Elif, Turkish barbecue restaurant, Lark Lane, Liverpool

Aug 17 2007 by Laura Davis, Liverpool Daily Post

Forget fancy presentation, as Laura Davis discovers tastebuds tell the real story

IT’S the second full week in August, and already the barbecues are on sale in B&Q. This I notice as I return to the DIY store for the third time in one day, having forgotten to buy something incredibly vital and instantly forgettable.

It is, in fact, my sixth visit of the week to purchase an endless supply of dust sheets, white spirit, dust masks, scrapers, paint in various – and it turns out clashing – shades of off-white . . .

Despite owning a garden for a grand total of two weeks, we have not yet bought a barbecue.

It’s hard, this summer at least, to believe that the sun will keep on shining for long enough to turn a few burgers from unrecognisable lumps of red meat into unrecognisable lumps of black meat.

One benefit of owning a house that contains seven rooms but may as well be a bedsit as you can only get into three of them (and even that involves a particular sort of wriggle to squeeze through the piles of furniture and boxes of books) is that you have a great excuse not to cook.

So, while we may have not managed to fire up the barbie, we have allowed other people (in restaurants mainly) to do it for us.

And what better excuse to visit Elif, the Turkish barbecue restaurant, on Lark Lane.

Not that you should need an excuse – the possession of tastebuds should be enough.

For, while this is a barbecue restaurant, and most dishes are flame grilled, it is about as far from the image of overweight, topless men in boob-decorated, laminated aprons as you could get.

“Are you sure you want to come here?” I asked my friend, who has been a vegetarian for many years and used to be quite militant about it at school.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find something,” she assured me. And, in her own way, she did.

Despite there being a few vegetarian options on the menu, my friend – who from now on I shall refer to as Beryl to protect her true identity – ordered chicken wings followed by lamb.

This was not a complete surprise as she is often known to discard her Linda McCartney fake bacon to scrounge the real stuff from our plates on camping trips. However, the scale of this particular carnivorous feat was unprecedented.

“I’m having a rethink,” she admitted between bites of Taruk kandi (£3.50), or spicy chicken wings. They were just piquant enough to tingle the tongue without the heat overpowering the flavour.

I’m sure she was disappointed we’d agreed to share our starters.

But then again she was happy to sample some of my choice, Biber kozleme (£3), large strips of roasted red pepper sprinkled with creamy feta cheese.

The pepper was juicy and the flavour enhanced by the addition of garlic and olive oil. Very moreish.

As some of the bars and restaurants in this area have thrived here for decades, Elif is a relative newcomer to Lark Lane.

Sandwiched between an upholsterers and a Thai restaurant, it is a small, no-nonsense sort of place that is usually packed.

This I know because you can watch the diners enjoying their meals behind enormous floor-to-ceiling glass windows as you walk past.

Inside, the walls are mainly bare brick and the simple tables lack anything fancy.

This back-to-basics approach is also apparent in the presentation of the food.

Beryl’s main course, Adana (£7.95), was basically a pile of meat on a plate next to a pile of salad and rice, but, although the presentation was about as far away from fine dining as you can get, the taste was simply mouth-watering.

The lamb was cut into juicy pieces with no sign of any fat and was intensely flavoured with flaked chilli, pepper and parsley.

My Ali nazak (£11.50) was also a huge portion, again served with rice and salad. The lamb had been pan-fried, rather than barbecued, and was juicy and tender.

It paired well with the bed of smoked aubergine and garlic yoghurt, which was the reason I chose the dish in the first place.

The salad was very fresh and the rice nice and fluffy.

There was far too much food, however, and one portion could easily have been shared between two.

We passed on dessert, though the traditional Turkish pastries sounded delicious, and were served with complimentary cups of mud-thick Turkish coffee.

Being cooked for by professionals is much better than DIY.

Elif, 6, Lark Lane, Liverpool

Tel: 0151 728 7362

Menu: Traditional Turkish dishes

Decor: Yes, simple – bare brick and big windows

Child friendly: Yes

Service: Friendly

Value: Good

The bill: £30.80, including two glasses of wine

lauradavis@dailypost.co.uk