Bostanlı: Lunch @ Sinope

Sinope is a ‘mantı evi’ in Bostanlı, a neighborhood of Karşıyaka … across the bay from where we are in Alsancak.

Mui and Deniz discovered this restaurant back in September. Today, they kept their promise to take us all there for lunch. Since we can’t all fit into Murat’s car, Mui and I took the ferry over; Hakan and Serenay live not too far from Sinope, so they simply walked over to join us.

Mantı is a type of dumpling … some refer to it as a Turkish ravioli. The dish is an old one that goes back to the time of the ancient trading route known as the Silk Road, which stretched from China to Anatolia. One version or another of this dish, therefore, can be found in many countries in this region … under different names.

Made with a thin dough and a meat filling, in Türkiye it is traditionally served with a yogurt sauce (with or without garlic) and drizzled with paprika-infused melted butter. Garnishing with dried mint and sumac is a common option. But there is another version of mantı that comes from Sinop, a province on the Black Sea Coast. There they serve mantı with a plain butter sauce and garnish it with chopped walnuts.

One of the owners of Sinope is from Sinop. Hence the restaurant has both versions on the menu. As well, they have a crispy version that is deep fried and served with two dipping sauces. Almost everyone in our party ordered the half-and-half plate of mantı; and shared an order of the crispy mantı. Delicious!

After our meal, we walked to Hakan and Serenay’s place and they hosted us for coffee and tea. There was dessert too!!!

Trust me, walking to the ferry landing afterwards for the return trip home was much appreciated 😉Read more