Gastronaut Guide

Rehberin Notları

Zmash is one of those addresses that gets discussed a great deal on social media but is hard to understand without experiencing it in person. The initial booking process is a long one, but once I had been I understood exactly why. Alp Atalık, who owns the place, speaks with his guests one to one right at the start of the experience. In the first 20 minutes he explains the concept, answers questions and personalises the process. Only one group is hosted in each two-hour slot, which lets you experience the meal entirely at your own pace.

There are 13 different sauces on the menu at the moment but you can only choose four of them, which looks limiting at first, though the aim is to prevent palate fatigue. With the one sauce chosen for the burger, five different sauces can be tried in total. Across spicy, sweet, sour and aromatic profiles, it is possible to find a sauce for every palate. As someone who has had the chance to try everything on the menu, sauces included, I go for Gordi, Siri Mayo and Garlic Mayo with the fries, Zigi with the chicken, and either NY or Flamingo with the burger.

The G-Tenders are made from breast meat and left in milk for 24 hours. Crisp outside, and very juicy inside. They are served with an hourglass; by the time the five minutes are up the chicken has lost its first fierce heat. This detail lets you pick up the flavour more clearly without burning your palate.

The knife cuts around the sausage make for a more balanced and better-cooked result.

The fries, cooked in sunflower oil with a high oleic acid content, take a full 40 hours to prepare. They have a character all of their own, growing crisper as they cool. I would suggest starting with the small pieces :)

The menu runs from two-patty to five-patty burgers. To try the burgers of six patties and above, you are expected to have finished one with a single patty fewer beforehand. Only beef is used; neck, brisket and rib-eye are put twice through a fine mince.

The harmony between the heavily sesame-seeded potato bun and the meat is very hard to put into words...

In short, the burger I ate here stands clearly apart from everything I have eaten to date, in its bun, its cheese and its cooking technique. Cleaning the grill after every service shows plainly how much importance is given to kitchen discipline.

The dondurmalı cola, where vanilla and sahlep soft serve meets cola, is one of the most enjoyable ways to round off the menu. If you do not like drinking fizzy drinks the milkshakes are very good too, and my favourite is the strawberry one. You can also close the meal with an affogato.

Zmash, where the whole operation is run by one person, works to a set of rules, but every one of those rules is there to improve the experience. That Alp Bey shares his entire preparation process and his suppliers so transparently is admirable too. Experienced in person, you feel the work and the logic behind it very clearly.

What to Order