Restaurant Mandalin — Restaurant in Maastricht

A True Gem of Turkish Fine Dining in Maastricht

Mandalin is an absolute revelation. Finally, a high-end Turkish restaurant that doesn’t try to dilute its identity by fusing with other cuisines or imitating French fine dining—but instead embraces the full richness and complexity of Turkish cuisine in its own right. And it does so with exquisite quality.

From the very first bite of the mezes to the freshly baked breads, the intermediate courses, and all the way to dessert—every single dish was executed with precision, depth of flavor, and a level of care that’s hard to find. The ingredients were top-tier, the presentation elegant, and the balance of spices and textures simply sublime.

Yes, the portions are on the smaller side—as is typical in fine dining—but that’s entirely beside the point. The purpose here is not to fill up like at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The goal is to taste—to genuinely experience flavors your palate may never have encountered before. And that is exactly what Mandalin delivers: Turkish cuisine in its finest, purest, most elevated form.

A standout moment for me personally was a fish dish—something I normally don’t enjoy. And yet, I was blown away. The quality was so high, and the preparation so masterful, that it transcended my preferences. That says everything.

The service? Attentive, warm, and professional throughout. The price? Extremely fair. A 4-course menu at €56 per person feels almost too affordable for the quality you get. Sure, drinks add to the bill—but even then, the overall experience is absolutely worth it.

Coming from Germany, where most Turkish restaurants are limited to standard grilled dishes like Döner or Kebap (often of average quality), Mandalin is in a league of its own. It showcases what Turkish cuisine is truly capable of when given the respect and creativity it deserves—without borrowing from other culinary traditions to prove its worth. This is Turkish cuisine confidently playing in the culinary Champions League.

A new discovery, and one I can’t...

Every piece of food tasted good, mücver, salmon tartare, beef, and walnut halva tasted excellent. The food is not necessarily authentic all the time but you will find great interpretations of authentic turkish/anatolian food. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and the waiters are very friendly.

Yet, there were some things that disturbed me. The waiter explained the tasting menu saying that "midi" is called "middle" in Turkish, indicating the dishes would come in the middle of the table to be shared. Midi is a french origin word that is used to indicate the size middle in Turkish. What he meant with the dishes is "orta" where we say, "ortaya söylemek" aka "ordering to the middle of the table".

In one of the dishes, the waiter told that the dish has feta in it, while in the original menu it is ezine peyniri. Feta is a greek cheese while ezine peyniri is another type of cheese that is aged longer (8-12 months). The taste profile is similar yet distinct. I would prefer the restaurant to use the local cheese. If it was the case, I would rather then the waiters to inform the customers correctly. As I also dont call an oliebol a berliner.

The service was also unfortunately very slow. Many times we started wondering if we could finish the menu before closing time.

One other thing that disturbed me was also the plating - particularly the entry dish that came in a uncooked lentil bowl so that it appears cool. Similarly the pick of the plates could be more traditional (from copper to ceramic) to reflect the anatolian culture more. It felt like the restaurant tried to appear luxury more than serving luxury food.

Overall, the restaurant is a good pick to taste delicious anatolian inspired dishes. If the restaurant would stop trying to appear luxury, but focus more on the food history and the traditional ingredients, it...

A very honest (and very turkish) comment

Here we go, so the atmosphere is quite nice and the staff is very attentive. It is a good place for a special day celebration ( we went there for my girlfriend’s birthday). It is also possible to go there with big groups around 10-15 people.

Negative aspect of my experience relates mainly to mezes. As a Turkish person, I know that they are easy to make, traditional sort of snacks that go very well with wine and/or raki. So the more you mess with these traditional stuff the more it loses its originality and the taste (it’s already freaking beautiful just don’t mess with it). We oredered a meze called chefs special which was a three layer meze prepared with kısır, caciki and something they added to it which involves some sort of fish. In my honest opinion it was a bit of a stretch. This stretch criticism also goes for their intermediate course (something called katmer) And you will be very much disappointed with the portions of the mezes. It’s like a tasting size portion. On the other hands the main course and the desert was high quality and also of a good portion but considering the price, I cannot in good conscience say that I am impressed. You don’t have many Turkish resto options in Maastricht and that’s why I go all the way to Aachen when I want to eat proper Turkish food for a...