Angel Fish Restaurant, Istanbul

The new and posh seafood restaurant Angel Blue is situated on a quite, picturesque bay in the Baltalimani area of the Bosphorus. Upon arriving at this two story building in front of the water, a striking variety of fish-on-ice is displaced on top of an aquarium adjacent to its doors. Inside the view is breathtaking! A vast assortment of innovative classic and inventive seafood dishes as well as an attentive staff makes this new member of Bosphorus restaurants a real treat to discover. The stunning views from the tables of Angel Blue overlook the Second Bosphorus Bridge and surrounding vicinity. Doves fly to catch ferries on the Bosphorus in the distance… Decoration wise Angle Blue is not typical of fish restaurants- more contemporary and a bit tacky. The vast two floor area holds almost 600 people in the summertime with trace and roughly 250 in the winter closed area. To start off with Angel Blue has approximately sixty diverse hot and cold appetizers. Some of the notable cold appetizers were the Octopus Salad made Greek or “Giritli” style- as they call it- leaving the octopus’s “bottoms” on, giving it a more distinct flavor. Bonito is a memorable and personal favorite as the texture is extremely soft, smooth and not too salty. The executive waiter explained that the secret of the bonito is the salt; how much salt is put in the process of preparation and than taken out is the key to the success of its velvety texture and tenderness. Than a warm, aromatic barbunya known as baked kidney beans is presented. Again the process of preparation is an extensive and detailed one: the beans are cooked for almost 24 hours with a slight original chestnut essence. A basket of freshly baked corn bread accommodates the starters. Plain and anchovy corn bread is warm and yummy- not very condensed and firm yet light and fluffy. For greens, the salads are prepared individually for each dinner according to their preference and not just brought to the middle in a large bowl. Also an assortment of fresh Aegean Weeds are available served with garlic, olive oil and lemon. For warm appetizers the içli köfte fish special is a golf ball size fish ball served with sizzling curry and saffron sauce. This içli köfte is initially wrapped in layers of thin fish than stuffed with shrimp and other seafood and than fried. Finally it is topped with the sauce. Although a bit salty it is a rather original dish. For a lighter warm starter, Sea Bass Wrapped in Chard is recommended. Grilled bass is wrapped in chard and sat in the delicate sauce for a while until heating in oven before being served. Chard- as they say in Turkish- was “not killed”, meaning not too soggy or mushy as a result of sauce and heat but left crispy and “alive”. Yet the highlight of the seafood starters is the Jumbo Shrimp and Squid Eggs Special. Whole jumbo shrimps are presented around a nest of rare squid eggs. About the size of large kidney beans, the squid eggs have a distantly unique and mouthwatering flavor. The fresh shrimps are juicy and significantly meaty. For a main course, the sarikanat- literally translating as yellow wing which is known to be the medium size blue fish- was the recommended seasonal fish. Juicy and soft; the quality of the fish and methods of grilling compare to some of the top fish restaurants in Istanbul like Bebek Poseidon, Arnavutköy Eftalya and Tarabya Kıyı Lokantası. For dessert, again the roots go back to the southeast and a large portion of dry baklava, a homemade pastry kadayıf with lots of pistachios and ice cream and finally a pumpkin dessert was presented. Angel Blue has a special area for kids; in the summertime a play garden is available and in the winter a room with television, computers and Play Station is open for kids.