After a very long day of sightseeing, 3 Vegans went in search of a healthy vegan dinner. The vegan restaurant at which we planned to dine on this Sunday evening had already closed its doors. We were told by the wait staff at another nearby restaurant that there was no possible way to make even its vegetarian options vegan. When we stopped at Lokkonta Meze & Barbecue to peruse its menu, one of the staff came out to the sidewalk to help us. We decided to give the restaurant a try, and we were not disappointed! Our wait person, Kayra, explained and suggested vegan cold meze for a 6 meze platter. He also recommended the vegetable kebab platter. The dishes were served with pita bread, and both were delicious! We were also treated to a rose-scented sweet. Kayra, Chef Can, and Dogukan all made our dining experience a wonderful way to end a fabulous day!

Lokkanta serves Turkish food, but more along the street food variety. Don't get me wrong, what they do, they do quite well, but don't expect fancy Turkish food here. What's available is similar to what you may see on a Lebanese menu with different names and spices.

They do a lot of grilled meats and doners (think shawarma)

We were given a plate of meze  - hummus, a yoghurt dip, tomato based salsa and some pickled vegetable salad with thin strips of lavash like bread - complimentary while we waited for our food.

The lamb borek was lovely - mildly flavoured meat in a beautiful crisp outside tender inside pastry wrap. Think of it as a cross between a samosa and a spring roll.

For mains I ordered the lamb iskander kebab - doner/shawarma slices of lamb on a bed of crisp fried bread squares with toppings of tomato sauce and beautiful thick yoghurt and a side offering of garlic sauce and their chunky chilli sauce.

Brother ordered the lamb chops which came with a small side salad on a bed of larger grain couscous. He loved the flavours.

I ordered Turkish tea that turned out to be just black tea (no mint, no Apple flavour - just served in a traditional Turkish shaped tea glass) brother had the ayran (yoghurt drink) which was pre-packaged, but he found it very refreshing.

Service was very sweet and friendly. Staff was always smiling easily. They know the menu and can help you make a choice if you need it.

We were quite stuffed with this meal, but had to end with baklava. Their pastry layers are much thinner than most baklava that I've tried in this city - almost filmy, not too sugary. Personally I like a bit more crunch from the nuts in my baklava, but this was a more refined version and hence the nuts were really finely crushed.

We also got 2 pieces of lokum (Turkish delight) complimentary with our bill and it was so good, that next time I'll ordered the lokum rather than the baklava.