My introduction to Pide is attributed to my Turkish friends who introduced me to this concoction of bread, cheese and meat. I would say the mainstream deep crust pizza is a close reference point. The place they took me to was run by the chef who runs this place now. Since I had never been Turkey I use that spot as a benchmark for good pide which according to my friends could compete with the good one served in Turkey.
However the experience started to falter and that place went down a bit after a few years of solid performance. Still decent but not the great pide I had the first few year there.
Chef Mustafa moved to another spot for a bit that I also tried but somehow it didn't have the wow factor and it was a lot less accessible. I tried a few other spots that had opened up but they never reached the same level.
I am however pleased to share this place reaches almost 80% of what my first experience was of Pide. The menu is like the other spots i.e. simple with picture and some description and some kebabs as well. I went for the assorted version as wanted to sample everything on the menu. I was surprised to get a mid sized salad which is included with the mains. This salad is typical of what I have seen at Turkish dinners. Feta, greens, Tomato, onions with a light oil dressing. Decent I would say.
Now for the main event the Pide is served piping hot so keep an eye on that. The beef and chicken topping slices were ok but spiced down a bit. The main attraction IMO of Bastrama and Sujuck didn't hold back as much thankfully. The dough was better than what I have tried at other spots. A very decent Pide I would say better than other iterations in the city.
The interior is a bit odd as apparently they are going for a Cappadocia look.
A Solid 3.5 stars. I will be back to try the lahmahchun on my next visit and perhaps even a kebab or two.