Turkish Delight

We've been to Turkish Delight in Belconnen a few times now and generally leave feeling satisfied.

Tucked away off Weedon Court in the town centre's light industrial area, the restaurant's interior decorators have managed to make what would otherwise be a stark commercial unit, in a relatively desolate area, feel kind of cosy. Rugs, orientalist prints, and an obligatory portrait of Ataturk all make you feel that you are at least partially sheltered from the barrenness of the concrete-and-low-rise landscape outside on a cold May evening.

On Saturday nights belly-dancers are put on, and which are, I think we are in consensus, a mixed blessing. Done well, with an enthusiastic crowd, it a reasonably interesting form of entertainment. If either of these elements are missing (and particularly the latter), it gets pretty sad very quickly. Also, we query if the dancers asking guests to dance with them is a good thing - generally we think it makes most people feel awkward, and detracts from the performance, as the shy sit in fear of immanent mortification.

Anyway, the food. On the whole it's pretty good, and reasonably priced, although we would recommend staying away from the baked dishes and sticking to the grilled meats and pide as mains. The dips and bread are strong points (notably in comparison to our experiences of the Turkish Pide House in Civic), and the Turkish wine is worth trying. And, of course, the namesake dessert is fine.