Humble café that's a real Turkish delight
Written by Ravenous Rosie @ East End Life Tuesday, 30 September 2008 23:34
BEFORE having stepped foot in this Turkish restaurant word of mouth about the quality of Tas Firin had spread like wild fire.
Several colleagues and friends had told me how great the food was but warned that I would have to queue to get a table, no matter what time I went.
So the bar had been set high and Tas Firin had a lot to live up to, making me even more eager to try it out. A group of us descended on the little café on a Friday evening and guess what, we did have to queue outside as the restaurant is so small there is no room to wait inside.
Having waited 15 minutes for our table we were relieved to be sat down. The décor of the restaurant is very basic – imagine a greasy spoon but with photographs of family members on the wall including a huge framed portrait of a baby hung above the door.
The menu was made up of traditional Turkish dishes, including hot and cold starters. For once I don’t think I would have minded trying anything on the menu as it all sounded tasty.
In the end I plumped for a lamb tava, which was described as a meat stew with vegetables including mushrooms, carrots, onions, potatoes and celery. My friends went for lahmacun (Turkish pizza), chicken and vegetable tava, and lamb chops with rice and salad.
We also ordered a hummus starter to share and accompaniments including bread, salad and drinks.
Whilst we waited for the food a queue had already formed outside with people keen to get a table. We had to wait a while for our food and the delicious smells wafting from the wood-fired oven filled the restaurant, making us all even hungrier.
Eventually the food arrived and it was amazing. My tava smelt great and tasted even better. We all tried a bit of each other’s meals and we were unanimous in our praise.
After we devoured our meals we were given a Fox’s fruit sweet to help us digest – a quirky touch. The meal for four people came to just under £40.
Tas Firin is at 160 Bethnal Green Road, E2. Tel. 7729 6446.
Several colleagues and friends had told me how great the food was but warned that I would have to queue to get a table, no matter what time I went.
So the bar had been set high and Tas Firin had a lot to live up to, making me even more eager to try it out. A group of us descended on the little café on a Friday evening and guess what, we did have to queue outside as the restaurant is so small there is no room to wait inside.
Having waited 15 minutes for our table we were relieved to be sat down. The décor of the restaurant is very basic – imagine a greasy spoon but with photographs of family members on the wall including a huge framed portrait of a baby hung above the door.
The menu was made up of traditional Turkish dishes, including hot and cold starters. For once I don’t think I would have minded trying anything on the menu as it all sounded tasty.
In the end I plumped for a lamb tava, which was described as a meat stew with vegetables including mushrooms, carrots, onions, potatoes and celery. My friends went for lahmacun (Turkish pizza), chicken and vegetable tava, and lamb chops with rice and salad.
We also ordered a hummus starter to share and accompaniments including bread, salad and drinks.
Whilst we waited for the food a queue had already formed outside with people keen to get a table. We had to wait a while for our food and the delicious smells wafting from the wood-fired oven filled the restaurant, making us all even hungrier.
Eventually the food arrived and it was amazing. My tava smelt great and tasted even better. We all tried a bit of each other’s meals and we were unanimous in our praise.
After we devoured our meals we were given a Fox’s fruit sweet to help us digest – a quirky touch. The meal for four people came to just under £40.
Tas Firin is at 160 Bethnal Green Road, E2. Tel. 7729 6446.
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