JEDDAH, 13 November — I must say that Yildizlar is a restaurant with a solid reputation. It’s been around for over twenty years and in my opinion that says a lot about the place and the quality of food they serve.
The owner is Turkish-Lebanese and that is probably where the name came from. The atmosphere is a mixture of Lebanese, Turkish and even Syrian. The color scheme is basically red and brown. If you ask me, the lighting is all wrong; it was too bright. They also have what looks like a small waterfall against the wall along with some rocks. Excuse me, but I thought that was a bit odd to say the least. The restaurant is good-sized; they have an Arabic style waiting room with some round wooden tables. And they have individual partitions for each table, which I guess guarantee privacy. Each waiter is dressed attractively in a red tarbush and black trousers.
Now for the food, which is why we went. It was mouthwatering, satisfying and absolutely divine. The appetizers were indeed appetizing. The hummos was smooth, salty and rich or heavy, whichever sounds better. The bread was warm and puffy and though the lebneh was a bit watery, it was still delicious. The vine leaves were very good. Some interesting appetizers I wasn’t brave enough to try were the tongue salad and Russian caviar.
They have a wide selection of soups. They even have steaks, pasta and fish dishes. I personally recommend you order from the ground meat on skewers. It is juicy and tender and deliciously seasoned to perfection. If you eat some with rice well that’s just icing on the cake. The chicken on skewers is also very good.
Some other specialties are araiis, which is pastry filled with either meat or cheese. It is scrumptious but somewhat oily. They have kubbah, which is tasty as well. They have some refreshing fruit juices such as grape juice, tomato and pineapple. For dessert they have kataif, kunafa, muhalibia, gateau, cremecaramel, petit fours and even tarts.
They also have daily dishes such as moloukia, okra, and stuffed lamb. You should try it out. Yildizlar is in Al Hamra on Al- Andalus Street in Jeddah. For reservations call 6531150.