a zadegân iftar
at âsitâne
words and photos by irem
Âsitâne was the one restaurant I had been talking about even before the Ramadan arrived. There are some places you like unconditionally, places that you would leave fully content. This restaurant is one of those. I love going there during this special month.
Here I was sitting in a café with my friend in the middle of the day during Ramadan. There were barely a few people around us, mostly tourists who were there to visit the Kariye Museum. The countdown app on my phone showed that there was still a few hours left until the iftar time. So this tea and coffee house’s tables and chairs laid out under tall and green trees looked extremely inviting. Its kind owner refused our offer to pay for the WiFi which was the only thing we could consume apart from the air since we were fasting.
We Istanbulites are sometimes chronic complainers. We go everywhere by car instead of public transportation–hence the infamous, and the never-ending busy traffic of Istanbul, about which we complain continuously. This time, even though it was Ramadan and we were fasting, my friend and I chose to use public transportation to travel. The destination was Edirnekapı, another beautiful but highly under-rated part of Istanbul which reflects the true colours, sounds and even smells of this old city.
"the destination was edirnekapı, another beautiful but highly under-rated part of istanbul"
​The moment we took off the air-conditioned Metrobus, the heat wave hit us. Although the weather has been fairly compassionate during the Ramadan month and the Spring held its place as much as it could, the summer has finally arrived. While walking towards the restaurant with cameras, laptops, tripods under our arms and complaining about the heat as every müÅŸkülpesent Istanbulite would, we entered into a green cemetery and a lovely breeze welcomed us. After a couple of steep streets and alleyways, the beautiful Kariye Camii street lined with colourful tiny old Istanbul houses in pink, mint and yellow humbly appeared. Located at the end of this cute street, the Kariye church-turned-mosque-turned-museum was the beautiful Âsitâne Restaurant gracefully hidden.
I may enjoy an orientalist painting, book or food by a foreigner, but I don’t like it to be thrown at my face by a local. And this is one of the things I love about Âsitâne. This sweet restaurant’s menu is famous for its recipes dived out from the Ottoman archives. When you heard the word “Ottoman”, your mind would go straight to those mainstream symbols like a fake gilded tuÄŸra used on each cutlery piece or every handle from doors to cups. Âsitâne is not about those above-mentioned symbols. It is all about the flavour, serenity and warm hospitality. What better way to celebrate Ramadan than by having great food from a nostalgic menu for iftar?
Located inside the Kariye Hotel, the Âsitâne Restaurant’s entrance is right behind the Kariye Museum. As you walk down the white stairs, a yard surrounded with tall and dark green trees and ivy leaves greet you. There were long tables lined for big parties and some table-for-two arrangements in the middle. Waiters had just started placing the iftariyeliks and sherbets on the tables. After making couple of videos, I immediately began shooting the yard before losing the sun completely. The extremely attentive and funny personnel –the shout-out goes to Engin Bey and the others whom their names completely slipped out of my mind– kindly showed us the best angles to shoot while they were already busy preparing for the service.
​A few minutes before the sunset, the soup, which was a Rich Chicken Broth with Almonds, was served. Just I was about to check my countdown app, a waiter passed in front of us quickly while playing a traditional beat with a Ramadan drum to inform us that the time to feast had finally come.
Each course has been carefully selected mostly from the meals served during the royal festivities of celebrating the circumcision of the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s sons Cihangir and Beyazit, hence the name “Zadegân”, meaning aristocracy in Turkish. After the soup, the iftariyelik plate which includes jams, honey, olives and cheese, and the cold starters like stuffed vine leaves with sour cherries -an absolute favourite recipe from 1844- and artichokes cooked in olive oil were the centre of attraction. They are there to keep you company until the main course arrives. As for the hot starters, Piruhi from the year of 1844 shines out. It is sort of like a raviolo with meat filling.
​There were three options for the main course: “Kırma” chicken Kebab from 1764, Grilled fillets of Veal Marinated with Fragrant Spices and Apricots from 1844, and Roasted Leg of Lamb. We chose the second option with no regrets. The Ottoman cuisine is famous for including fruits into almost every savoury dish. The current Turkish cuisine, on the other hand, is overpowered with tomato paste. The compotes are the sine-qua-non elements of every iftar dinner and it is best to consume with the main course. And last but not least, the dessert plate with a Saffron Milk Pudding from 1539 and “Musanna Cream” Baklava from 1844 arrived. I favoured the former over the latter. It was light, not overly sweet, and quite aromatic: perfect for cleansing the palate after a big meal. A live musîki [Turkish classical music] performance with a pair of qanun and oud players entertained the guests throughout the iftar.
​The night had already fallen right after the hot starters, the dark green yard was now lighted by lampposts. While the attentive and cheerful service began looking tired but still charming, people started to leave one by one, and my only regret was not coming here at the beginning of Ramadan. The Âsitâne Restaurant is unapologetically unswayable. They don’t shift their way or style towards ephemeral trends -and I hope this never changes.
Âsitâne Restaurant is open throughout the year with its stunning a la carte menu, which includes recipes like Stuffed Melon, Sailor's Roll, Lamb Shank with Eggplant BeÄŸendi, and Goose Kebab. Stuffed Melon is the highlight.