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fvz
Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:32 am

Re: Shibuya - African/Oriental/Turkish food
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Anatolia - Turkish ****

Address - Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Shibuya 2-19-20
Opening hours - Open lunch and dinner every day until 11pm, on Sunday dinner only
Telephone - 03-3486-2995
Menu - In English and Japanese
Credit Cards - OK

Anatolia reminds me a lot of Ankara (the restaurant), in the sense that what I said about the latter applies also to the former: All in all, a good restaurant, although I would definitely prefer Istanbul or Bosphorus Hasan in Shinjuku, which both approach perfection. Not far from Shibuya station, it is reasonably cozy and hospitable. The menu is pretty standard, with only the ice-creams standing out for originality. If you go, try the bitter cherry ice-cream.

By the way, Turkish ice-cream has a weird consistency. It is viscous and forms filaments, particularly so at Anatolia. When I asked the waiter why, he said that the ice-cream contains a special ingredient. I would never have guessed that much, thank you.



Ankara - Turkish ****

Address B1 Social Dogenzaka 1-14-9 Dogenzaka, Shibuya -ku, Tokyo
Opening hours - Open every day from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 11:30 PM
Telephone - 03-3780-1366
Menu - In English and Japanese
Credit Cards - OK

Ankara is very well hidden on a narrow side street up in Dogenzaka, virtually impossible to bump into, unless you already know it is there. It''s just a small room in the basement of a building, smallish but welcoming, even though the decor is fairly anonymous. The cook is a friendly and warm fellow I immediately liked, particularly because he explained to me how to make his excellent Tarama Salad after I asked. The salad was part of the Mezze (mixed appetizers) we had ordered and which we liked a lot, even though it didn't reach the heights of Istanbul's. We had several other dishes accompanied by buttered rice and Turkish Pide bread, and all was fine but for the Doner Kebab, good but mysteriously burned. All in all, a good restaurant, although I would definitely prefer Istanbul or Bosphorus Hasan in Shinjuku, which both approach perfection.
