What we thought of Kose’s Kitchen takeaway in Northallerton

Which posed something of an existential threat to this column. It’s difficult to write about Eating Out when you can’t , erm, eat out.

So the column became something else – an Eating In column. Your trusty reviewers took to joining those sad, socially-distanced, sometimes lengthy queues outside takeaways to collect our bags of foil containers to carry home and endeavour to craft 800 scintillating words out of sitting in the front room, with no friends, eating food.

We did, once ‘invite’ friends to join us over the dreaded Zoom. It was a digital social experiment we didn’t repeat.

It was tough for a number of reasons, chief among them being the food and not, I stress, because it wasn’t, in most instances, delicious as it can be when not served straight from the kitchen but delayed by a five, ten or 15 minute drive home.

Some of you will have noticed that our reviews dwell only so long on the food we eat. It is, after all, only a part of the eating out experience. It’s the people we are with, the people who look after us at the table, the ambience, the surroundings that make the eating out experience something to write about.

So if the prison of the front room in the Spring and early Summer of 2020 didn’t make for sparkling prose why have we reprised those dismal times by writing about a takeaway meal?

It’s because there’s a new takeaway in Northallerton that everyone’s talking about. The Turkish/Mediterranean food it’s serving up is creating queues to match the Covid-19 era.

(Image: Malcolm Warne)

Kose’s Kitchen opened a couple of months ago in what was a short-lived café at North End which took pride in serving a full English for less than fiver. Back then we reckoned it was the cheapest breakfast in Northallerton.

Unfortunately, with only about six seats, whatever tiny margin Oyatsu was making on those breakfasts was never going to cover their costs and it closed its doors last year.

Notwithstanding our appreciation of a full English with toast and tea for £4.40, Kose’s is a brilliant establishment.

(Image: Malcolm Warne)

Firstly, it’s very smart for a takeaway. It’s not customary for takeaways to spend money on a place where customers don’t linger but Kose’s is absolutely pristine. You don’t need to spot the five-star hygiene rating on the front window to feel you could eat your meal off the floor.

Which one could be tempted to do as said floor is rather attractively tiled, along with the walls.

There’s a couple of small tables and chairs just inside the door for customers waiting to pick up orders.

I’ve wondered what would happen if one tucked in to your meal while sat there. Perhaps we will try it sometime but given Kose’s popularity, it could be like dining in a crowded bus station.

That popularity means you are best ordering via the website (which works well we’ve found). Turning up to order, especially at busy times like weekend early evenings, will mean a bit of a wait.

(Image: Malcolm Warne)

Having tried Kose’s a couple of times now, any wait is generally worth it. The array of kebabs, gyros, wraps, shawarmas, hot and cold meze is authentically eastern Mediterranean and everything is very fresh, whether it is the Greek and Turkish salads or the chargrilled chicken.

It’s great to see bulgar wheat on a menu, a healthy alternative to chips.

On one occasion we had what Kose’s describes as its healthy protein box (£11.99) which marries chargrilled chicken with an avocado salad dressed with lemon and extra virgin olive oil and bulgar wheat flavoured with mint and parsley.

A grilled chicken wrap (£7.50) came with salad and garlic mayo, all inside a Turkish flatbread. Grilled halloumi (£5.50), sarma (stuffed vine leaves - £4.50) and a portion of very good dry and crispy chips (£2.90) turned one expedition into a veritable feast.

As someone with a sweet tooth with which I battle, increasingly unsuccessfully, a Turkish pistachio baklava (£4.50) was a healthy option among the dessert offerings. I mean honey is good for you. As are nuts. And super-thin sheets of filo pastry are as light as anything, aren’t they? So we will not get hung up on the amount of butter in it, will we? Regardless of whether it was a truly healthy option, it was delicious.

A word of warning, if you can avoid those aforementioned peak times you will not only avoid a wait you’ll also lessen the chance of what we experienced on one occasion when the chicken was over-cooked.

As we all know when barbecuing, a few seconds too long over the coals ruins it which is what happened on a recent visit when the two guys who make up Team Kose were clearly struggling to cope with the orders that were pouring in.

Perhaps it’s time they opened a restaurant.

Kose’s Kitchen

46 High Street, Northallerton DL7 8EG Tel: 01609 600797 Web: koseskitchen.co.uk Socials: @koseskitchen.

Open: 4.30pm-10pm, closed Tuesdays.

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 9, Waiting times 5, Surroundings 9 Value 8