Lifestyle: Restaurant Review – Cambaz Bar and Chargrill, Sutton Coldfield

I’M a big fan of Turkish cuisine and as the Midlands isn’t exactly awash with this type of food I was excited to hear that a new Turkish restaurant had opened in Sutton Coldfield.

And once I’d heard that it was based in my old local pub I simply had to go.

For those of you who know the area, Cambaz Bar and Chargrill has opened on the site of what was The Cup pub in Birmingham Road, near the town centre.

I used to live in the flats behind the pub and it was in this hostelry that I and a close friend – now sadly departed – watched England beat Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final.

There’s something about being drunk in a place at 9 o’clock in the morning that means you will never forget it.

If only I could remember exactly where I was standing when Jonny Wilkinson slotted that drop goal between the Aussie posts I could perhaps persuade the new owners to put up a plaque.

Anyway, it was a big old boozer and it will take some filling as a restaurant but the Cambaz owners haven’t spared the horses in doing the place up in a modern style with nice traditional Turkish touches.

The centrepiece is a traditional open Turkish oven in which the staff cook the bread using long paddles.

I visited one lunchtime recently with my partner and although we could have chosen a number of smaller meze dishes or gone a la carte, we decided to choose from the lunchtime express menu.

This offers one course for £7.25, two for £9.95 and three for £11.45.

The list of starters is limited to three – garlic mushrooms, humus and borek – the spinach and feta filo pastries.

I plumped for the humus which was deep and rich – nothing like the stuff you get in the supermarket – and perfect with the warm bread. My partner chose the garlic mushrooms and declared them gooey and wonderful.

A few more starter choices wouldn’t go amiss though.

For main courses neither of us was going to look beyond the wonderful-sounding kebabs.

My adama shish kofte is a south Turkish speciality in which red chillies are blended with minced lamb and grilled.

It was melt in the mouth good with a nice touch of heat from the chillies and a wonderful succulent taste resulting from a skilfully prepared marinade.

Served with salad and rice it was pretty much the perfect lunch.

My partner’s mixed shish – chicken and lamb – was equally appreciated.

Neither of us had room for dessert but Turkish specialities such as seker pare – freshly baked balls of pastry, dipped in thick, lemony syrup and served with ice cream – were on offer.

Despite the size of the restaurant there were quite a few tables occupied on the Thursday lunchtime we visited so Cambaz would seem to have a fair chance of succeeding.

I shall certainly be returning to sample again one of the best kebabs I’ve had this side of Istanbul.