El Turkito serves two of the most internationally loved dishes from two individually loved cuisines, Mexican and Turkish with a familiar deshi touch to them.
Their birria tacos deserve a special mention as they aim to make tacos and doner wraps a staple for Dhakaites with a deshi flair.
“Our signature Birria Beef is a fusion of cultures on a plate. We take inspiration from Mexican birria,slow-cooked, richly spiced meat, and infuse it with the bold, aromatic flavours of Bengali ‘beef jhura mangsho,” said co-founder Erfan Uddin.
Food
We were served soft shell tacos, birria tacos, and a crispy chicken taco. Undoubtedly, their take on the birria taco stole the show. Although the classic birria broth on the side was missing, the combination of the cheese, the well-seasoned shredded meat won us over.
While we appreciated the generous amount of cheese and the aroma left us wanting more, the predominant umami taste from the beef was what we relished the most, as the seasoning was top notch and hit the spot.
Next, we had the soft-shell taco, and both the soft-shell taco and the hard-shell crispy chicken taco needed a bit more balance in the seasoning. While we asked for the soft-shell tacos to be spicy, the combination of slit green chillies and the sweet and spicy chilli sauce erred on the side of making the taco both a bit too sweet and a tad too spicy as well, making us wish the taco had a better hold on the balance altogether.
The hard-shell chicken taco, on the other hand, erred on the side of being too sweet. While we appreciated the crunch, we definitely thought that the sweetness in the chilli sauce was overpowering any other flavour in the taco.
For the stuffing of both hard-shell and soft-shell taco, however, the stuffing was made keeping a “deshi” palate in mind, almost replicating a deshi home-made taco, delivering the kind of flavour they said they would, we just wish the balance was held together better so we could have relished the deshi versions more.
Then, we had the chicken honey doner, which was generously stuffed with meat and sauce. While the doner was simple and generously filled, the filling in both the doner and the chicken taco was quite similar, making it taste rather alike and harder to appreciate for the different texture and taste.
We also had the gyro fries, which were loaded with meat, seasoning, chillies, tomatoes and pepper, served warm, the fries were enjoyable and filling. You need to be able to have the fries while they are still warm to appreciate them for what they are.
We washed our meal down with an RC Cola.
The price range for a meal at El Turkito is Tk 120 to Tk2,780.
Ambience
While El Turkito has branches in both Bailey Road and Bashundhara, we visited the small quaint space in Bashundhara.
Although small, the space is brightly lit and has an energetic vibe to it, making you feel instantly comfortable. The furniture is predominantly green.
Challenges
Open since October 2022, El Turkito’s biggest challenge was to introduce a Mexican-Turkish fusion menu, with a localized take on it.
“Tacos and doner wraps aren’t everyday staples here, so part of our journey has been about bringing something new to the people,” Erfan said.
“Showing them that these flavours can be just as comforting. We also had to make sure our fusion felt approachable,” he added.
They are coping with inflation without needing to necessarily hike their prices.
“We see it as an opportunity to innovate rather than just adjust prices. We are trying to focus on sourcing smartly, reducing waste, and streamlining operations, while keeping the quality and flavors our customers love,” said Erfan.
Verdict
We do think they could put more thought into differentiating the flavours between the tacos and the doner.
That being said, definitely try their birria tacos, and their chicken doner is also worth a shot if you want to try something simple yet comforting. What stood out the most for us, though, was their topnotch service.
The staff was helpful, accommodating, and cheerful. We would go back for their unusual yet satisfying take on the birria tacos and their service.
