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A Taste of in Naples At Vourla Mediterranean Grill and Cafe

Interior dining area

Vourla Mediterranean Grill and Cafe (Vourla) is a Turkish restaurant in Naples and is located in the Coastland Center Mall in Naples. is an amalgam of geographical and cultural impacts dating back from The Ottoman Empire, an empire that lasted for over 600 years.

Modern countries whose territories were part of The Ottoman Empire include Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon and Israel. From this map, one can see a range of cultural, agricultural and culinary influences from Northern Africa to the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.

Having seen some online dining offers available through a third party, my dining companion and I were all the more anxious to try some of their Menu Offerings. Although Vourla is adjacent to the Coastland Center Mall food court, it’s a world away in terms of cuisine.

The first thing sampled was a special they have daily, which is a trio of their cold appetizers, or (pronounced May-Zay) for the special price of $18.95.

Muhammara ( and red pepper spread) The two standouts from this menu selection were the , a walnut and red pepper spread, and Haydari. The latter meze is made from Labneh, a thick, tangy strained with a texture similar to cream cheese.

At Vourla, the haydari is mixed with , , garlic and mint, then drizzled with oil. We also tried a third meze, the Pink Sultana. It is mixed with cooked, chopped beets and garlic again drizzled with . All of these were good and perfect accompaniments to spread on the wedges of bread served.

Fattoush salad

My dining companion ordered a Salad. This is a “bread salad”, and a way to use up day-old pita bread. The pita is cut into chips and fried to enhance flavor. This is added to a variety of vegetables, seasoned with Sumac and dressed with a vinaigrette. Trying to forgo the carbs, my dining companion traded the pita chips for extra cheese. An almost fattoush salad. Nonetheless, it was still very good.

They also have a lunch special that runs Monday to Friday for $17.95. This includes soup, a limited selection of one meze, and a choice of a number of dishes. The come in a number of versions. There are Adana Kebabs, which is ground or poultry hand-shaped onto a and grilled. There are sis (Turkish) or Shish Kebab items, with cubes of meat grilled on a skewer and offerings.

I started with a Turkish classic, the . It was really good, made from lentils, carrots, , garlic and a small amount of paste. The soup was served, as it traditionally is, with a fresh lemon wedge, and drizzled with oil. Aleppo pepper is mild, and the oil adds a nice contrast to the soup.

Carrot tarator

For the meze, I tried the Carrot Tarator, which the owner generously let me substitute as it is not on the lunch special menu. This starter has shredded carrots, labneh and garlic.

I finished with my main, a lamb and beef doner kebab. This very flavorful meat was served with grilled tomato and jalapeño pepper, a very traditional Turkish Rice , an equally traditional Turkish pickled Red Cabbage Salad with raw , and sumac and a mint/yogurt sauce for the meat.

Interestingly, Turkish rice pilaf usually incorporates a small amount of pasta like orzo or vermicelli that is fried before adding to the rice. I was first exposed to this as a child, eating Rice-A-Roni. I suppose I was eating Turkish rice pilaf long ago and didn’t even know it! I thought the lunch combination, was delicious and very reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

Grilled octopus in a butter/sumac sauce

On a second visit, I tried a couple more menu items. The first was the hot meze, the char-grilled Spanish octopus. It is first grilled and then served in an extremely hot serving dish filled with sizzling sumac butter with a grilled lemon half. The octopus was really tender, though extremely hot. I had to wait a couple of minutes to let it cool down. The sumac butter sauce was not a big draw for me, though adding squeezed lemon added a bit more acidity to this dish, which I felt it needed. I prefer a bit more “brightly-flavored” or savory sauces for my octopus. Others may enjoy this.

I wanted to try a different kebab dish. I chose the chicken shish kebab. The chicken was good, moist, and flavorful. Unfortunately, the sides were exactly the same as the doner kebab from my previous meal. It was disappointing. Perhaps they were out of bulgar wheat pilaf, green peppers, and red onions.

Turkish tea

At the end of the meal, a cup of Turkish tea was served. It was strong but pleasant. A bit of sweetener was all it took to have a nice ending to this meal.

All in all, the food and service at Vourla were good. The lunch special was delicious, an exceptional value, and showcases Turkish food that almost no one else in town is serving. With all the menu items sampled, I would recommend that most highly. I think readers will like Vourla, there may be something there for everyone.

That’s that for another post on Forks.

Vourla Mediterranean Grill and Cafe

1860 Tamiami Tr. N.

Naples, FL 34102

(239)888-7074

Vourla Website

Vourla Facebook Page

Open 11 AM to 12 PM daily; Lunch served daily from 11 AM to 4 PM; Lunch special from 11AM to 4 PM Monday-Friday; Kitchen closes at 10 PM; All major credit cards accepted.

[image_carousel source=”media: 85998,85997,85996,85995,85994,85993,85992,85991,85990,85989,85988,85987″ limit=”50″ slides_style=”photo” controls_style=”light” crop=”none” columns=”1″ adaptive=”yes” spacing=”yes” align=”center” max_width=”900px” captions=”yes” arrows=”yes” dots=”yes” link=”image” target=”blank” autoplay=”3″ speed=”fast” image_size=”medium_large” outline=”yes” random=”yes”]Peter Horan, Southwest Florida Forks, posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com, July 17, 2021 More food reviews on Southwest Florida Forks

Republished with permission