You cannot have Turkish cuisine and not become a convert. The fresh ingredients, the healthy Mediterranean fare, the delicious mezes, kebabs and soups—what's not to love?

　　I was invited to Öz by Kebapci, a Turkish restaurant that serves authentic Turkish fare, in UB City, Bengaluru. Designed by Turkish interior designer Mert Duyal, the 6,000-square-foot restaurant evokes a contemporary Turkish vibe with its blue and gold interiors, wall art, latticed frames, handwoven carpets, and opulent decor accents.

　　Flavours of the Levant

　　While Öz by Kebapci is mainly a Turkish restaurant, it also serves Mediterranean and Middle-eastern fare. We started our meal with the Chicken Hummus Beiruti, a blend of creamy chickpeas, fava beans, and tahini seasoned with lemon juice, fresh parsley, and ripe tomatoes. Topped with sautéed chicken cubes, this can be a complete meal in itself.

　　Öz by Kebapci claims many of the ingredients they use are sourced from Turkiye or local farms. This is evident from dishes like Aubergine Meat Sarma Beyti, where the freshness of the eggplant makes all the difference. Stuffed with lamb mince and grilled over charcoal, at Öz, it's served with tomato sauce, labneh, and Gaziantep pistachios.

　　Eggplant is a staple in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine, and there's much of it on the Öz menu. We tried the Öz Signature Bayildi with roasted eggplant, makdous (stuffed preserved eggplant), muhammara, tahini, and tarator (a garlic yoghurt sauce) and the Öz Signature Baba Ghanoush, where roasted eggplant is blended with olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice and finished with labneh and pomegranate.

　　Dolmas—leaves or vegetables stuffed with fillings—are eaten across Turkiye, the Mediterranean and the Middle East and served as part of mezze. At Öz by Kebapci, I tried sun-dried bell peppers stuffed with bulgur and meat, grape leaves dolma stuffed with rice, and aubergine dolma filled with rice and meat. Each variety was delicious, and I would return just to eat the dolma.

　　While most of us are familiar with the Turkish Adana kebabs, at Öz by Kebapci, I got to try the Black Lemon Chicken Kebap. Here, chicken cubes are flavoured with black lemons from the Middle East, marinated in aromatic Turkish spices and grilled over charcoal.

　　Ouzi rice is another Middle Eastern staple that is eaten across the region. At Öz by Kebapci, the Ouzi comes encased in a covering of baked pastry dough. The fragrant basmati, the corn, peas and minced lamb all come together to make a comforting dish.

　　If you are a fan of Turkish desserts like I am, you will be pleased with Öz's variety. I over-indulged shamelessly in Kunafa, that wondrous creation of cheese encased in a crisp kataifi crust and the unforgettable baklava with layer upon layer of flaky pastry filled with pistachios and drenched in honey.

　　The Information

　　Timings: 12.30 PM to 12.30 AM (All Days)

　　Address: Second Floor, Piazza, UB City, Bengaluru