Eat Like Ushi

Kumsal is located further away from the main throng of places in Oludeniz and perhaps that makes it fight a little harder for its quality. Granted, in a small town, further away is about 100m but still...

- Double pide (meat & cheese) 18TL - a long few layers of crisp delicious pide with lightly flavoured meat and cheese topping;
- Saksuka (aubergine, potatoes, tomato sauce) 10TL - burnt topped vegetables that reminded me of ratatouille (without the thyme) and with char cheese. It was savoury and delicious, particularly so when heaped upon a slice of pide which soaked up the juices...

An easy lunch at a wonderful price. The coffee is very bitter and they had run out of pomegranate juice (somehow?). Still worth a stop.

It was difficult to choose between the largely identical seeming restaurants in Oludeniz all scattered along Carsi caddesi. They do seem to have identical menus serving Turkish mixed with UK-aimed spaghetti and chidren's fare. Sultan Ahmet had good TA ratings and the smell and view of the grill did work for me.

A very impressive large warm sesame bread arrived with some butter. It was a nice entry to the meal whilst waiting for the mains to arrive.

- Grilled trout 27TL - this was simply grilled with no seasoning. The lemon juice was needed to balance out the grill. The flesh was reasonable well cooked;
- Mixed grill 65TL - the piece-de-resistance arrived and it didn't disappoint. The kebab of mixed chicken and lamb was outstanding with flavours and tenderness beyond. Each of the lamb shish kebab, lamb chop and patty all had excellent flavour also. The chicken drumstick was reasonable but paled compared to the kebab chicken. Lastly the two lamb pieces at the front (perhaps the meat from lamb cutlets) was overcooked. Next time I'd ask for some sauce or mustard but even without it was great.

The service was disappointing in the end. It seemed that there were quite a few regular guests, both English and Turkish who garnered attention and discounts. It was therefore near impossible to get attention toward the end without wanting to specifically generate attention. They also had a sign advertising 10% off for the end of season, but they didn't apply it and I forgot to mention it at the end.

Both left a slightly more bitter taste, but the flavours of the grill have to outweigh that when I think about it.

Oyster was a place we casually came across along the beachfront walkway. It had a nice atmosphere and the menu read seafood but also without the added tourist-focused extras of spaghetti. 

- Braised stuffed calamari (with currants, peppers, carrot, onion, walnuts & chopped calamari) 35TL - a little chewy served on a creamy sauce with excess amounts of dill;
- Saganaki (shrimp & Turkish cheddar patty, battered & deepfried) 23TL - a different form to what I usually expect from saganaki. The patty seemed to be more fish than shrimp and the frying had been overdone slightly to the point of dark and a little charry;
- Swordfish kebab (chunks marinated with olive oil, lemon zest, bay leaves & grilled on a skewer) 44TL - a disappointing rendition of their claim of "the real thing" with overcooked and chewy fish chunks;
- Octopus casserole 35TL - after the prawn casserole at Inci, this sounded appealing. There was tender thin strips of octopus with tomatoes and onions.

The meal was a little disappointing as I hoped for a bit better quality from a seafood place. There are many other good sounding dishes on the menu so if I came back would need to try those instead - like the Sea Bass Wellington.

It's pretty difficult to find varied cuisine in the smaller regions of Turkey as they all seem to have a very similar menu. Inci was a name I saw creep up and it's clear the mention on Culture Trip has brought it regular UK business (or maybe it had that before anyway?). There was an older English male who seemed to be an owner of sorts. The reputed homestyle cooking made it a good choice for the first evening along the Turquiose Coast. After a 1.5hr drive in the dark from Dalaman airport, appetites were at a high and they were satiated.

Complimentary warm soft bread came with an excellent tomato and onion salsa loaded with strong raw garlic - it was fantastic.

- Stuffed vine leaves 14TL - simple flavoured rice dolma with a yoghurt dipping sauce;
- Chef's special lamb 39.5TL - quite tender lamb with a little redness to the meat stuffed with cheese and served on another strong garlic/onion/tomato sauce;
- Prawn casserole 27.5TL - on the menu as a starter but clearly a main. Bubbling cauldron of bouncy prawns incredibly well flavoured with cream, tomato and cheese sauce. Served with rice, mashed potato and fries for some added carbs.

We were full to the brim after this and happy to have been welcomed to Turkey this way.