Date night- Pasha

Saturday night was date night.. It started off in one of my favourite places for a great glass of wine, Project Vino. I plumped for a mini bottle of Prosecco and Steve had a Chilian Malbec. The Prosecco was divine.. Fruity and sparkling. Steve’s Malbec was smooth and very drinkable. It was lovely to take a little bit of time over our drinks and catch up on the week before moving on to Pasha. Just a short walk down the hill.

Pasha opened last week and is situated at the bottom end of South Street in Exeter. A Turkish and Mediterranean restaurant specialising in mezze and kebabs cooked over a charcoal grill. When we arrived it was busy which is generally a good sign.. 

We were welcomed by a lovely lady who showed us to our table near the window with a wonderful view of the cathedral. I wasn’t expecting that I have to say.

    
We spent a bit of time choosing our drinks. We both wanted to keep it authentic by choosing Turkish beverages! Steve had an Efes.. A Turkish beer and I had a glass of Turkish white wine. I had never had Turkish wine before but was pleasantly surprised. The wine was Narince (Diren Collection, Turkat, Turkey) which translates as “delicate” in English.  

 One of the waitresses came over with complimentary bread and olives whist we deliberated over the menu. 

  

  
We decided on the mezze platter to share.. Lots of yummy dips – hummus, tarama and cacik (like tzatziki), dolma-stuffed vine leaves, feta cheese, kisir – a bulgar wheat salad and imam bayildi- a braised aubergine dish.All very tasty and a perfect start to the meal.
   
  

We both chose kebabs as our main dish. Steve had the seafood kebab. A mixture of scallops, king prawns and monk fish and I had the sebze kebab which was mushroom, aubergine, peepers and onions all cooked over charcoal. The main dishes come with a side salad and a choice of fried chipped potatoes or rice.  

  

We both agreed that the food was reminiscent of hot holidays to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. 
At this point in the meal Steve decided to try a Turkish red wine called Kalecik Karasi from Central Anatolia. A gold medal winner at the Sommelier Wine Awards. It was pretty robust, fruity and very palatable. 

  
I decided to skip dessert and opted for a Turkish tea instead. Steve had a Turkish coffee pot. A chocolate mousse infused with Turkish coffee, cardamom and cinnamon. It had a subtle coffee flavour behind the chocolate. Delicious!

  
Overall I had a lovely evening at Pasha. It felt like I was on holiday with the Turkish music on in the background. The waitresses were fabulous and very attentive. They were knowledgeable about the ingredients in the dishes which I find is always helpful. I normally have questions about the menu and it is always a bonus when the waiter knows the answers without having to ask someone else!

I would like to go back and try some other dishes on the menu. A couple next to us had some rather lovely looking chargrilled haloumi! I need to give that a go! I love haloumi. I think it would be a perfect restaurant for a large group or party. You can order lots and lots of little dishes and all dig in! 

I enjoyed my meal and the experience at Pasha but wonder if they are recreating the Turkish holiday experience with their food or the traditional Turkish experience! I guess I need to visit Turkey to find out! 
 

Leave a Reply