Sheer Turkish delight (Tas Pide)

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	Tas Pide
Date:	20/07/09 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tasty, good value food, decor service

Disadvantages: Only one female toilet

I seem to be working my way through the range of Mediterranean cuisines. Tapas,, Morrocan, pasta what's next on the list? Next up is Turkish as I've found Tas Pide, a very good value restaurant on Bankside just across the road from the Globe Theatre.

Tas is a small chain of nine Turkish restaurants, bars and cafes located in central London. Its fairly easy to find Tas Pide as it is just opposite the Globe on New Globe Walk and and only a stone throw away from London landmarks such as the Millennium Bridge, the Tate Modern and Saint Paul's Cathedral. Its easy to get to by public transport, as it is within walking distance of Blackfriars, Cannon Street and London Bridge railway stations. If you were arriving by tube its easy enough to get to from London Bridge (Northern and Jubilee), Southwark (Jubilee), Mansion House (District and circle) and saint Paul's (Central Line).

My first impressions of the restaurant were excellent. The outside of the building is shrouded in greenery and there are tables outside for when the weather is sunny. The interior decoration is just as pretty with white walls and lovely wooden beams and gorgeous carving. It does feel like a little corner of the Mediterranean in central London.

I have visited twice so far and our last visit was early evening on a Friday when the restaurant was already busy with pre theatre diners. We we got a table immediately but we were told we had to be out by 8 pm. This was about 6.30 so this was enough time to enjoy our meal without being rushed.
Whilst ordering we were treated to complimentary lovely soft white bread,olives and dips. I was impressed as our bread basket was refreshed three or four times during our meal.

I like the menu at Tas Pide. There is plenty of choice for everyone as long as you like Turkish or Middle Eastern food. There's a nice selection of starters and mezze from around about the £4 mark. Main courses are between £6 and £10.15 for steak, prawns and swordfish. Lamb seems to be a very popular ingredient for carnivores but there is a great selection of dishes for vegetarians, one of the best I have seen on a menu with eight options. However there speciality is a Pide which is very much Turkish pizzas. Instead of being round they are oval in shape almost like an eye or a canoe.

The other great thing about Tas is the special set menus which are exceedingly good value for money with the cheapest ones being £8.75. On out first visit we opted for the Yaz Menu which consisted of delicious lentil soup and then a mix of hot and cold vegetarian mezze. The cold mezze were brought on a huge silver plate before filling the table. Examples of these included various salads and humus with falafal and borek (pastries filled with feta cheese) for the hot mezze. The portions of the hot starters were not quite so big with only oner two per person.

On our recent visit we opted for the Sahan Menu which consisted of a starter and a Pide. We selected the humus and feta cheese salad to share. They were both delicious although the hummus was quite smooth and I ideally like it chunky. There is a nice range of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. On both occasions I've stuck to their delicious bottles of organic juice. I like the selection they have. Its not just orange and apple I had melon the first time and pomegranate the second and my friend had quince. These little bottles are around about the £2.25 to £2.75 mark. Miscellaneous jugs of tap water were automatically brought to our table without asking. I really liked our jug as it was terracotta and looked very rustic whys the next table had a very pretty glass one with piping. I like the assorted jugs as it have it a homely feel rather than the corporate sameness of other places.

I was very impressed with my Pide. We both opted for the Kasarili (Kashar cheese, fresh mint, parsley, sesame seeds, sundried tomatoes). The base was lighter than even a thin crust pizza and had the sesame seeds embedded in it to give it a nice twist of flavour. I really liked the kashar cheese as a topping as it is fairly salty but also quite creamy. I much preferred it to mozzarella. The only thing that let it don were the lumps of sun dried tomatoes which were a bit too strong. I look forward to trying other Pides

Pides are smaller than a lot of pizzas and it was nice to have room for dessert. The dessert menu again has a nice selection with very much an emphasis on sticky pastries and dried fruits. My friend had baklava whilst Iopted for Firin Sutlac, a Turkish rice pudding with rose water and orange peel. I did not mind paying £3.95 as it was something slightly different from the run of the mill desserts places often serve up. My dessert looked pretty being servedi n a glass dish with a cinnamon strewn serviette underneath. The rice pudding was very fragrant and tasty at first but i found the rose water to be a bit overpowering by the end of it. Think rice pudding mixed with Turkish delight.

The service at Tas was very friendly, helpful and quick without feeling rushed. The toilets were on ground floor with a disabled toilet so completely accessible for wheelchair users. I liked the carved wooden toilet doors and the stone decoration inside. The only y problem was there only seemed to be one ladies toilet so I ended up using the disabled one.

I would highly recommend Tas Pide and would not hesitate to go to one of her sister venues. The food is tasty, seems pretty authentic and is good value especially if you op for one of the set menus. Tas is head and shoulders above The real Greek just around the corner and is our new favourite restaurant. I just hope it does not deteriorate.

http://www.tasrestaurant.com

Tas Pide
20 - 22 New Globe Walk
London
SE1 9DR


Tel: 020 7928 3300

Summary: Good value turkish resturant