I found this place while browsing the local papers at breakfast one morning. The name caught my eye, even though the ad was quite small and of course, if we find anything remotely middle eastern, you can bet we are going to sample it. So the same evening, we headed out for Redwood City, which is still in the same area code as San Mateo and Foster City. Broadway Street is considered to be a main shopping/eating area, and it was beautifully lit, with mini-light bulbs in the trees. Well, it is not easy to find this place, as we must have gone past it twice. Finally, after digging out the number from the catacombs of my purse, we realized it was a corner restaurant and the name was definitely not in view!
Kapadokia has a very modest interior, but when we walked in, the familiar scent of Istanbul’s aromatic foods teased our nostrils. We knew we hit the jackpot. It was not particularly crowded this evening, and we were seated midway through the restaurant. The menus came quickly, and it seemed that some of the wait staff had not been here very long as they had difficulty understanding and speaking English.
The offerings are simple, but classic: the prerequisite Iskendar Kebab , or Alexander Kebab is featured. We had sampled this dish while in Bursa which you can read about in this journal. The Cacik cucumber/yogurt salad also figured on the menu. The babaganoush was not prepared well unfortunately, and I find that to be true in many middle eastern restaurants in the US. They drown the eggplant with Tahini (sesame) sauce and manage to completely kill the taste of the eggplant. We shared the Mixed Meat Kebab which was wonderful, and preceded by a fresh , well seasoned salad. The bread was outstanding, and we could have made a meal out of it.
It was very obvious that this is a family run business, and when we got up to pay the bill, daughter Aycan was very proud to tell us about her parents, Sultan and Nursel , her mother; the young man who had served us was her cousin Cumhur . Ullas is the family name. We told them we were going to review the restaurant, and that made them beam with pleasure; we also asked them to do something about the invisible sign. If you want to see a menu, you can fax them at (650)363-2054. I think that Mama Nursel cooks all the food.