Vanessa H. Larson

Spice Market, the newest in French-born, New York-based chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's expanding restaurant empire, has finally opened in the new W Hotel, in Istanbul's revamped, upscale Akaretler neighbourhood. The décor is sleek-dark woods, white leather chairs-and the design concept might be described as Far East-meets-East. The outdoor terrace feels a bit like being on someone's swank backyard deck, complete with bar.
About two-thirds of the menu is the same as that at the NY Spice Market, while the remaining dishes have been created specifically for Istanbul, according to chef de cuisine Hakki Alkan. Dishes catering to local tastes include a lamb shank entrée, a lamb satay appetizer and side
dishes featuring favourite Turkish veggies eggplant and artichoke. I recommend starting out with one of Spice Market's luscious signature cocktails, such as the Kumquat Mojito. For appetizers try the chicken samosas with cilantro yogurt, salmon sashimi with chili, or pepper shrimp with pineapple. Among the entrees, grilled chicken with kumquat dressing and roasted lagos fish with Malaysian chili sauce were excellent.
The eggplant “tortellini” with yogurt sauce, a twist on traditional Turkish manti filled with eggplant instead of meat, was the only low point: besides being doughy and the eggplant barely detectable, the dish was so bland as to seem out of place alongside the more heavily spiced items on the menu. Spice Market's desserts are tasty and eclectic: Ovaltine kulfi with caramelized banana and spiced milk chocolate was delicious; the “Thai jewels” in iced coconut sauce had us guessing (only somewhat successfully) what the various exotic fruits were.
Appetizers: 18-28 YTL
Main courses: 29-42 YTL
Desserts: 12-19 YTL
Wines by the glass: 14-25 YTL
Cocktails: 25 YTL