Japanatolia - Oviedo FL
- Melanie Courcy
- Jul 23, 2022
- 4 min read
By Melanie Courcy | July 19, 2022
This week's New Restaurant Tuesday experience took place at the newly opened Japanatolia, which features Turkish Fusion Street Food. I wasn't initially sure how the Turkish part fit into the name, but the owner explained to me that Anatolia is a peninsula that makes up the Asian part of Turkey.
The Digs
The atmosphere of this place is wide open because, well, it's housed in the food court of the Oviedo Mall which has clearly seen better days. Even though the mall itself has buckets scattered about to collect the rainwater from the leaky roof (it had just rained when we arrived), we found the food court area to be clean and well supplied with tables. Japanatolia itself has a display along the back wall that houses the menu and a screen depicting pictures of some of the dishes they offer. There is also an information sheet along the counter that lists the specials.
The Service
The service was the best part of this experience. Any questions we asked were answered in detail, as the food was not something we were used to ordering. We were provided samples of a couple items to help narrow down our selection. Even after we ate, I went back to ask more questions and I was given additional samples and a comprehensive explanation of the items I had questions about. The owner was very friendly and helpful. You can tell he is very passionate about the dishes he curates, and the experience provided at his establishment.
The Tastebud Delights
Here's where it gets interesting. We had no idea what to expect with many of the items we ordered, as they were not anything we had tried before. The menu contains a variety of cold appetizers, a chicken dish, a meatball dish, and several types of Su-Chi (I'll explain further down). We selected a wide variety of dishes to sample: Sausage Crepe, Beef Pastry, Chicken with Bechamel Sauce, Meatballs with Gravy and Mushrooms, and a Roasted Beef Su-Chi Roll.
The Sausage Crepe seemed more like a panini than a crepe. It had more vegetables in it than sausage, and the flavor of the dressing hid the taste of the sausage a good bit. Though I enjoyed the veggies and the crepe overall, my meat-eater husband would have preferred a stronger meat flavor.
The Beef Pastry was filled with ground beef and cheese. My husband enjoyed this one, but I found the pastry to just be ok, as it had the texture of a reheated pastry as opposed to being freshly baked from the oven. I'm sure they were made fresh that morning, but it was definitely something prepared in advance and reheated, as I saw it being pulled from the case.
The Chicken with Bechamel Sauce had potatoes and veggies topped with a white sauce to tie it all together. It had a creamy texture and good flavor. My husband like this dish, but I found the chicken to be a little dry. It seemed like your typical comfort food and perfect for the less adventurous pallet.
My favorite dish overall was the Meatballs with Gravy and Mushrooms. The gravy was very flavorful which added to the enjoyment of the dish. The mashed potatoes were creamy, and the meatballs were very tender. Yet another typical comfort food for those who may be intimidated by some of the other items on the menu.
Each of the dishes were served with a side salad. I thought the salad was good with a very flavorful dressing that I suspect had a vinegar and oil base, but my husband's impression was that 'the weeds did not have good sauce'. Mind you, he is not a salad person, so it's really hard for a salad to impress him.
Now for the Su-Chi, which was the most unusual item we ordered. It's kind of like a sushi roll in terms of its shape. However, sushi technically means rice, and these rolls do not have any rice, nor are they filled with seafood. Instead, they contain a version of Turkish çig köfte (pronounced "chi kofta"), which has the texture of a thick paste. I initially thought it was a thick hummus, but the base is actually cracked wheat as opposed to chickpeas. The Roasted Beef variety came with the beef wrapped around the outside, and the cig köfte on the inside. It had a very unique flavor. This is the item I went back and asked about - I was trying to figure out a specific spice I was tasting. We thought it might be coriander, but after coming home and raiding our spice cabinet, I don't think that was it. Either way, the spice had a prominent taste in the Su-Chi roll, and after a bit of considering it, I decided I liked it. Again, my husband's opinion differed from my own, as he was not a fan of the dish. However, I was fascinated with the uniqueness of the taste.
As I was asking about the ingredients in the cig köfte, I was also offered a sample of the Kisir (cracked wheat) Salad. This tasted refreshing and light. I'm glad I got to sample that, as the flavor was enjoyable. Though I did not get a picture of this one, they have pictures of it on their Facebook site (see below).
The Takeaway
Overall, I felt this place gave us an opportunity to try something different at a reasonable price. The items were definitely unique, and several of them were very good (I could go for another round of meatballs, and I feel like I need to try another Su-Chi roll). Though, some of the items were disappointing - I suspect all the hype this place has been getting on the social media may have set our expectations too high. And after 10 years of marriage, I learned something new about my husband - he doesn't care for Turkish food in general. As you can gather from some of my comments, the things I enjoyed, he did not and vice versa. Thus, I will be sans hubby for any return visits. However, I absolutely do recommend giving this place and its unique food offerings a try.
The Restaurant Info
Address: 1600 Oviedo Mall Blvd. Oviedo, FL 32765
Phone: (407) 542-3071
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