Sandzak, whose name is pronounced ‘sanjak,’ located inside Sapphire Shopping Mall, serves Balkan foods. It doesn’t have a venue of its own, but instead, is located in a cozy space in the Sapphire mall. The first dish you must try is pirşuta, or smoked meat. Even if you’re not accustomed to the taste of meat and soot together, you’re bound to get hooked after a couple of moutfuls. A reminder: smoked meat isn’t supposed to be touched with a fork, so you have to eat it by hand. Another rarely known Balkan flavour is sota, or Balkan pickle. This pickle is made with Balkan pepper, buttermilk, milk cream and cheese; the tang might be a bit overwhelming at first, but you soon develop a palette for it. The pirşuta and sota, which are in the cold meze category, are brought to the restaurant from Bosnia. While you’re at Sandzak, be sure to try the Bosnian mantıye, a delectable pastry with minced meat, served with yogurt, and the burek, a pastry with spinach made of thin, twisted dough. The burek is quite flavourful, though it is a little greasy. The pleskavica special, a kind of Balkan meat pattie made with beef, is worth a try. The bulgur pilaf served with it features smoked meat, with the flavours complementing one another so well. You may order pleskavica, served inside pita bread, or as fast food. The dessert dudove is known as kalburabastı in Turkey and can be described as walnuts and butter baked in dough that’s been meringued. Sandzak also offers flavours that aren’t necessarily Balkan, like the kuru fasulye (cannellini beans cooked in olive oil, tomato sauce and water) with dry meat, fried potatoes, chicken chops, grilled sucuk (Turkish sausage) and homemade baklava. While the main branch in Pendik is closed on Thursday, the eve of Friday, for ucipetka, a Bosnian tradition, this custom is not observed in the branch in Sapphire. Those who are visiting or working on the European side and want to experience a Bosnian feast, should make their way to Sandzak.
From the menu
Pirşuta 10 TL
Soka 8 TL
Pleskavica Special 14 TL
Mantıye 7 TL
Dudove 5 TL