What is meze and why does it come first?
Meze is a set of small plates that arrives before the main course and then stays on the table. The word travelled from Persian into Ottoman Turkish and means taste. In Turkey meze is less about filling up and more about slowing down. It is the part of the meal where people talk.
The plates belong to the table, not to a person. Everyone reaches into the middle. That is why Turkish diners count varieties rather than portions when they order.
At Sultan Grill House the starters section is built the same way. Humus, haydari, babagannus and acılı ezme come out together and go to the centre.
What is the difference between cold and hot meze?
Cold meze is prepared ahead and served chilled or at room temperature. Hot meze is cooked after you order, usually fried, baked or grilled.
These are the cold ones.
- Humus, a purée of chickpeas and tahini finished with olive oil
- Haydari, thick strained yoghurt with garlic and mint
- Babagannus, smoky mashed aubergine roasted over flame
- Acılı ezme, finely chopped tomato and pepper with chilli
- Yaprak sarma, rice rolled in vine leaves and dressed with olive oil
The hot one worth knowing is paçanga böreği. Pastırma, which is air dried cured beef, goes into thin pastry with pepper and cheese and is fried, 600 TL. A common balance is three or four cold plates plus one hot.
How many meze should I order for my table?
There is a simple rule. If grilled meat is coming afterwards, order the number of people plus two. Four diners are comfortable with six plates.
If meze is the whole meal, count about two and a half plates per person. For four people that works out at around ten varieties.
You do not have to decide everything at once. Starting with three and adding one or two later is completely normal here, and no waiter will find it odd.
Do I eat meze with bread or with a fork?
With bread. For anything spreadable, bread does the work of a spoon. Tear off a small piece, scoop from the edge of the plate and work inwards.
When the grill arrives, lavaş takes over. Lavaş is a thin soft flatbread, and the usual move is to lay a piece of meat inside it with raw onion and a little acılı ezme, then roll it up. Acılı ezme is good on its own, but it is really built to sit beside charcoal grilled meat.
Yaprak sarma and paçanga böreği are finger food. No cutlery required.
Should meze come before the kebab or alongside it?
Both are correct. The classic order is meze first, then the meat from the charcoal grill. But the meze plates are not cleared away, they stay.
In practice it goes like this. Bread and cold plates land first and you spend half an hour on them. The kebab follows. Whatever is left of the haydari and the acılı ezme keeps working next to the meat, and haydari in particular cools the heat of a spicy Adana kebap.
Do not rush it. The meal is designed to be slow.
How do I plan a meze meal in Sultanahmet?
Getting there is simple. From the Sultanahmet stop on the T1 tram it is a few minutes’ walk to Yerebatan Caddesi. The street starts opposite Hagia Sophia and runs west towards Cağaloğlu, and the entrance to the Basilica Cistern sits at the Hagia Sophia end of it. Sultan Grill House is directly across from the cistern at Yerebatan Caddesi No 36, open every day from 09.00 to 02.00, with a halal certified kitchen.
Timing matters more than people expect. Around midday the museum crowds spill into the streets. A meze table is not something you rush, so mid afternoon or after 20.00 is easier.
Museum and mosque visiting hours shift with the season and with prayer times. Check the official sites before you go, then build the meal around your visit.
