Ali Oçakbasi: No-Nonsense Turkish Delight

/ Amsterdam, Recent Posts / 0 comment

My friends were talking about this ‘no-nonsense’ Turkish restaurant in het heart of Amsterdam: Ali Oçakbasi. As some of you may know already: I love Turkey. I posted a lot of content about my visit to beautiful Alaçati and a couple of years ago, I fell in love with Dalyan (before I started the blog). The hospitality, the delicious mezze and the beautiful nature, make Turkey one hell of a destination. It is so said to hear so much negativity about the country on the news these days…

Alright Ali Oçakbasi, let’s meet! The welcome is friendly and we feel like two kids with ADHD when they offer us the mezze: ‘pick whatever you like’. AAH! Choice stress! We decide to go for the Muhammara, Kopoglu, Abagannus, Cig Köfte and balloon bread: which is basically everything… I always make the same mistake: I order way to many mezze, so when it is time to order the main course, I am completely full. And although I mentally prepared myself for this, the same thing happens tonight: something with a donkey and a rock…

After the delicious mezze, the Muhammara is my favorite, a big meat plateau with real Turkish flavours is served. The Saslik, Cöp Sis and Kuzu Sis are served with Semsek: Turkish flatbread and a salad with grilled veggies. Ok, so tomorrow it is time for the gym…maybe twice… I am not a big meat eater, but the flavours are too good.

We apologize and tell the friendly waitor that we don’t want to order any dessert, because we are overly satisfied with what we had and order a mint tea. When the tea arrives, there is something else on the plate.. ‘just to try’. I instantly recognise the dessert, aka heaven on a plate: Künefe. Oh no… Künefe is a delicious oven-baked cheese pastry, soaked in sweet syrup and served with pistachios. I will be in the gym all day tomorrow and living on green juices for weeks, but who cares. YOLO!

Ali Oçakbasi is a true no-nonsense restaurant, with authentic Turkish food. Maybe not the most romantic spot for a date, but the food is absolutely delicious, the staff is friendly and the view over the Utrechtsestraat is beautiful. Try to find a table close to the window on the first floor. I’ll be back!