text: Turkish cuisine is not necesarily as chic or in vogue or as easy to find as it is Mediteranean neighbours on the high street So I was quite bemused when I first stumbled across Cafe Truva Chic it is not but authentic it most certainly is nnAfter hours of ambling along the Water of Leith walkway my friend and I were in need of lunch Cafe Truva stood like a beacon on its corner and I admit it did look a bit oddly placed With no other cafes or bars around it seemed to not quite fit in But after eating drinking and relaxing there I can understand whynnIt has a homely open and airy feel The tables and chairs are a bit rickety in fact the whole place feels like it has not been revamped in at least years This is not a bad thing It has charm And some aspects of the decoration were quite stunning I immediately liked it It was Turkish in essence and so was not trying to be Turkish nnThe menu was reassuringly bizarre English translations were limited and I did not know what half of the things were The cakes on display were unlike most I have seen in regular Edinburgh cafes Turkish delight of course but many other cakes that I must go back and trynnI had the lamb meatballs and my friend the feta and spinach pastry parcels There were real Turkish names for these dishes and I am afraid I cannot remember them I feel so fake Tasty meaty cheesy tomatoey goodness Not blowyoursocks tasty like the other Turkish restaurant I have reviewed but I think because the cuisine was cafe style rather than restaurant The side salad was presented in a dated and generic manner with a few bits of iceberg lettuce some cubes of feta and a few olives I think in comparison to the many other nouveaumed cafes around that are bang on trend it seemed a littlelacking nnBut then my friend ordered a coffee and I was very impressed by how it came It was real genyooan Turkish coffee It came with a small cup a medium sized metal pot that you steeped for a while then served It was sweeter than normal coffee but also darker and richer Like nothing I have ever tried And it complimented the cake we shared wonderfully an intensely sweet gooey layered honey and nuts creation Again authentic and again I cannot remember its namennCafe Truva is a slightly odd creature but it has charm It is authentically authenitc rather than hamming it up for the tourists authentic It feels like its been lifted straight from a Turkish village circa that the locals visited for their afternoon coffee and cake It is not trying to impress the ladieswholunch crowd or compete with other nouveaumed joints nnI would not say to take a trip out here just for this cafe But I would say if you are in the area go and if you go order the coffee and a sticky sweet cake And the meatballs although not necesarily in that order