With all our money having been spent on Christmas presents, we needed to find a restaurant with good yet inexpensive food. After browsing google for a bit, we settled on Istanbul Kebab, located on Rue du Mont-Blanc, right next to the train station in Geneva. Having had kebabs many times before, we were looking forward to trying a new place.
This restaurant is on the right of the Metro Shopping exit onto Rue du Mont-Blanc, and is only a one minute walk from the train station, it doesn’t get much easier than that to get to. The outside of the restaurant is very plain and inconspicuous, which could make it easy to miss if not looking for it directly. On the inside, the theme continues, with little to no decor and an uninspiring atmosphere. Fortunately, the place seemed to be clean and tidy, and offered plenty of seating space. This restaurant also provides an outdoor terrace to eat which is great for sunnier days.
Seb: “I ordered a ‘Sandwich Kebab’ with mixed meat (lamb, beef, and chicken) stuffed with onions, salad and tomatoes, plus a small plate of fries. Service was quite fast; the sandwich arrived in under ten minutes. I was surprised to see how generous they had been with the amount of meat they gave me, which was perfect since I had not eaten all day. As for the presentation, well… it’s a kebab – what do you expect? Before taking my first bite of the sandwich, I tried the fries, which were nothing to complain about; nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. After adding some of their homemade spicy chilli sauce, I took my first bite of the kebab; the tender meat was perfectly seasoned, and the bread wasn’t soggy at all, something which can easily spoil a sandwich. I found that their chilli sauce brought the kebab to another level, adding extra heat and more flavour to the sandwich. The yoghurt sauce was also good and balanced out the spice of the chilli. By the time I finished the meal, I was way too full for a dessert. On the whole, I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who is craving a quick yet hearty meal in Cornavin, and although I personally do think that the prices could be a tad bit lower, bearing in mind that this is still Switzerland, the value for money that this restaurant offers is nearly unbeatable. The staff was also friendly and welcoming. I rate this restaurant a 9/10.”
Samuel: “I ordered the “Galette Kebab” with beef meat and a small plate of fries. The food came rather quickly, a good thing since I was very hungry. I have personally been to a few kebab restaurants, having had good ones and bad ones, where the meat still had fatty parts on it, which I very much dislike. Fortunately I can say I have found the meat here to be very good and reliable. From the plethora of different tastes provided and along with the incredible chilli sauce, I have always found this restaurant to be a dependable option if I am ever hungry in cornavin, and with the portion of chips, which I can’t say anything negative about, it creates a perfect, quick yet delicious meal. Also, if we were to compare this to the popular sandwich chain Subway, I can confidently say that this kebab shop is better than it in every way. I give it a 9/10, making it my highest rated restaurant so far.”
Zak: “I too also ordered a Galette Kebab, but instead with slices of lamb and chicken, a Turkish beef pizza which we shared, and a cup of black tea to satiate my thirst. The kebab came first, and quickly, wrapped in aluminium foil that was easily removed to get to the goodness inside. As I dug into the kebab, the perfectly seasoned meat in the Kebab hit my mouth first, and then did the fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and onions inside; ingredients which had all been lightly doused in white sauce, giving an otherwise dry dish wet, creamy, and sour undertones. The slices of meat, although occasionally having bits of fat, were for the most part cooked just right, with a slightly burnt taste that worked in symphony with the vegetables, cementing a concrete theme in the kebab. While savouring what was left of the kebab, the Turkish pizza and black tea arrived. I started off by taking a sip of the scalding and mildly sweet black tea before I started biting into the pizza slices, all of which were finely covered in diced beef, spices, herbs, onions, and lemon sauce that I doused from a slice served alongside the dish. Despite the presentation of the pizza seeming subpar, its taste was anything but, with the diced onions, herbs, and spices creating a fine and strong taste that was loosened by the sour lemon juice. Overall, I found the dishes to have been excellent, with the sole downside being the presentation of the dishes and the temperature of the tea, though even that is overshadowed by the reasonably low prices of food at the restaurant, at least by Swiss standards – an easy 9/10 from me.”
Rue du Mont-Blanc 21, 1201 Genève
https://g.page/istanbul-kebab-34?share
022 738 12 59
- Samuel, Seb & Zakhar
The Update 