Mado: Is this what the fuss is all about?

Mado, a Turkish restaurant located on Florida Road in Durban, has been causing quite a stir. Nestled within the Quarters Hotel complex, it boasts over 300 outlets worldwide and opened its first location in South Africa. The restaurant's bakery counter is impressive, displaying a variety of pastries such as kunefe, baklava, and croissants.

The ice-cream counter offers an array of flavors, including pomegranate sorbet, which the poet decided to try. The large, modern restaurant, possibly over-lit, was bustling with families and large groups. Due to its popularity, they were seated outside on the verandah, with a warning of potential delays in food delivery. The menu, at 64 pages, is more akin to a small coffee table book, making it challenging to navigate.

The poet and their companion, Vivek, relied on the recommendations of the staff for ordering. A significant portion of the menu consists of pastries and ice-creams, followed by breakfast and drinks. Mado is halaal, offering various lemonades, shakes, smoothies, juices, and teas. The poet inquired about traditional Turkish apple and peppermint tea, but both were unavailable.

They instead opted for a butterfly pea lemonade, which had an unusual appearance due to a layer of sweet ice-blue-green cordial at the bottom. The Poet also tried a lamb gozleme, which was disappointing and overpriced, consisting of three skewers of potato stuffed miniature bread rolls with no discernible flavor. The beef wrap and lamb gozleme were fairly enjoyable, but the poet's pomegranate sorbet and the writer's raspberry sorbet stood out as exceptional.

The writer's meatballs on eggplant were enjoyable but slightly overcooked. Dessert was a highlight, with the pomegranate sorbet being particularly noteworthy. The evening concluded with the poet and Vivek leaving Mado in awe, noting that four Lamborghinis were parked outside in a seemingly unauthorized manner.