Longa should be your next dinner destination, and there are *so* many reasons why. J and I had one of our favourite meals of 2024 there last week, and the expectations were up there due to their acclaimed brunches on Whitchurch Road and at their new venue on Park Place.
Just opposite the New Theatre on the ground floor of the Vita student accommodation, you’ll find Longa, a welcome escape into a Turkish courtyard – think limestone-adorned pillars, neutral tones and plants in every corner. Even though the weather was horrendous on both visits, the interior and welcome from Gizem, Pinar and team was as sunny as can be.
I digress – food! We tried:
- Harvest sour and cinnamon espresso martini cocktails
- Hot hummus with beef pastrami, cheddar and bread
- Cretan ezme – ezine cheese with pistachio, basil, olive oil and simit croutons
- Feraye – fried beef dumplings in a sundried tomato sauce and herbed yogurt
- ‘Ode to Home’ – freekeh pilav, lamb cheese kofte, lamb shank and keshkek, Sultan’s delight (slow cooked beef and smoked aubergine puree), dukkah chickpea hummus, truffle yogurt pasta, cacik, muhammara (red pepper dip) and isot aioli
- Baklava
If there are some dishes in there you’ve not heard of before, join the club. That’s part of the adventure – it was lovely chatting to Gizem and the front of house team about the inspiration and Turkish regions behind each dish, as the menu spans across a few. If you’re happy to dive in, order the ‘Ode to Home’ – this is based upon the Turkish tradition of sharing celebratory meals with your neighbours, whether you know them or not! The ‘Sultan’s delight’ portion of this was my favourite, and J favoured the lamb shank and keshkek. In addition, be sure to order the feraye – my highlight of the meal. There isn’t one thing I wouldn’t order again, which will prove difficult on my next visit when I’m bound to want to try more 😅
Thank you Longa for a beautiful evening, and I can’t wait to return for my third Park Place visit soon.
