Turquaz – Catford

Authentic Turkish food + live belly dancing in Catford SE6

Next door to the large TFC Turkish supermarket on busy Bromley Road, you’ll find Turquaz Turkish restaurant.

We’d walked passed it many times and not thought much of it (it’s not especially appealing from outside). It was some enthusiastic personal recommendations that led us here last night.

What sets it apart is its super-welcoming, friendly staff (who genuinely seem to enjoy themselves looking after their customers), great Turkish food and lively atmosphere with live belly-dancing entertainment by a stunning dancer.

Turquaz Restaurant on Bromley Road

For starters we shared a mixed hot meze @ £9.90 – borek (cheese-filled pastries – outstanding), hellim (grilled halloumi), sucuk (spicy Turkish sausage) and calamari (tender squid in light, crisp batter).

Mixed hot meze starter platter – for two @ £9.90

For main course, I had a tandir @ £13.95 – an Anatolian speciality of very slow oven-baked lamb, served on fresh, paper-thin flat bread with rice and salad. This really was special – the bread was really light and the lamb just melted in my mouth. It’ll be a challenge for me to try something different on Turquaz’s menu next time, having been thoroughly spoilt by this divine lamb dish.

Lamb tandir – slow cooked lamb with fresh flat bread

K had lamb guvec @ £11.95 – a traditional Turkish casserole with onions, peppers, aubergines, mushrooms, tomatoes and a blend of spices with lamb cooked in a clay pot (disappointingly bland; not in the same league as the tandir).

Lamb guvec

Along with a bottle of unoaked Chardonnay dry white wine @ £16.50 (the wine selection was limited) and a bottle of Efes beer @ £4.50, our total bill for two came to £55.80, excluding service – very good value.

The verdict: Generous food portions, fab staff and great food. The belly dancer was a really good dancer and got the odd customer up to dance and even the waiters too. This light-hearted entertainment is what makes Turquaz a bit different, although K felt it was bordering on the atmosphere of a package holiday hotel with in-house entertainment.

My only slight regret was that I didn’t resist the complimentary olives and fresh warm Turkish bread that were brought to the table on our arrival (they *were* gorgeous). I was then too full to eat all of my main course. Possibly a lesson learnt for next time. But probably not…

Restaurant info: ~ Lardbutty rating: 3.5 / 5 ~ Type: Turkish ~ Address: 163 Bromley Road, Catford, London ~ Postcode: SE6 2NZ ~ Tel: 020 8697 4545 ~ Nearest station: Catford Bridge, Catford ~ Website + menus: Turquaz website ~ Photos on flickr: images of Turquaz food ~ Location: Turquaz map

RELATED LINKS
More Catford dining:
~ Catford Chippy
~ La Pizzeria Italiana – top Italian restaurant
~ Mekan – Mediterranean cuisine
~ Pide – Turkish pizza
~ Sapporo Ichiban
~ Turkish Kitchen