The Sultan's Table

Authentic Turkish cuisine done the right way is relatively hard to come by in Hong Kong, despite the city’s reputation as a world culinary capital, a melting pot designed for cosmopolitan palates. If you are on the hunt for Anatolian delicacies, head straight to the city’s restaurateur royal court of Soho and take your place at The Sultan’s Table, an Arbuthnot Road palace to meze, kebap, pide, grills, and a whole lot more in between. And come 11pm, The Sultan’s Table transforms into a vibrant Middle Eastern bar.

The Sultan’s Table has set out to transform the perception of Turkish cuisine among Hong Kong’s notoriously picky – some would say aloof – diners. It’s surprising that the proprietors feel the need for this mission – Turkish food is colourful and good-looking, incredible flavourful, and it can – if you take it easy on the mixed grill platters and kebap – healthy too. Part of this Soho outpost of authentic Anatolian cuisine’s strategy has been to give their Arbuthnot Road premises an elegant Turkish fine dining outfit. To dine here is to feel, for the length of a meal, rather regal.

Signature dishes doled up at The Sultan’s Palace include the popular firindan pide, best described as a traditional Turkish take on oven-baked pizza, topped with ingredients like kasar cheese and pepper, sujuk sausage and eggs. From the grill – izgaralar, and always a centrepiece of a Turkish restaurant, in Hong Kong as elsewhere – you can find old favourites like Adana kebap, Izagara kofte and a massive mixed grill that’s one of the best ways to get acquainted with this Soho hotspot. Fish and vegetarian options abound, too, but what’s perhaps the most endearing thing about The Sultan’s Table is that they are at pains to educate their guests about Turkish cuisine as an ancient Ottoman fusion of Asian, Eastern European and Mediterranean traditions – book a table, take your seats, and prepare to be inducted!