[Disclosure: We paid in full both times at Ottoman. It’s worth noting they only take cash at the moment if you plan to go]
Rugby’s on a bit of a roll at the moment. After years of feeling like every other town in Warwickshire was shouting about opening after opening after opening while we stuck to a few stalwarts, 2022 has seen a few new places to eat arrive. Not just that – they seem to be a bit of a hit.
One of the latest arrivals is Turkish restaurant Ottoman. Family-run, reasonably priced, open seven days a week and serving up decent food in a simple but pretty restaurant, we’ve been a couple of times now and have left happy, as have several of my foodie friends.
The menu is full of the classics that you’d expect from this type of cuisine. Cold mezze, hot mezze, mains of meat cooked over charcoal, with various other traditional Turkish dishes plus steaks and kids’ options.
It’s a reflection of how addictive their bread is that I haven’t managed a picture of it on either occasion I visited, but trust me when I say it’s worth making sure you’ve got some space for a carb fest.
A sharing platter of the hot mezze on our first visit is a simple combination of recognisable snacks. Halloumi fried to just the right degree of squeak next to chunks of fried Turkish sausage. Falafel is proper, without the claggy mouth-drying drama that you get in supermarket stuff, while calamari is the to-be-expected fried rings of beige glory.
But it’s the meatballs that are the surprise treat – well seasoned and draped in a tangy, intense sauce. They contrast nicely with cigar-like fried feta rolls, crispy on the outside with the salty cheese melted inside.
On a second trip Jamie goes back for more of the calamari (never let it be said he isn’t a creature of habit), but I decide to try the chicken livers. A good decision by me. Tender and yielding, their own distinctive flavour balanced by rich caramelised onions and herbs and spices that add warmth and fragrance. They’re a triumph and, at £5.95, a bargain.
When at a Turkish restaurant with a charcoal grill, the most savvy move is to order meat cooked on that grill. In Ottoman’s case, make that meat the lamb chops. We have them both times and they deliver on both.
Chunky chops, trimmed nicely, charred on the outside by the grill, which has simultaneously rendered the fat perfectly. They’re liberally coated with herbs and spices – not too much, not too little – just enough to make the meat sing.
They’re great. I’ve heard other people say so too. Which leaves me even more bemused by my own failure to order them, instead trying to wrestle one from Jamie’s vice-like grip across the table as he gnaws through them like a caveman on crack.
My reason for not choosing them isn’t only because I like the challenge of taking his food from him. It’s because there are plenty of other dishes to try, all interesting and threatening to be the next undiscovered great dish if I don’t order them.
The first time, it’s ‘Yogurtlu Chicken Shish’. The chicken has apparently been cooked over the grill on skewers but has been removed and sits in a buttery, tomatoey sauce with a dollop of yoghurt on top. It’s nice but a whole portion proves a bit rich for me, and it lacks any complexity that you might want from something that’s an alternative to a chunk of grilled meat.
The second time, after much deliberation, I settle on Alinazik Lamb which comes with a side portion of stories from the family friend serving us who tells us all about its origins in Gaziantep, also known as Antep.
On both occasions we tuck into one of the two Turkish red wines available on the menu – again reasonably priced. We’re too full for dessert but another nice touch is the Turkish delight presented on a traditional lidded serving dish.
We leave, as is the way you always want to leave a restaurant, not only sated but feeling like we haven’t been done out of our hard-earned cash. We’ve had decent food and friendly service in a pleasant setting. The ‘cash only’ rule that I thought was an initial temporary measure after they opened seems to be continuing, but there is a cash point across the road if you’re not bothered about the whys and wherefores behind your mad dash across the road.
Is Ottoman the best Turkish restaurant out there? Probably not. But as I was told by a much more experienced food critic than me recently, that’s not really the question given that the best Turkish restaurants are most likely in Turkey. What matters is whether it’s an alright Turkish restaurant for Rugby – our little town in the middle of England doing its best in difficult times.
It is. The food is well cooked, with decent flavours. There’s wine, cocktails and any other drink you’d like, and it’s a pleasant dining experience with – perhaps most importantly these days – a reasonable price tag. It’s another nice addition to Rugby and I for one would like to see it stay.
[Disclosure: We paid in full both times at Ottoman. It’s worth noting they only take cash at the moment if you plan to go]
