I really don't get around as much as I used to; I guess both the pandemic and gas….well, prices as a whole have kind of put a damper on things. Back in May, "FOY" Kenneth sent me an email mentioning visiting Sultan at their "newish" location back in El Cajon and enjoyed their meal. Wow, Sultan, the place used to be a favorite of ours and we'd gladly make the drive out to El Cajon and Jamacha Road back in the day. In fact, Kenneth was the first FOY to recommend Sultan to us way back in 2011! Eventually, the restaurant moved to the Gaslamp. And I'd drop by that location, especially when on jury duty. My last visit was back in February of 2019. Eventually, Sultan moved their Baklava business to downtown El Cajon and in early 2023 I believe, Sultan Mediterranean Grill opened next door. Kenneth spurred me to add Sultan to my "revisit list".
As luck would have it; the Missus had a work thing in El Cajon and wanted me to drop Her off. I decided to do so and then pick Her up when things were done. It was a Sunday early evening, so I decided to try my luck at Sultan. Things seemed very quiet and I easily found parking across the street.
The restaurant has both an indoor and outdoor seating. The interior is quite "red". The drill here is that you order at the counter.
They don't have the mezzes I enjoy nor lahmacun on the menu, so I went with another old standby, the Adana Kebab ($18).
Soon enough my plate arrived. I loved the colors on my plate. The rice was fluffy and fragrant, the adana kebab, while not as full of various spices as the version during Sultan's heydays was surprisingly moist, tender, and very beefy.
I really didn't need the sauces as the pickled cabbage was quite potent and I used that with the green salad.
The only thing that I didn't much care for was the lavash, it had a nice lightly crisp texture, but was super salty.
Other than that, this was a nice meal. A nice reacquaintance to an old favorite, a place like I mentioned so many times inspired us to travel to Turkey. Food can do this. Before I left, I had a nice conversation with the gentleman working, I mentioned how much I used to enjoy the lahmacun and was told that the paperwork has been submitted for the permits necessary for the oven and that they'll be adding more dishes to the menu in the near future. Plus, Sultan is also open for breakfast. So, I guess I'll be returning shortly!
Sultan Baklava Mediterranean Grill
169 E Main St.
El Cajon, CA 92020
Current Hours:
Daily 9am – 9pm
After my early dinner I took a nice short stroll around the area. There's a lot of construction going on around Main Street and Downtown El Cajon.
It'll be interesting to see what else pops up in this area in the near future.
Thanks so much Ken for reminding me of Sultan and for the original recommendation over 13 years ago! You are truly a F(riend) O(f) Y(oso)!