ADVERTORIAL
Had Yusuf Iridag pursued his original aim of an engineering career, Aberdeen might still be waiting for its first Turkish restaurant. Thankfully, the young student from Istanbul ditched the idea and, aided by his wife Karen, turned catering entrepreneur instead. Today, three decades on, the Iridag family, the restaurateurs behind the city’s popular Nargile and Rendezvous@Nargile plus Edinburgh offspring the Yeni Meze Bar, are celebrating a triple culinary triumph. Nargile, their original Turkish restaurant in Skene Street, is marking 30 years in business; Rendezvous@Nargile in the west end is toasting its tenth anniversary and has also been named The Scottish Entertainment Guide’s 2013 winner of Scotland’s favourite Mediterranean restaurant. The blend of Nargile’s traditional Turkish cuisine and the Rendezvous’ more modern east-meets-west fusion of flavours has consistently been popular, with the recent award, which was voted for by members of the public, proving the point. It’s the icing on the cake for daughter Sara who, just like her father, switched careers – in her case giving up a successful job as a forensic scientist – to return to her roots to assist her mum in the overall running of the Rendezvous restaurant. Now all of the Iridag family is involved in the business with Sara’s youngest sister Harika providing restaurant support in Aberdeen and middle sister Ruya and husband Stuart running the meze bar in the capital’s Hanover Street. ‘It’s brilliant to be involved in such a successful, long-running business,’ says Sara. ‘I just love meeting people and we get to know the customers – they become friends. We often have people introducing the next generation of their family to the restaurants and that makes it a really special place to be.’ ‘We’ve witnessed lots of family celebrations down the years and we’re looking forward to customers sharing ours this summer.’
Rendezvous@Nargile 106 - 108 Forest Avenue Aberdeen T: 01224 323700 www.rendezvousatnargile.co.uk
Yeni Meze Bar 73 Hanover Street Edinburgh T: 0131 225 5755 59