Flying Carpet Ride

The Flying Carpet Turkish Cafe, 1223 Washington Av, Fort Worth. 11am-9pm Mon-Sat. 682-200-9300.

After a decade of serving Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine under chef/owner Cebrail Demirtash, the Flying Carpet Cafe suffered a kitchen fire in 2023 that indefinitely halted business with no timetable for reopening. From the heart of the Near Southside near West Magnolia Avenue, the cafe eventually reappeared but in Lewisville. (?)

As I was driving down Magnolia in April, I noticed a banner tied between the Victorian columns on the primitive wooden cottage, announcing Flying Carpet’s impending opening. But the question still lingered: When?

Fast-forward to mid-October, when the Flying Carpet made a quiet return but without founder Demirtash. In fact, an entire new management team has taken over, and if you’re familiar with Istanbul Cuisine Mediterranean Grill in Southlake and Flower Mound, then you’ll find their owner, Chef Can Karatas, now steering the ship here with a similar menu.

Though I never ate at the Flying Carpet under the previous ownership, I had heard a lot of good things about it and couldn’t wait to dive in. The warmth I felt walking inside added to the air of excitement.

Currently, guests should expect to bring their own booze, and diners will notice a lack of rugs hanging from the natural shiplap walls, mostly replaced with framed pictures depicting Turkish imagery, but rest assured that customers still can purchase rugs.

It was a rainy, dreary Saturday morning when we walked in, first guests of the day, which gave us seating preference. An outdoor courtyard patio with garden lights would have been ideal if not for the wet weather, but the cozy interior was just right. The caffeinated injection from the Turkish coffee woke our senses before kicking off our meal with the cold sampler platter with our choice of three of five items: babaganoush, dolma, and pink sultan. The remaining options are hummus and tabbouleh. There will be a pronunciation quiz at the end of this article.

The babaganoush was presented as a creamy mound of roasted eggplant with herbs, tahini, garlic, and yogurt holding a pool of olive oil like a volcano, and the pureed beets of the pink sultan mixed with yogurt looked like dessert. Both dishes, readied for the toasted table bread, were immaculately fresh. So were the dolma (grape leaves wrapped around a mix of rice and herbs). They were softly delectable with the hint of citrus from the lemon garnish. Rotate dabs of each dipping condiment on the dolma for an even more splendid experience.

It would be rather sacrilegious to pass on falafel in a Turkish café, so mid-dining, my guest and I agreed upon the Flying Carpet’s, and that decision proved clutch. The four fried, hockey puck-shaped discs rested upon a bed of rich hummus. Warm ground chickpeas with herbs gave way to flavorful bursts on their own, even better with a touch of the hummus. Pan-fried calf’s liver, stuffed ground lamb, spinach pie, and a feta cheese-filled fried dough stick called the Feta Cigar round out the rest of the appetizer menu.

The signature platters consist of kebabs and gyros, all served with salad and a bed of basmati rice. While lamb is the dominate protein on the menu and we did not want to be handcuffed to one choice, the practical move here was the kebab trio, which features chunks of beef, chicken, and lamb. Each cut of meat delivered an immense flavor from the seasoning complementing the natural flavors. Adding a dash of hummus or garlicky tzatziki sauce or both should be routine.

Though there’s grilled salmon and shrimp kebabs or whole branzini straight from the Mediterranean Sea, lamb still dominates: baked eggplant stuffed with cubes of lamb, a lamb casserole covered in dough reminiscent of chicken pot pie, eggplant-layered Turkish lasagna (moussaka), sauteed cubes of lamb, and oven-baked bone-in lamb shank. We opted for the shank and enjoyed the organic flavors of the lamb topped with a rich tomato sauce that one wouldn’t have guessed to be tomato-based. Under the shank lay a bed of mashed eggplant that was like the babaganoush and edible on its own. Other selections from the Ottoman menu include ground beef and chicken.

For dessert, the Flying Carpet serves a variety of baklava, including a sweet cheese pastry known as kunefe and the bread pudding-esque ekmek kadayifi, a specialty consisting of kataifi dough, syrup, custard, and sweet cream cheese.

Although under new management, the Flying Carpet Turkish Cafe is still a Near Southside standout.

The Flying Carpet Turkish Cafe

Cold sampler platter $23.95

Trio kebab $26.95

Falafel $13.95

Lamb shank $22.95