[Turkey: Urla] OD Urla - Farm to Table Restaurant

October 07, 2019

[Turkey: Urla] OD Urla - Farm to Table Restaurant

Rating: ❤❤❤❤ (4/5)

We were on the west coast of Turkey last month for J's windsurfing when we discovered OD Urla - a beautiful farm to table restaurant in Urla! The chef is Osman Sezener who had worked in New York and Italy before coming back to his home town to help out with family business. In late last year, he opened his dream fine dining restaurant on his family's olive grove. We were given a tour of the vast grounds before dinner and got to check out all the herbs and vegetables grown onsite in addition to the guesthouse where diners can stay overnight. The cuisine is modern and creative using seasonal and local ingredients which are cooked with open fire - the attention to details goes down to the plates as well. What a surprising find in this region and definitely worth checking out if you are in the area!

The restaurant is huge and has a few different seating areas - outside on the patio, inside at a table and then there's the chef's table counter surrounding the kitchen.

While guests can order a la carte, we went with the tasting menu (285 TL) and wine pairing (195 TL). The prices were very reasonable compared to fine dining restaurants in Europe.

Our meal started with some bread and olive oil made from the olive trees onsite.

All of the wines served at dinner were all Turkish wine.

Purslane and Strawberry Salad with Izmir tulum cheese

Wood Oven Roasted Okra with salted yogurt and kadayif - interestingly, people in Turkey prefer smaller okras for the snappy mouthfeel rather than the plump and soft texture of the larger ones.

Squid from Ildir region cooked on wood fire with tahini and citrus sauce, smoked mashed potatoes - cooked to perfection, this was a favorite with its sweet, acidic and smoky flavors.

Orzo with top shell and octopus, lemon cream, garden herbs sauce and caper powder

Black Mussels with herbs from the garden, white wine and goat cheese sauce

Sole Fish Burger with Aegean herbs sauce and lemon zest - what a creative way to serve fish and easily another favorite of the night.

Roasted Red Pepper and Sumar Sorbet - before our mains, we were served a red pepper sorbet to cleanse our palate which turned out to be surprisingly delicious.

Hand Rolled Pasta with goat cheese filling, caramelized pear sauce, green apple, cacao crumbles

Oxtail and Ribs Pita with demi glace sauce, grape molasses, caramelized onion - this may be one of the best pita I've ever had which was baked in the brick oven in the kitchen.

Karayaka Lamb Cutlet - juicy and succulent, the lamb served as a lovely ending to the savory portion of our meal.

To round off the meal, we had three distinctly different and yet creative desserts:

Baklava Ice Cream with baklava wafer and pistachio

Forest Fruits Sorbet with dark chocolate mousse, spicy white chocolate mousse and sea beans - I think this was my favorite as the flavors were wildly exciting, sweet and spicy at the same time.