For over a month, I have been meaning to visit a small Armenian Café / Restaurant in Feriköy, behind Pangaltı and Şişli: Hamov. Open only during daytime (from 10 AM to 8 PM), Hamov was established for the purpose of serving lunch to nearby businesses. It is thus that they have a daily menu of mostly home-cooked food –a blend of Turkish and Armenian- at very reasonable prices.
Hamov means “delicious” in Armenian and is just the right word to describe the small delicacies being cooked inside this artisan restaurant. It has been opened in a neighborhood that is also well known by its organic or farmer’s market of Saturdays. Every Saturday, there is an open market here selling only organic food products.
Getting to Hamov has been very easy –thanks to the Metro line passing through Levent, Osmanbey and Taksim. Getting off at the Osmanbey stop and from the Pangaltı exit, one needs to turn onto Ergenekon Street and walk straight down and past the French Latin Catholic Graveyard. After the crossroad Kurtuluş Street comes the Bozkurt Street. Turn into the Bozkurt Street and ask for Hamov. This small place is not easily recognizable from the outside.
Inside, there are no more than five wooden tables. You may order café food (i.e. schnitzel) from the menu or order daily dishes right from the refrigerator. One of the specialties of Armenian cuisine is topik. Topik is a round mash of chickpeas, potato, onion and tahini. You may like it a lot or hate it. There is hardly a middle line with this dish. Other typical dishes include stuffed savoy cabbage and the regular stuffed leaves. Kısır is another local traditional dish usually cooked at our birthday parties when we are little. It is also a favorite by the raw-food fans, since it is a cold dish made from cracked wheat and vegetables.
Be sure to arrive here early. Best dished tend to finish by 2 PM. It is also possible -and very useful to the locals- to pre-order a day or two in advance a kilo of more of the meals. Had a dinner party? Pre-order your Armenian mezes and be safe.
Hamov: Şahap Sokak No: 36 Feriköy – Şişli
+ 90 212 225 7890
Hamov Moda Corner: Gürbüztürk Sokak No:36 Moda – Kadıköy
+90 216 346 7778
www.hamov.com.tr
info@hamov.com.tr
You will find on Donuz, everything that is unique to where we have been and where you would want to be. Be it food, be it lodging, be it a special feet massage, a bottle of wine, a person… Be it for 7 days, a day, a week, 36 hours or a single moment. On Donuz, is everything, you will need to make your holidays special. We hope you share with us your experiences.
Sat, Nov 28, 2009
Food