Tasting Notes
Nicole is on Tomtom Kaptan Sokak, in the quiet Tomtom quarter between İstiklal Avenue and the Bosphorus shore, on the top floor of the Tomtom Suites hotel. The building dates from 1901, when it was built for a French order of nursing sisters, and the restaurant is named after one of them, Sister Agnès Marthe Nicole. The dining room and terrace look across to the historic peninsula and the Sea of Marmara. It is listed in the Michelin Guide, opens for dinner from 18:00 and is closed on Mondays.
Four set menus
There is no à la carte. Tasting menu No. 1 and Vegetarian menu No. 1 are the longer versions, served until 20:30; No. 2 menus are shorter and served after 21:00. Recent menus have moved from an amuse-bouche of sweetbread crème caramel and Circassian duck to a melon and fennel soup with Balıkesir cheese, a chicken kazandibi with wild mushrooms and truffle, and Balıkesir lamb chop, with a Datça almond dessert. The vegetarian menus replace meat and fish with dishes such as golden thistle in olive oil, crisp aubergine and a roasted vegetable türlü.
“Book the earlier sitting for the longer menu, ask for a table by the window or on the terrace at sunset, and mention any allergies when you reserve.”
LR Kitchen — field note