Got to hand it to the Italians, they don’t half know how to market their food globally (much as they hate how said food is then bastardised by food infidels) and pizza had got to be top of their most famous exports.

As to its origins you would perhaps think that the similarity between a pizza (early origins from the Greek and Roman empires and then honed by the Neopolitans) and pide (central Asian and the Ottoman Empire, now a Turkish staple and pronounced pee-day) that one developed out of the other.

It seems not, with both allegedly growing independently of each other (which I must admit I find difficult to believe, with the Roman (orginal Western and Eastern/Byzantine) Empire extended presence in Asia minor and the influence of the ancient Greeks in both Rome and Asia Minor). Whilst pizza has conquered the globe, pide is seemingly (outside of Turkey/the Levant at least) much less ubiquitous.

On the plus side for pide, I have never seen a pineapple pide and it does seem pides lack of traction as against the pizza pantechicon means it has avoided the curse of experimental (often just mental)/fusion toppings which ruins many a good pizza.

In Canton to pick up various bits and bobs, a pide or a pizza would have been an ideal lunch time repaste for solo dining, but which one?  This brought me to a new Turkish place on Cowbridge Road, Izmir, that specialises in the less fashionable brother of pizza from another mother in the form of pides.

Most people associate Turkish food with kebabs, but the pide is an oft ignored staple fast food there. Based on the pides similarity to pizzas, it is somewhat surprising it isn’t more prevalent here where Turkish food (particularly kebabs) is not exactly a rarity.

As such a place where pides are the main event, with not a kebab in sight, is quite refreshing.

The site seems to be one of those spots where nothing sticks, and I recall a short-lived other Turkish place being there before this one. Got to be brave/foolhardy to open a new restaurant these days, to be honest, but I am infinitely grateful to people who still do.

Leaving the thorny question of a cursed location aside, it is a nice enough space inside

and the menu looks good,

with pides the clear focus (the sharing breakfast does sound rather good too).

On the pide front, the place has a pretty extensive choice of closed (kapali, basically like a calzone I suppose) and open ones (have personally only come across the open ones before).

I felt more inclined towards the open pide, but was somewhat torn between the minced meat one and the sucuk (the latter the beef brother from another mother to pork’s chorizo). The 3 cheeses on the sucuk one (£11) swung it for me

After a proper wait, so no “popty ping“, my pide arrived.  More a Viking longship shape (presume they got as far as Turkey, as they certainly got to Baghdad), with a tapered stern and bow, rather than your pizza disc

The toppings were rather reminiscent of a pizza, with cheese and meat sitting on a tomato base. Those components,whilst looking very pizza like, did give it a Turkish feel. A touch of cumin, red chilli and (I think) sumac in the base sauce, and the sucuk (the latter could have been a bit spicier), as well as the salty tang of feta as part of the cheese topping. That tang working nicely with the touch of chilli in the sauce and sucuk.

The base was nicely crisp,

with a good chew to it.

Very enjoyable and better than a lot of pizzas I have had.

It came with a side salad, which usually fills me with dread as all too often this entails a token effort of limp undressed leaves.

Here what I got was a pretty solid effort

with crisp red onions, sweet tomatoes and some nice (decent mix rather than dull as dish water iceberg) leaves in a good dressing (pomegranate based would have nice, but tasted like balsamic to me).

On the drinks front, there doesn’t seem to be any booze (work day lunch so disnt bother me). There is, however, a mix of hot and cold stuff (including your standard choice  sodas not on menu – saw fridge with them in it)

I was tempted by the ayran, which I have always quite liked (lick of salt in it makes it oddly refreshing), but fancied something hot. As a result, I opted for a Turkish tea (£2.30).

Looked the part, but was a tad tame on the flavour front for my tastes. In hindsight, I rather wish I had gone with my initial aryan thought.

I was offered a second gratis, but was on the clock so politely declined.

The verdict

I rather enjoyed my pide, which made for a very pleasant lunch time meal and I thought it good value for the portion size. 

I paid £13.30 (tip on top, service was efficient and attentive, without the need to ask me 50 times if everything was alright) for my pide and a hit drink, which I thought very fair.

As mentioned earlier, bearing in mind the product, I am slightly surprised pides are  not more prevalent/popular over here. Have pizzas so effectively cornered the market that it’s impossible for pides to break into it. I hope not as I rather liked this place and hope they manage to overcome the somewhat cursed nature of the site. 

Worth a look, I would say.

The details

Address: 199 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, CF11 9AJ

Website: Can’t find one.

Walk ins only.