Hum: Tava Turkish Cuisine puts regional twist on celebrated favourites

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Tava Turkish Cuisine

7B Kakulu Rd., 613-435-7888, tava.kitchen

Open: Wednesday to Sunday noon to 9 p.m., closed Monday, Tuesday

Prices: main courses $22 to $33, mixed kebab platters $59 and $99

Access: one step to front door

On the menu at Tava Turkish Cuisine in Kanata South, the magic word is “Antep.”

If you’re more worldly than I am, you might know that Antep casually refers to the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is regarded as having the country’s most celebrated cuisine. Maybe you even knew that UNESCO in 2015 designated Gaziantep a City of Gastronomy.

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In a Kakulu Road strip mall, Tava, a 30-seat eatery, gives Antep flavours pride of place on its smartly curated menu. I tried chef-owner Fatih Anderoglu’s restaurant three times in February and was consistently impressed, especially when the dishes I chose were Antep specialties.

Antep beyran soup ($12) was a dynamite starter on a cold winter day, packed with slow-cooked, fall-apart shredded lamb and rice in a robust lamb broth flavoured with garlic, paprika and Antep pepper flakes.

Antep lahmacun ($20) was a fine example of that thin, crispy Turkish flatbread, topped with a minced-lamb spread.

A plate of Antep kebab skewers ($22), made of simply flavoured, charcoal-grilled, juicy knife-minced lamb, accompanied by the most toothsome bulgur I’ve had at any Turkish restaurant, was the centrepiece of a fine lunch special ($29). It was preceded by a simple but impeccable lentil soup and followed by a piece of baklava unlike any other I’ve had in Ottawa.

At Tava, the baklava (two for $7) is soaked in a light milk syrup, topped with cocoa powder and served chilled. It’s also the only dessert that’s not made in house. It’s imported, from Antep, of course, where in 2013, baklava became the first Turkish product with a European protected designation of origin and geographical indication.

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I previously visited Tava in the fall of 2022. Then, it was half its current size, a no-frills but commendable bakery that was geared to takeout orders. It specialized in pide, the boat-shaped Turkish flatbreads loaded with different toppings, which have been likened to pizzas. Anderoglu still serves more than a dozen kinds of pide even if all are not listed on the menu, and the spinach and cheese pie ($18) we had, made with feta and mozzarella, was exemplary.  

Last year, Anderoglu took over the narrow space next door to the bakery, where he added a charcoal grill, a long counter with seating, and tables along the wall. The result is an attractive, modern restaurant that stands out amid the wave of Turkish restaurants that have opened in Ottawa, from Orléans to Kanata, in the last two years.

Most of Tava’s peers, such as Turkish Kebab House in Kanata and on Bank Street, or Sultan Ahmet Turkish Cuisine on Bank Street near the Queensway, are larger, high-volume restaurants, with very comparable, kebab-centric menus. They follow the same formula and they generally do it well.

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But Tava is a more intimate, distinctive place and Anderoglu says his menu will change regularly and feature Turkish specials that won’t be found elsewhere in Ottawa.

Still, Tava more than holds its own when it comes to the mixed kebab platters that many customers will opt for when going out for Turkish fare. Anderoglu’s fully loaded platter for two to three people ($59) was heaped with a range of perfectly grilled and lightly smoky meat, including Antep kebabs, subtly spicier Adana kebabs, lots of kofte lamb and beef kebabs made according to Balkan preferences west of Turkey and chunks of moist, marinated chicken breast.

I also think very highly of Tava’s kebab dishes that nestle their meats in a thick and irresistible sauce of smoky eggplant purée blended with garlicky yogurt. While lamb kebabs are typical for this preparation, Anderoglu says he made a version with chunks of chicken breast ($29) at the request of customers. 

To start, you could not improve upon a trio of dips ($14) including muhammara made with roasted red peppers, walnuts, pomegranate molasses, garlic, bread crumbs, hummus and roasted beet mutabbal.

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To conclude, every dessert we had was a winner. Rice pudding ($9) was rich but subtle, and heavy on the cream. Anderoiglu’s favourite Antep dolama ($12) was a warm phyllo-dough pastry filled with pistachios and clotted cream topped with ice cream. Trilece ($12), a milk-soaked sponge cake popular in the Balkans, must share culinary DNA with Latin America’s tres leches cake.

Another fun, cross-cultural fact: Each time I ate at Tava, there were Chinese customers at other tables. The explanation is that Anderoglu’s business partner and front-of-house person, Baykal Deli, is a Turk who lived in China for more than two decades and who speaks Mandarin. Apparently word of mouth, in Mandarin, got out about Tava’s food and Deli’s Mandarin proficiency, and Chinese regulars now come in droves.

But you don’t have to be from China, or from Antep, to enjoy Tava’s food. I’d wager that it will win you over with its cut-above fare and friendly, hospitable service, even if you’ve never tried Turkish food before.

phum@postmedia.com

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