The Shiish — Restaurant in Braintree

Read the amazing reviews and booked a table for 3 on Saturday night. Was seated by a pleasant lady who took our drinks order, after a few minutes we was ready to order. Starter arrived, I had the triangle pastry, very nice but with 4 tiny sprigs of lettuce leaves and a half of one slice of tomato it obviously didn’t look well presented. Drinks arrived as we had nearly finished our starter. We had asked for bread which came with our starter which was cleared with our starter plates. Within 4 minutes our main turned up, we had booked a 2 hour slot. My friends had mixed shish and I had lamb shish. My friends said the chicken wasn’t too bad but quite bland but my lamb was so tough and chewy I only managed too eat a quarter of one chunk of meat, my friends couldn’t get thru the lamb also. The restaurant wasn’t full but at one point a waiter was near enough running with food to another table?? It was only 20 steps away and we had 4 different waiters during our time here and it all seemed manic so no way was it going to be a relaxed evening. The bill came so we put cash in the wallet and my friend put it over too the side of me as the space was empty but another waitress came within 2 seconds of my friend putting it down and leaned right across here, lucky she didn’t have a drink in hand and snatched it without even an excuse me or thank u. The waitress went to her little table with till and put our change in the wallet then duly looked around every where except our direction with absolutely no intention of bringing it back. We drunk the rest of our drinks and put on our coats, 5 minutes, still no change. My friend looked over and motioned to her and with that she brought it over. I’m afraid too say I took that change, only the second time in my adult life I haven’t left a tip. If she had brought it straight back we would have left it but not only was she rude taking the money she should have brought it back straight away like 99% of waiters do. Sadly won’t be going back but really do hope we just caught them on a...

First time in a real Turkish restaurant (kebab shops at 3am don’t count, no matter how spiritual the experience), and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Menu read like an exotic spellbook, so I pointed at a couple of things and hoped for the best.

Ended up with the mixed kebab and sarma chicken beyti – no idea what either actually was, but they arrived gorgeous and looking like they meant business. Flavours were fresh, meat was juicy, and it all felt suspiciously healthy for a dish with that much grilled meat. I even caught myself saying “that’s actually lovely” unironically.

We washed it down with a couple of strawberry daiquiris, because if you’re going to be culturally confused, you might as well be half cut too.

Not the best meal I’ve ever had – no one’s writing poetry about it – but it was a very welcome change and definitely made me feel like I briefly understood what flavour is supposed to be. Still not entirely sure what a beyti is. Might be a spice. Might be a lifestyle. Either way, I respect it.

Would return. Next time I’ll Google the menu first. Or just keep winging it. Worked...

Wow!! At last a proper Turkish restaurant, and it’s nice to see! No shrink wrapped, frozen, mechanically recovered meat here thats for sure! We had the mixed platter to try everything and man, the meat was cooked beautifully, deliciously marinated and seasoned to perfection. The quality of all the food shines thought straight away, all the salads crisp, fresh and vibrant. Full Of fresh herbs and vegetables! The Turkish bread puts a cardboard pitta to shame. The rice and couscous was also really good, very tasty and not stodgy at all. It’s quite obvious these guys can cook and cook really well. Sure it’s a little more expensive than the ‘normal Kebab shops’ But it’s worth every penny, I would advise anyone to try and I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Just to finish a little note to the owners/chefs: top work guys really really well done, just make sure you carry on as you’ve started. It’s easy to let standards slip but it’s obvious you have a passion for this food. I can’t wait until next week so I can try some...