It’s hard to know what to expect when you visit Sazeli. Chances are that whatever you think before you go, your expectations will be far exceeded by the time you leave and that you’ll be as FACT’s Craig Ferriman was – blown away!

For a start, the restaurant is not in the mainstream food court. It’s slightly hidden away near the entrance South Gate 2 (write that down or commit to memory!) The benefit of being off the beaten track is that it has the luxury of space. Lots of it! There are two floors with copious seating space. The ground floor is for main dining but those who want to share shisha may do so on the first floor and that’s not all. There is a terrace at the very top that has been beautifully designed with plants and decking. Our timing was rather perfect as we went as the sun was setting and then all the fairy lights came on. It looked gorgeous.

There are lots of closed cabanas where ladies can enjoy some privacy with their children. These can be booked out on a first come first served basis. There are rooms that can also be booked for private dining for groups who want some intimacy for a meeting or meal.

The food is also excellent. His Excellency the Emir opened the restaurant last year alongside the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Framed photos of that grand opening hang proudly on the walls.

We started with the mezzes which quickly filled all available table space. The spicy tomato ezme was
yummy, and the homemade hummus was fresh. The yoghurt with eggplant was full of flavour and the stuffed leaves exploded in the mouth, rich in goodness. So far, so good!

A trolley then arrived with meat and carved slices of beef tenderloin, or lokum, were laid on our plates on the table. The beef shashlik kebab was as good as any I’ve eaten in Turkey. Cooked in a kind of stewed gravy, it was highly authentic.

A test of a good Turkish restaurant is surely how well they serve lamb chops. Sazeli didn’t fail at that test either. The lamb chops are juicy and droolworthy – mouthwatering!

If you have a sweet tooth, then you’ll be in heaven just looking at the list of desserts. They are as you might expect, all sweet, all Turkish and all good! A giant plate of baklava was on the table. As is the popular trend in Turkey nowadays, the baklava was cut open in half, plain ice cream was spread all over it and then the top half of the baklava was put on top of that to form a sandwich. The presentation of this is rather showy and despite the grand performance, the proof is in the pudding as they say. It was genuinely superb. The giant fruit bowl we also ordered looked at us wondering if we were going to give it any attention!

What I also loved about Sazeli was how accessible the food was. All the meats, cheeses, fruits and pastries are on display and the kitchens are open so you can see the chefs working away, watching the process unfold. The staff are proudly Turkish and share their passion with everyone who wanders in – and I encourage every single one of you to visit, pronto! ✤

GO: CALL 4028 5668 FOR MORE RESERVATIONS AND MORE INFORMATION.