Diner asthetics review

The class was treated to an exciting opportunity to enjoy a meal free of charge, needless to say, we were excited about free food. This is my review of the restaurant and our meal.

Tas offers an exciting cuisine of Turkish origin. On their website they describe their restaurants as offering a fine dining experience and the highest quality food. This is a tall order to live up to and to be honest I would not expect "the highest quality food" from a restaurant that makes such a claim, but I figured I would be fair and go in with an unbiased opinion and give Tas the opportunity to prove itself.

My first impressions of the restaurant as I entered were positive. The restaurant was open and airy, providing a pleasant view of the London streets just outside. The mood was inviting and pleasant without seaming cheap or informal and the music and lighting complemented the atmosphere.

Because we had booked for the large group we ordered off a prepared menu and already had a portion of the meal predetermined. The starters came out in a relatively timely manner and I must say that the array of food was impressive. The starters included Borek, Humus, Manca, Tabule, Sebzeli Kofte, Zeytin Yagli Bakla, and Zeytin Yagli Patlican and were all excellent. In particular the Manca (a sort of tart yogurt and spinach mix) offered a refreshing yet zingy flavor and was exceptional with the traditional bread served with the starters. As a whole the starters offered an exciting mix of traditional flavors and I would recommend any of them.

For my main course I ordered calamari. I was hoping for an exciting dish filled with interesting flavors that would compliment the squid. Unfortunately my meal was not all that I had hoped it to be. The flavors were bland and it was served only with an equally bland walnut paste. This is not to say that the calamari wasn't good, it just wasn't as exciting as I had hoped and I wish that I had chosen a more exotic dish. My friends Karides Guvech was exceptional and offered a full gamut of flavors, I would recommend this dish to anybody looking for a good meal.

To complement the meal our teacher graciously agreed to pay for a couple bottles of wine and we enjoyed both of the house wines, a Turkish white and red wine. The house red would best be described as blunt and had an almost shockingly strong bitterness to it. However, this lessened as the wine breathed and by the end of our meal was quite fruity and flavorful. The white had a mild flavor and was quite smooth. Neither would be my first choice if I went again.

On the whole I would describe the restaurant as good and I would most certainly eat here again. However, I would highly suggest to indulge in the more exotic sounding dishes as these will provide a more exciting meal. The service was a bit over zealous although our large group size could well have been a factor. I will return to this restaurant on different terms in the future and I suggest that you do the same if you are looking for a meal that will be sure to excite.