I’ve walked past Cherry’s Café, a few times, but it was only when I actually read the sign outside their place, the other day, that I was intrigued enough to visit.

Signage

Previously, judging the book by its cover, I’d assumed that Cherry’s was a little greasy spoon, serving breakfasts and builders tea. That’s not to decry such establishments, as I’m rather fond of a full English accompanied by a brew that you could use to weatherproof a fence.

Whatever the case, a quick inspection of their signage revealed that alongside the traditional all-day breakfast fare, they served a Turkish influenced menu. In that regard, they are not dissimilar from Café Nemrut, on Leith Walk.

Borek

Upon entering their little shop, I spied quite a lot of Turkish whatnots on offer, most of which looked rather tempting.

At a push, you could cram in twenty folks, around the half as dozen or so tables, so it’s pretty small. The setting isn’t the bonniest, very much along the lines of greasy spoon exterior.

While others indulged in all day breakfasts, my attention was turned to their Turkish treats. I quickly decided to try their borek, and looked forward to sampling their Turkish coffee, to follow.

Coffee

Borek is a traditional Turkish stuffed pastry dish that can be served in a range of different ways. Sometimes it’s served in cigar rolls, other times it’s like a pie, and I’ve seen it served sort of like a stuffed pancake. It was the latter, today. Fillings vary, too, with cheese and spinach, as it was today, a popular choice.

From the deli counter, I could see that the borek parcels had been prepared, but required the outer casing of thin layers of pastry to be cooked to order. The dish came accompanied by a timbale of traditional tomato rice, a crisp salad, and a little sampler of dolma, the traditional stuffed vine leaf dish.

The borek proved to be really good, and the accompanying elements were all very nice, too. The dolma was particularly good. I could have happily eaten about a hundredweight of them.

The Turkish coffee that followed was rather impressive, too. Turkish coffee is not to everyone’s liking, and is a taste I have “acquired” following a number of visits to Istanbul. This was one of the best I’ve had, with the super-saturated coffee solution, complete with grains, served in a smart little copper pot, which you tipped into the dinky cup, allowed the grains to settled, then sipped. It was served with a nice chunk of Turkish delight, too.

So overall, Cherry’s Café was a wonderful surprise. The surroundings are inauspicious, but in terms of the quality on offer, it was enjoyable, home-style Turkish fare, cooked to a really good standard. I’d happily go back, and would encourage you to do so, too.

Scores

Blythe scores Cherry’s Cafe
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
2.5/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 13.5/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: borek, lokum

I drank: water, Turkish coffee

I wore: lilac shirt

Total bill: £9.65

45-46 London Road
Edinburgh