An unprecedented culinary history typical of Turkey, Derya is one of the few good Parisian addresses to recommend to lovers of Turkish cuisine.
Unlike many Turkish restaurants in Paris, the menu is not limited to chicken or lamb, with meats of unknown origins and natures cooked in gyros (and of course served with chips!).
Turkish cuisine benefits from the Ottoman heritage and is at the crossroads of Asian, Oriental and Mediterranean flavours. Indeed, Turkish cuisine has been enriched by the migration of Turks over the centuries fromCentral Asia to Europe and has influenced its neighbouring countries(Greece, Middle Eastern countries, the Balkans, Iran and Armenia). There are many common dishes with Lebanese, Greek and Armenian gastronomy.
Among the elements that the Turks brought from Central Asia are yoghurt and yufka (puff pastry) which is the basis of baklava and börek . Due to its geographical position, which allows for climatic diversity, Turkey has preserved the heterogeneous character of its cuisine and the traditions of a distant past are well preserved.
Turkish cuisine is rich in pasta, meat, fish, vegetables and desserts. Among the most famous Turkish specialties are stuffed vegetables ( dolma ), grilled meat(kebap), ravioli ( mantı ), puff pastry ( börek ), rice dishes ( pilav ) and pastries(baklava, lokum, and künefe ).
THE DERYA RESTAURANT, A RENOWNED TURKISH RESTAURANT SINCE 1998.
Here, a wide range of authentic specialities from the former Ottoman Empire is on the menu. Ottoman Empire which is in the program… grills in the wood fire from where a small air of family with the Greek cooking, Lebanese, and other regions placed formerly under this influence.
What is sure, you will not ruin yourself by enjoying for example the imam bayaldi (eggplant stuffed with vegetables, so good according to the legend, that an Imam would have died of pleasure by eating it), the chicken cutlet stuffed with cheese kasar to the mushrooms and pistachios or lamb with honey and spices.
If you like it, try a baklava, kadaif or other (very) sweet oriental pastries for dessert.
Approximately 20 € excluding drinks à la carte. Formula at 14,50 € including a quarter of wine at lunch.
The Faubourg Saint-Denis
The Faubourg Saint-Denis fascinates all those who live there. From the often overlooked architectural beauty of its twin arches to its popular and multicultural streets, this square kilometre stretching from the Gare du Nord to the Grands Boulevards has an atmosphere unique to Paris. “What I like about this neighborhood is its mix. It’s not bobo, it’s not French, it’s not Chinese, it’s not African, it’s everything,” says Daisy de Plume, a New York entrepreneur who lives on rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis with her Argentinian husband and three-and-a-half year old son. “And what’s more, I’m only a 17-minute walk from the Louvre,” she adds.
The rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis was once the road by which one entered Paris from the North. This was the route taken by the kings of France in great pomp after being crowned in the cathedral of Saint-Denis. The two arches of the Porte Saint-Martin and the Porte Saint-Denis were built by Louis XIV after he destroyed the city walls in 1670. The royal stables were located in rue des Petites Écuries, where today you can find the best gastronomic establishments in the area.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, property developers dug new arteries and filled the vacant spaces between houses with six- and seven-storey buildings. Although at the time the district was not very frequented because of the many music halls of the Grands Boulevards, many craftsmen installed their families and their workshops there. The music halls and popular theatres have long since disappeared of course, yet as you walk past Sommier‘s, the costume rental shop at 3 Passage Brady, you can hear echoes of the colourful parties of yesteryear.