City Road, Cardiff
City Road: one of Cardiff’s most vibrant streets, brimming with international food shops and all manner of restaurants competing with each other to tempt diners, earning it a reputation as a hotspot for foodies craving a fix. Ranging from the most appalling kebabs to authentic Chinese food, City Road’s quality of restaurants varies massively, and sitting fairly near the top is Saray, arguably Cardiff’s best Turkish restaurant. The first thing that strikes you in Saray is the range of choice, offering a selection of cold and hot starters, traditional Turkish soups, grills, casseroles, yoghurt dishes, seafood and steaks.
We began with a few starters: sucuk (spicy sausage), kiremitte mantar (cheesy mushrooms), and yaprak sarma (stuffed vine leaves), all of which were enjoyable. This was followed by yogurtlu beyti, a peculiar yet tasty mix of lamb, bread, yoghurt, and spices, with melted butter drizzled on top. The result was unlike any other dish I had had before, in a way it was like a mix between a Greek grill and buttery Russian cuisine. I also sampled their kofte (lamb meatballs), which were well done, but not the highlight of the meal.
For afters and drinks, Saray offer up the usual baklava (but very well done) and Turkish teas and coffees in addition to more unique treats like kanafeh, a sweet cheesy pastry and ayran, a cold salty yoghurt drink (nicer than it sounds). This is a great place to go to sample a wide range of dishes and learn about an underrated cuisine.
words LUKE OWAIN BOULT
photo TIM LUCAS, JESSICA SPENGLER