Nisa Sultan

Most January days I’d wake up missing my incredible holiday in Istanbul in December last year with my husband. We had ditched our kids and taken off for a ten day vacation. I was almost depressed when I landed back in Lahore and the horrid January fog added to my blues. The food wasn’t helping either. I love to eat and I was suffering from doner kebab withdrawal.

Many Turkish doner kebab restaurants have suddenly appeared in Lahore and Islamabad. I guess after Turkish soaps and Hurrem, we were destined for our next Turkish obsession. And I was determined to find the ‘Mera Sultan’ of doner kebabs in Lahore. I missed my meat, and most of the places just didn’t match up to the perfectly spit-grilled veal/lamb I’d been depressing over. It was cold and all I wanted was a simple heart-warming platter that dreams are made of.

I’d heard of Nisa Sultan since it opened up in the Fall of ‘14, but had still not visited. The place was new and the reviews on various food forums confused me so I stayed away. But after my return from Istanbul, it was becoming increasing difficult to wait any longer. To make matters worse, the restaurant was active on a food forum, providing me with a daily jolt of appetising pictures. I could resist no further, so last Friday, with some reservation (pun unintended), I happened upon Nisa Sultan.

I am sure many food enthusiasts have visited this tiny eatery tucked away in a corner on MM Alam road. The interior was almost identical in size and ambience to most small doner kebab joints in Istanbul. We introduced ourselves to the owners, Safa and his lovely wife, took a corner table, and ordered our food.

For starters we ordered their Lentil soup. This soup is delicately flavoured and smooth, and causes quite a stir with the very crunchy sesame-coated croutons. It’s not spicy but I got a hit of mild heat at the end, which was just perfect. We did send the soup to be reheated, and by the time it came back, we had gobbled up the bowl of croutons.

Personally, I can't get over the vegetables, especially the smell-free onions and the crisp parsley

Our veal and lamb doner platter arrived next. I love my meat and I wasn’t going to settle for chicken. The slivers of meat were tender and juicy. Coupled with the super-fresh crunchy veggies and the thin tortilla-like bread, I was a happy camper. My only suggestion would be to make the bread a little softer. It broke up easily, and was a bit too crisp. But perhaps, the most surprising condiment was the unsuspecting garlic sauce. It packs a punch of garlic but does not overpower the taste buds. Next arrived the mince Lahmacun, a thin pizza-like dough topped with vegetables. Personally, I can’t get over the vegetables, especially the smell-free onions and the crisp parsley, which I hoarded on my half of the Lahmacun. Meanwhile, our server Fayyaz topped up our doner platter with some chicken since we had not tried it. I’m always apprehensive of chicken because it’s mostly tasteless. These chicken slivers brimmed with favour!

The durum was a rolled up pocket of happiness, though I could have gone for a little more garlic sauce

After gobbling up everything, we greedily ordered the veal and lamb durum, which you can personalise condiment-wise. The durum was a rolled up pocket of happiness, though I could have gone for a little more garlic sauce. We now slumped back on our chairs fully stuffed, when Fayyaz brought us Revani, our complimentary dessert. Rivani is a moist semolina sponge cake cut into pastry size bites. The cake is a cross between our local plain cake and a cupcake, but super moist and rich. It was served with traditional turkish tea, and my food coma was now complete.

I wouldn’t compare the restaurant to gourmet eateries in Turkey.  It was instead pretty spot-on in taste to the hundreds of small restaurants which line the streets of Istanbul.  It was hard to choose between those places because all of them look so similar. My husband and I would pace down Istiklal, almost weary before we’d plop down for a meal. Like Nisa Sultan, the seating would be limited. The menus were simple but had more pictures to make them easier for tourists and there was much more meat on offer. I hardly saw anyone order a chicken doner or durum. The bread, too, was thicker. Imagine a naan which swells up like a roti and is light and pleasantly crisp!

Keep in mind that Nisa Sultan’s staff is local, and if a Dahi Bhalla joint popped up on Taksim, it wouldn’t be 100% identical in taste either. Do give Nisa Sultan a go; it’s a promising, cheerful place. I might just end up there tonight.