is large sections of light wood with candles in sconces akin to a swedish sex dungeon. And finally one wall is bare brick. By bare I mean visible wires, rawl plugs and insulation foam plus one gap next to our table with a wedge of wood in it. I suspect the decor may be a work in progress. There are some pleasant uplighting boxes around the room. As my partner pointed out Urfa had two christmas silver deer ornaments up for a couple of years so critisising the decor was a bit churlish. At least they dodged the shabby chic trend and have smart seats and tables.
Eventually another member of staff came over to tell us that there had been some confusion in the kitchen and her calamari was on the way. He told us with the recent opening they had found themself short staffed. Shortly my main course showed up along with my partners! The calamari arrived soon after.
Sea bass, chips and salad. Also photo rotation failure.
My partner was surprised that her meal arrived with potatos and not rice as described in the menu but when she asked rice soon arrived seperately. My sea bass was nice. I’m not often a fish eater and as usual spent a lot of time fishing little bones out of my mouth in an ungracious manner. The chips were nice and the salad perfectly fresh.
My partner said the calamari was fresh and the batter nicely crispy. She wasn’t so sure about the garlic lamb. Some recent medical treatment has affected her sense of taste. But she said it was cooked very well and complimented the roast vegetables with it.
While we ate some customers came in and asked whether there was beer and wine. It turns out there was and they had a temporary licence! Although we overheard the only beer was Efes, which is okay but once you’ve had Efes Dark beer not quite the same.
At the end we got the bill and instead of lamb it said sirloin steak. Now when my partner questioned what had happened the waiter who sorted out the calamari immediatly, without blinking or skipping a heartbeat, apologised and redid the bill with that main course removed. No fuss at all. I was very impressed. The prices by the way are very reasonable and comparable with other places locally.
Frankly the above all may sound a bit negative but I am sure that they were having a bad night with a staffing issue. The food was good. My actual concern is that another Turkish place around the corner from Urfa and 10 minutes from Yasars does not add to diversity of choice at the West end of town. Maybe yakamoz will take up some custom (like I said there were other customers in) but I hope they can differentiate themselves from the competition.
Weird Walthamstow 