Tabure Kitchen - Turkish tapas in St Albans

Moving back to the centre of St Albans has really made me notice how fond I am of my little city. I've got into a habit lately of going on after-work walks, and it's lovely to take in the beautiful scenery and all the independent shops and restaurants that have sprung up. I find myself mentally writing Buzzfeed type lists of all the reasons to visit... and they all revolve around places to eat, obviously. Because in the past, it felt like St Albans never had to try because it was just 20 minutes from London, but now it's started making an effort and it suits it. And me.

On the subject of restaurants, I was invited to a preview night of a new local restaurant, Tabure (rhymes with cabaret). This was extremely exciting as there are never any blogger events in my town - no trains required - and it was a chance to meet some elusive local bloggers. There ARE others like me out there, it turns out. It was also extremely exciting because Tabure sounded like an incredible restaurant - Turkish tapas, the brainchild of a couple who'd lived in Turkey for several years.

What an incredible evening. The food just kept coming - at one point, we were all feeling rather full... and then the main courses started coming out. You get the idea. LOTS of food. But it was all amazing - from freshly made sour dough bread, to Baharatli chicken wings marinated in spiced yoghurt, lemon and oregano, to deep fried courgette flowers stuffed with ricotta and herbs, to samphire salad, to smashed fava beans, to citrus marinated olives, to a delicious lamb stew... sorry, what was my point? It was actually quite a relief when the fish course started, as I'm not a fan and it meant I could have a well deserved break before dessert! Which was a delicious rice pudding and creme brulee combo, and a Turkish trifle with sour cherry jelly. YUM.

What was lovely about Tabure was how lived in and comfortable it was - no accident, actually, as the owners had carefully chosen reclaimed wood for the floor and old Tudor bricks for the wall. I'm already dying to go back with a big group of friends for a long evening of digging into each other's plates and working our way through the (excellent) wine list (they actually sourced the alcohol from local recommendations - the beer was all suggested by a local beer blogger).

Guys, will you just GO already? I promise you'll like it. I'll be coming too, obvs. You can check out the menu here.