Tike, which refers to small-diced lamb, is a famous Turkish fine dining restaurant in Jeddah.
Tike was an initiative started in 1998 in Istanbul by four cousins from Adana. The restaurant is famous for its traditional grilled chicken and lamb kebabs. Tike transformed the kebab from being a casual dining affair to a fine dining experience in restaurants across Greece, Turkey, Ukraine and now in Jeddah. The Jeddah branch is the first of the 25 Tike restaurants in the Middle East.
Located on Rawdah Street, Tike's interiors comprise wooden oriental and Islamic architecture that decorates the ceiling and a big part of the restaurant. It has huge windows allowing sunlight into the dining area and the décor includes hanging Ottoman lamps. Shades of brown, gold and red are dominant in the family section while the men's section has leather white chairs and round wooden tables. Tike seats up to 180 diners at once and for those who are looking for a more intimate dinner experience, the restaurant offers two private dining areas for both the sections.
At the entrance stands a small waterfall along with two huge palm trees that give the restaurant an oriental Turkish look.
The family section features an open kitchen that has authentic Turkish grillers made especially for kebabs. There is also a counter that sells handmade fresh authentic Turkish sweets such as saraya, sarma and burma and pistachio baklava that is packed in boxes especially made for take away. A beverage bar that serves coffee, tea and juices features interesting Turkish artistic home accessories designed by Hiref, a Turkish luxury décor company.
Tike offers its diners a five course Ramadan set menu. For soups, you can choose between the lentil soup and the daily soup. Appetizers are categorized as cold and hot; the cold ones are usually salads, such as the eggplant salad and the gavurdag salad that includes tomatoes, onions, and parsley with pomegranate dressing and walnuts. Other options include hummus, feta cheese, stuffed rape leaves, grilled eggplants and saksuka, which is baked bread and fried vegetables in tomato sauce.
Kibbeh, cig borek and su borek, a layered dough pastry combo of spinach leaves and cheese are the hot appetizers offered in the Ramadan menu.
For the main course, the mixed kebab platter is a hit, and includes adana, chicken kulbasti, meat kulbasti, and terbiyeli shish iskender along with rice. Other options include a variety of daily ottoman dishes such as hunkar begendi meat, kuru fasulye, incik with rice and vegetables, and etli dolma, which is stuffed zucchini, eggplant, grape leaves and green pepper.
The iskender is highly recommended; it comprises thin sliced lamb cooked in tomato sauce and placed on a bed of freshly baked Turkish bread with a side of fresh yogurt that makes the whole dish light and balanced.
The best part of the meal comes in the end: The dessert. Tike offers a mix platter of sarma, burma, a figs platter and kunafa with dates that is especially made for the holy month of Ramadan.
Tike helva is not on the iftar menu but is highly recommended. It is made with samit on a bed of vanilla ice-cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
For drinks, jellab, tamar hendi, soft drinks, ayran, tea, coffee and water are served for iftar.
Tike chefs have the ability to cook any Turkish dish. For any dish that you must have tried in Turkey and want to eat now in Jeddah, all you have to do is request the chef and tell him what exactly you are craving for and he will be able to customize your dish for you.
Tike offers catering and take away services.
Expect to pay: SR 175 for Ramadan iftar menu.
Ramadan opening hours: From 7:10 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. for iftar menu and from 10:30 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. for dinner and suhoor.
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E-mail: [email protected]
