One of my top places in Istanbul to for new food challenges. Lilbitz is all about little bits of this and that. But you don't know what "this and that" will be, because they change their menu every two weeks (available on their website). Max, the talented chef and owner of Lilbitz (along with his architect partner Sema Turker), personally creates a new menu, cooks it for you and tells you all about it. Every table at Lilbitz is like the Chef's Table at fancy restaurants!
The menu is fixed and consists of seven courses that take you through a new journey each time. Last time I went there, which was at the end of November, the theme for the seven courses was winter fruits. The menu stared with salmon ceviche nori rolls on apple and wasabi cream with pickled cucumber to kick off. It was then followed by pear and prurslane (semizotu in Turkish) soup on meatstock. A pear crisp accompanied the soup (which was one of my favorite little add-ons ever). A most delicate beef carpaccio on a bed of baby spinach, mung beans, glazed with tangerine reduction prepared us for the more substantial dishes to come. Oven grilled tenderloin with oil and corn cream and black bean puree came first. Every dish is at most two three bites, but each plate has several dimensions of flavor and texture. Max, also an enthusiast of food photography, creates a visual art with each dish, clearly picking his ingredients and cooking methods not just for taste but also looks. After the tenderloin, we savored grilled sea bream (cipura in Turkish) with beef houmous and micro vegetables, flavored with an orange and anise emulation. Preparing us for the desert, Max then brought oven melted scamorza cheese with quince jelly and mini crisps of pear. The desert, just the right size after this journey, was chocolate mousse with anise and Turkish coffee, topped with pommegrenate glaze.
I highly recommend this place and suggest frequenting it to keep your taste buds awake year around! It's a small venue....just six tables. Every dish is made really for you. Max brings each dish with the waiters and takes his time explaining his artistic creations. You can see how excited he is about each one in his eyes. After your dinner, you find yourself in Nu Pera, pleasantly stuffed for after dinner drinks, music and dancing. Web: http://www.lilbitz.net , tel: 0 212 245 6054
Address: Mesrutiyet Caddesi, no: 67, Petit de Champs Pasaji, Beyoglu, Istanbul.
