Having spent an absolutely wonderful week in Turkey I wanted to banish the holiday blues by recapturing a bit of Turkey so my friend and I went to Turkish restaurant Red Mezze in sunny Newcastle.

Red Mezze is in the centre of Newcastle opposite the legendary St James Park.

34-36 Leazes Park Road
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 4PG
Tel : 0191 261 9646

http://www.restaurantturkish.co.uk/

The decor of the restaurant is very clean and modern, all red leather and chrome. although I personally felt it was a shame there was no sense of Turkey in the environment. The restaurant is split into 2 levels and we were sat on the top level next to the open kitchen, I always think if that you can see into the kitchen it must be a good sign. There were also a number of Turkish diners another good sign.

The service we received was excellent. The staff were very polite and efficient, they seemed to know their menu very well and were happy to offer suggestions and advice whilst we were choosing. Our drinks were taken first and our meals arrived after only a short wait.

The food - The menu at Red Mezze is split into Cold Mezze, Hot Mezze, Barbecue, Fish and Vegetarian and they have a desert menu. Each section is quite small but I still found it difficult to choose as there were so many appealing dishes. I finally settled on ordering a selection from the Hot Mezze menu - each dish costing about £3.50. My friend ordered Pirzala from the barbecue for £9. I have to say the food was excellent, all of the ingredients were very fresh and of high quality. The food was very authentic and the portion sizes were good.

From where we were sat we could see all of the dishes other diners were ordering and they all looked great - I will certainly be returning to try out the rest of the menu.

Red Mezze often have Groupon Deals although it is very good value for money without this. The restaurant does tend to be very busy so I would advise booking in advance.