Chilli Heaven: Biber Evi, Behramkale

In an old Greek village (Behramkale), on top of a big hill, in the shadow of the ruins of an old temple to Athena sits Biber Evi. Biber Evi, or quite literally Pepper House, is a lovingly restored Ottoman-rustic style hotel-cum-gourmet restaurant. The restaurant serves Turkish food made from uber-fresh ingredients from their kitchen garden. The garden, amongst other things, boasts more varieties of chilli pepper than most people have either heard of or can imagine existing.

Unfortunately, our budget didn’t stretch to both sleeping and eating at this wonderful place. Being far more concerned with food than sleep, we opted for the latter, choosing instead to sleep across the square in the homely (and much cheaper) Dolunay Pansion and pull out all the stops for dinner at Biber Evi.

Now, if you want to eat here you have to pop in two to three hours in advance and arrange your meal. There is no menu, but instead, a serious discussion about what you will have for dinner (impressive), a tour around the kitchen garden (amazing), and complimentary Turkish tea. Those not in the know have turned up here on the spot, thinking that it is an ordinary restaurant and that they can just sit down and order off of the menu, but alas, they have been sorely disappointed.

Having been tempted earlier by the evening’s offerings and knowing what was in store for us, there was a big build up to dinner and a real sense of occasion. For starters was a selection of cold mezzes. These were a trio of vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil, the traditional Turkish way, and featured peppers (of course), leeks, and celeriac respectively. Accompanying these was a basket of freshly baked bread, a selection of four homemade chilli chutneys, and the piece de resistance, a small bowl of freshly smoked assorted chillies from the garden. Oh my Goodness – these babies were hot! I almost burned my tongue off with the Scotch bonnet and habanero.

We got the hostess to pick us some locally produced wine to cool our mouths down and compliment the rest of the meal. Sam chose the swordfish with potatoes, bay, and deep-fried dill (trust me, it works!), while I opted for the slow-cooked lamb, rice pilaf, and chargrilled vegetables. All of this may not sound that exciting, but this stuff is all as good as it gets, believe me. Every bite was savoured, and groans of pleasure could be heard from the diners at the other table, just for confirmation. We ordered another bottle, and finished the meal with the best crème brulee I’ve ever tasted – and I’ve had a lot of bloody crème brulees.

P.S: The welocome and service here is warm, friendly, and every bit as good as the food and surroundings.

Barclay