Newborn gem in Istanbul

Michelin rated restaurants are usually refined places, following certain rules of conduct and décor; delivering you your most basic expectations; making you feel as if you are hard to go wrong at a Michelin rated restaurant.

Nevertheless, there are also some other very refined places that have no stars, but in your mind might be worth more than any number of stars…

There is a new restaurant in town: Mimolett –named after a cheese variety that is traditionally produced around the city of Lille, France. Mimolette (as it is properly spelled) is similar to a matured Edam, but it is taken through an ageing process of around six months to nine. Despite the process, there is no definite rule on how and when to consume the Mimolette cheese… Whilst most people –cheese lovers and gourmets- appreciate it the most when it has aged and has become extra old –they say “extra-vieille”-, it can very well be consumed when it is younger –which would then resemble the taste of Parmesan cheese. In general, this intensely fruity cheese is popular as a cooking ingredient and as a snack to eat with a glass of beer or wine. The cheese is also known as Boule de Lille.

Above is the famous mimolette cheese I

Mimolette cheese is not naturally produced in Turkey; however Murat Bozok, the owner chef of Mimolett Restaurant, has been trying for sometime on his own to produce the Mimolette cheese. And, thus he named his newborn gem ‘Mimolett’ as akin to the cheese Mimolette; and as is the custom, Mr. Bozok serves Mimolette cheese at Mimolett and also uses it in the making of Mimolett Creme Brulee.

The owner/chef Mr. Bozok describes Mimolett as his one and only dream: a place of his own at his home. After years of training and working abroad, Mr. Bozok always meant to return to Istanbul and find his own place and to earn himself those Michelin rates that he had worked and earned for others abroad. He studied administrative sciences at the Istanbul University here in Istanbul and then took of to the United States to study culinary arts to become a chef. He started working for Gordon Ramsey first at Ramsey’s one and only restaurant with three Michelin stars. Later on he moved to Paris and started working under Joë Robuchon in L’Atelier. Few years later, he went back and teamed up with Ramsey again, working as sous-chef in Ramsey’s new restaurant Petrus and as head-chef in Devonshire Pub. When he finally moved back into Istanbul, he did what was always on his mind: opened his new place, the Mimolett. He also keeps a personal blog, where he details his endeavors to produce Mimolette and to establish Mimolett.

Being yet newly opened, there are few minor issues that may become bothersome to few customers. One is the speed of service, which is a little bit more than a bit slow. Between being seated at your table to leaving is at least a good two hours of time. However, this aspect unlike many gourmet critics writing for newspapers did not bother me at all. It actually felt good not to be rushed and not to be seated in shifts of time. The menu emphasizes meat and fish dishes. There are five to six entries, of which the risotto with chestnuts, truffles and aged balsamic vinegar and ravioli with smashed crayfish, scallops and smoked lobster were out of this world. The main courses focus on red meat and fish dishes. I had the baked duck with the Turkish salted pastry (börek) and was definitely not disappointed. There are also two tasting menus that compile a selection of 4 to 5 different meals off the a la carte menu.

Bar view inside Mimolette Restaurant in Istanbul

The interior décor of the restaurant is extremely well configured. There are three levels allowing each table a vast amount of space to enjoy privacy of conservation, silence and intimacy. Tables are larger than your average and are clothed with good quality white linen. Staff is attentive and friendly. The sommelier services are exceptional when Turkish standards are considered.

Mimolett is already as good as it is right now and needs not the Michelins if you ask me. But, since the owner chef Murat Bozok wants them so much, let’s cross fingers that they keep up the high level of the naïve quality they have seemed to achieve to date; that they do not lose the cheek with commercial concerns of monetary gain; and that they earn themselves the stars they so much wish for.

[Thumbnail image courtesy of: Mimolett Restaurant Facebook Profile]

[Mimolette Cheese Image courtesy of: Wikipedia]