Meram ~ Turkish cuisine in Rotterdam

Yesterday a friend of mine introduced me to Turkish cuisine. We went to Meram in Rotterdam West, a franchise which has a lot of restaurants in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. When we arrived, there were mainly Turkish people there, so then the food must be good! But also, duh, my friend is Turkish, so he know it is good.

The food

My expectations of the food was actually like the lamb skewers of my father, strong in taste and a lot of herb taste. But the food was more subtle compared to that. The quality though was really high, you can taste the lamb flavor really well. I loved it. They served a Turkish bread with sauces as starter. That bread was a lovely experience for my mouth. It was more dense than Turkish bread from the Turkish bakery and it also had this crispy oven flavor.
I actually enjoyed the food so much that I forgot to take pictures of everything. Here is a small collection of the food that didn’t miss my camera.

Menu

Also their menu, interior and business card is designed all so well. Props to the designer! Their menu photos are just so beautiful, I can learn a lot from them.

Coffee

I ended with a Turkish coffee which smelled as rich coffee, cozy and warm. The smell reminded me of a room with a lot of soft carpet on the floor and the walls, dark red color and old men sitting there enjoying coffee. Maybe a bit racist, I apologize.

The taste of the coffee was not as bitter as normal coffee, I actually liked it. They had put in medium sugar in it, but it tasted very sweet. When you are done drinking the coffee there is leftover residue of the coffee grind, which is very thick. You can use that to predict your future, by putting the cup upside down, letting it cool and analyse the shapes in the cup. Just like tea leaf reading.

Verdict

I really enjoyed the food there. I will be going back to try out other dishes. They know their meat, so I can’t wait to try out meat dishes. Also, I saw they have a Meram Burger restaurant chain. More meat!
Thank you Lazy Friend for introducing me to a new cuisine. It’s awesome to learn from other cultures through good food.

Visit them!

Meram (Rotterdam West)
Mathenesserplein 91, 3023 LA Rotterdam
+31 (0)10-478 06 43
meram.nl  Check out their website for more locations

Mon-Thu    12:00-0:00
Fri-Sat        12:00-01:00
Sun             10:00-0:00

For more restaurant tips in Rotterdam, check out the Rotterdam Restaurant Tips post.