Getting together with friends this year has proved to be difficult with everyone's schedules, but I was happy to have arranged successfully a quick get-together a few days after my birthday on a Friday night to have cocktails and food in Hatch End, where I had not been out to before. The venue was Izgara, a restaurant with Turkish or Middle Eastern cuisine because one of my friends has to be careful about the food she eats, so my first choice of Indian was out of the question. Izgara had an offer on two-for-one cocktails, and we could mix and match the cocktails that we wanted, so we did not have to get two of the same one, which was amazing because we could try them all.
The restaurant itself is located on the main street with a terrace open to the elements on a nice day, and I enjoyed watching the people walk by outside.
We had a nice selection of cocktails. From the Porn Star Martini, Pina Colada, Cosmopolitan, Daiquiri, and the Flirtini (a raspberry version of the Porn Star Martini), we enjoyed trying the selection. We could also choose a mocktail.
Bread with a selection of dips came out first, and we all had starters that we shared.
Beetroot Kisir was one of my friends' starters, and I had a taste and thought that it was okay, but it is something that I would not normally have.
One of my friends ordered cacik, and I also had a try, but this was not to my liking at all. It is made from yoghurt, and I don't like the texture nor taste.
Another friend had the fried brie, and this was tasty and came with a mango sauce.
I ordered the sigara borek, which is halloumi and feta cheese in filo pastry and served with a sweet chilli dip. It was also tasty.
A little later, we had some live music being played.
For the main, I had the vegetable iskender. It was tasty, but I couldn't eat it all, so part of it went home with me to have the following day. Two of us ordered the same dish.
The other two friends ordered the chicken shish.
As it was my birthday, I had the chocolate souffle, which was served with ice cream. It came to my table with a lit candle and a birthday song.
After we finished eating, we went to Wetherspoons just further up the road. It was so packed inside, and it was humid. I was feeling tired, so we did not do a late one, and I didn't want to drink anymore than I had, so we had an early night but an enjoyable one with dinner.
Quick get-togethers with friends to celebrate special occassions is wonderful, and I hope that we can do more of these gatherings in the future.
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