Ottoman Grill and Bar — Restaurant in Salford

This is the worst restaurant I have ever been to in my life. I booked this restaurant for my boyfriends birthday, as we frequently eat Turkish food and wanted to give this a try.

From the beginning, it felt very rushed and a little all over the place. We weren’t handed food menus and had to request these after 15 minutes of being there. We were one of the only tables of customers here. We ordered starters which weren’t great, however saw past this. When our main meals came, I was disgusted to cut in to raw pink chicken. Eating this was like eating jelly, it was indefinitely raw. My boyfriends food was also not particularly nice.

Before proceeding to query this, I asked my boyfriend to try my food who agreed this was raw and not edible. I also sent a photograph to my mum and dad who were concerned and urged me not to eat this food.

We asked to speak to a staff member and who I assume was the manager came over to our table. He proceeded to tell me I was wrong and that my chicken was not pink, whilst cutting in to my food himself multiple times to assure me that the pink chicken was not pink.

He then told me I do not understand high end Turkish food and that this is what high quality meat looks like. I explained that I have visited Turkey multiple times, and also have Turkish family who own restaurants over there too. We eat at Turkish restaurants frequently also and never in my life have I been subjected to raw chicken presented as ‘high quality food’. He continued to make derogatory comments surrounding my boyfriend & I’s lack of knowledge of good food and that there was nothing wrong with it.

I expressed that I did not feel comfortable eating the food, it was inedible anyway and asked for the bill.

After stating they would not charge for my food, as I could not eat any of it, they presented us with a bill that included everything we had ordered and a £15 voucher for ‘next time’. We asked if we could use the voucher against our meal as we would not be returning, and were told no and that if we weren’t to return we should recommend to a family member and give this to them.

We paid the bill and left.

Overall, this is the worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant and would avoid at all costs. The tone we were spoken to in was extremely aggressive and...

Where do I even start. I entered the establishment at 7:15pm looking forward to the evening and by the time I left, I was a hollow shell of myself.

From being seated, it took 15 minutes for our drinks order to be taken, and this was after two waiters were repeatedly flagged down. We were a party of 4 and drinks for 3 came out. More back and forth about the missing drink and it was eventually procured. It was uncomfortable to watch the lack of coordination of the restaurant team as they were working. Zero cohesion at all which made it almost seem like the restaurant had just recently opened and they were still finding their footing. Which was not the case.

Starters came out and we received cheesy garlic bread, which we had not ordered. We sent this back, and it was brought out twice to us again. Ended up just accepting it as it was becoming frustrating. We didn't get a chicken wing starter we'd ordered and they said they had misheard us. Although how one makes the jump from chicken wings to garlic bread, I am unsure. Our starter also lacked the grilled peppers. By the time our mains finally arrived , it was past 9pm.

I had the grilled lamb chops. Taste wise, nothing to write home about, just dry and meh. My partner ordered a mixed kebab that was supposed to come with rice, but rice was nowhere to be seen. Those missing grilled peppers from the starter made a sudden appearance during our mains.

The service was excruciatingly slow. Tables did not have assigned waiters. Each time we managed to get a waiter's attention, it was because we had to call them out loud. I also found it rather absurd that for an establishment like this, they have salt and pepper in sachets rather than shakers. Nitpicking I know, but why?

There was a little sing and dance by the staff, which was awkward to watch as all of them looked as though they'd rather be anywhere else than on that stage.

We received our bill and had a mocktail mojito on there as "GIFT", that they made seem as though we got it for free and they had comped it. We'd only ordered 2 mojito cocktails and never received this "GIFT". It just seemed disingenuous at that point.

Also, the door into and out of the restaurant requires you to have the strength of Goliath...

The first thing that stood out to me about the Ottoman Grill and Bar was the front conservatory, beautiful and very inviting.

The minute I entered I felt very comfortable and felt in control of where I would be seated not where is convenient for them. This I particularly enjoyed, the difference between a seat in the middle of a restaurant with waiters walking past you every 10 seconds compared to being in a peaceful corner is night and day for me.

As for the starters I ordered the Falafel and Hummus, Sautéed Prawns and the spicy sausage dish. Unfortunately I have to say overall I was disappointed, visually it was a little bland the prawn dish and the sausage dish looked almost identical and the sauce tasted exactly the same, unfortunately the prawns were overcooked and difficult to eat.

For the main course I ordered the Ribeye, presentation had the wow factor looked amazing. Mushrooms were absolutely beautiful some of the best ive ever had. Tomatoes, fries and potatoes were all delicious and a perfect garnish. However the star of the dish was a little disappointing and inconsistent, some parts had a really nice crust and tasted amazing however much of it was very chewy and in the end iI couldn’t finish it because I was having a hard time digesting the tough meat.

My waiter, was one of the best ive had, positive and happy whilst also taking his job seriously which I loved. He checked up on me the perfect amount of times, I didn’t feel like I was being watched and didn’t feel ignored either. He took the feedback very professionally and I felt like I was being respected for my opinion.

He ended up taking the prawns off the bill, and what excited me the most about this whole experience was the surprise Baklava was unbelievable. Prepared table side for free one of the most delicious desserts really impressive.

In conclusion I was very happy with this experience and ended up costing £60, with a full bottle of house red, 3 starters and a premium main course I would say thats great value for money. The service was...