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Hes Mediterranean Restaurant, opened in 2006, is owned by Ali Zengin who ran the Grantham Charcoal Grill for 15 years until he sold it in 2005.
I saw Ali by chance at Grantham Market. He gave me a card and urged me to visit his new enterprise. My wife’s birthday seemed to be the perfect opportunity, but with a few doubts – turning out a decent takeaway kebab is one thing, running a good restaurant is another.
Ali bought 10 Wharf Road in 2004 and spent over one and a half years and an additional £35,000 extending and renovating the property before he was ready to open in 2006.
Unable to obtain any grants, Ali was taking an enormous personal risk.
Wharf Road is not the shopping centre that it once was, but the northern section together with London Road is an area with a range of restaurants and take aways. The area is becoming quite cosmopolitan.
It is difficult to give an old building on Wharf Road an attractive appearance, and from outside the restaurant looks very narrow. From the photograph you may agree that the new shopfront works well.
Going inside, We were surprised to see that the restaurant is comfortable with an intimate note. The predominant colour of the walls is light green. Every table has a small candle light. Classical music is played at a low volume.
We were quickly welcomed on entry.
We both ordered the same starter; garlic mushrooms. It was when these arrived that we realised that Ali is serving seriously good quality food. Thin cut slices of baby mushrooms in a wonderfully crafted garlic sauce. No batter. No synthetic dips.
We managed to chat to the waiter who explained that everything was prepared from fresh ingredients on the premises and that Ali did virtually all of the cooking himself – he doesn’t really trust anyone else.
For the main course my eye was caught by the Iskender Kabab which brought back memories of late nights working away and phoning the Charcoal Grill from Bingham so that supper would be ready to collect as I arrived at Grantham. The doner meat and sauce on pitta bread was great then, but distinctly ‘take away’. Furthermore I have been around a bit and sampled the real thing from Damascus to Aleppo to Istanbul.
Again the course was excellent. The kebab meat was of the sausage variety, obviously hand crafted with a spicy sauce topped with yoghurt. I was asked by the waiter how spicy I wanted it from very hot to no spice at all. There was a good sized plate full as well.
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