My mates and I had an absolutely top notch pre wedding Turkish meal from Pera Palace in Chatteris today.
I’m always blown away by this restaurant every time I eat here. It’s a huge open food hall which has tonnes of space, which is surprising considering it only has a small entrances out the front. You’d be forgive for walking right past it entirely without noticing.
One of my favourite things about Pera Palace is the stylish interior. You get a very London warehouse vibe from the restaurant which is complimented with the interior decorating of the Turkish aesthetics. Something rarely seen our in the fens.
The service here is excellent. The staff are very engaging and chatty, which really makes you feel welcome.
We had the Hot Mix Meze, a starter of assorted samples of different dishes. I was particularly fond of the spicy sausage which was really complemented by the hummous. The halloumi cheese was also an excellent halloumi which made the entire meat-heavy dinner a little more diverse and easier to manage.
I was also please to see small white bait in bread crumbs, which had a lovely fishy pop alongside the rest of the dish. A fantastic starter set for a mere £15.
Most of us went for the mixed grill. Something which is tried and true in a Turkish restaurant but is also a great way of sampling lots of different meats the restaurant has to offer. Everything here was superb.
The lamb shish was succulent, the chicken bits were incredible juicy and bursting with flavour, and the chicken wings were also quite good. The ribs were a little lacking but otherwise an overall great meal.
I’ve had the mixed grill as a takeaway from here before and it was served along a bed of pitta bread underneath. This made a surprising difference being able to eat carbs along side the generous portions of meat. However, this was not the case while dining in. I was a little disappointed with this as we only got a small pizza slice sized pita which didn’t feel like quite enough. Usually you would expect more dining in.
My boy had the Chicken Sarma Beyti – Char grilled minced chicken wrapped in bread and cut into strips. My boy is a big foodie for a ten year old and is always very honest and vocal about what he likes.
He absolutely loved this dish! As you can tell by the photo, the dish (and all of the other dishes for that matter) were excellently presented. They really care about presentation here.
The Efes beer was sensational. I haven’t had it much in my time but every time I come here I always thoroughly enjoy it. What I love most about Efes is that it’s perfectly smooth and easy to drink, which is perfect for hot summer days, but also has enough flavour to be more than a bland lager.
I must have enjoy it too as I ended up having 3…like I said, very smooth.
The menu is absolutely huge. You could visit 10 times and manage to have something different and equally delicious every time you visit. There is no doubt that you will be able to find something for everyone when you visit, except for the most fussy of eaters.
Prices were fair, coming at about average for a restaurant but not a single one of us felt like we had paid too much as the quality and customer service was all there.
The next time you are looking for a good restaurant in the fens then make sure you check out Pera Palace. This is quickly becoming one of my favourite places in the fenland area to dine out and I am lucky enough to live a 10 minute drive! You will be hearing from Pera Palace again from the Cambridge Foodies, no doubt!
Also: In the evening there is loads of free parking and Chatteris has many great pubs to drink in afterwards if you want to make a night of it.
The Cambridge Foodies 