Kervan 2 Re-opens as Sapphire

[Jason Perlow]

Just noticed in Tenafly that Kervan 2 on River Edge Road, the middle eastern restaurant, has re-opened as Sapphire. There are grand reopening signs and banners there, so this must have happened recently.

Has anyone tried it yet? Apparently they have many of the same menu items as Kervan did but they have some new stuff as well. New owners.

[Rosie]

Do you have exact address and phone #?  

[Jason Perlow]

I had them fax me their menu this afternoon.

Sapphire "Fine Mediterranean and Turkish Cuisine"

Tel (201)871-4550 / (201) 871-4568

37 River Edge Road, Tenafly NJ 07670

Notice the absence of the words "Middle Eastern" which graced the restaurant before.

[Rail Paul]

Is Kervan 2 / Sapphire related to the Kervan in Cliffside Park reviewed by Jim Leff in the NY Times NJ section? Alpha Dog seemed to like it a lot.

Nice review, phone number is 201-945-7227. Address is 360 Lawton Avenue.

[Jason Perlow]

Kervan 2 -was- the Tenafly branch of the restaurant Leff reviewed in Cliffside Park. Soon after the WTC disaster, the restaurant was vandalized and it was sold to new owners after that.

The re-opened restaurant is called Sapphire and has a Turkish-mediterranean menu. My understanding is they kept a good amount of the staff, but I have not tried it yet. They still have banners outside the restaurant, which means this happened very recently.

[Jason Perlow]

Rachel, Jhlurie and I went to Sapphire this evening -- so here's the scoop.

Kervan 2 was bought by owners nephew and reopened as Sapphire -- so the place is literally still in the family, and all of the existing kitchen staff is still there. Apparently, the original owner (who also owns Kervan in Cliffside Park) is going to retire shortly, so the original Kervan restaurant is also up for sale.

In any case, Sapphire has breathed new life back into their old menu -- while the old kebab favorites are there, there are many new dishes, and overall I think everything tastes fresher and better. Notable example -- the bread appears to be fresher, comes out piping hot, and the appetizers seem to have a fresher appearance as well. In many ways, I felt Sapphire surpasses the original Kervan in Clifside, I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Sapphire has many kinds of mezze on the appetizer menu, so I asked the waiter to prepare for us a mixed platter (ฟ.00) which included caviar/yogurt dip (Jhlurie's fave), a smoky/creamy Babaghanoush, Turkish Eggplant Salad (a stringier, more peppery kind of babaghanoush) , Eggplant/tomato/onion salad, Lebni (yogurt and spices mixed with chopped walnuts) and a creamy, nutty tasting Hummus. Everything was excellent.

For entrees, Jhlurie ordered the Beyti Kebab (ground lamb mixed with spices grilled on a skewer) which came with a rice pilaf and grilled chile pepper (hot!) and onion salad. Rachel had a braised lamb shank which was in a tomatoey base with potatoes and other vegetables, I didnt try it, both of them finished everything on their plates so I take it they liked what they ate.

I decided to try one of the new dishes -- which had a really complex name, but was essentially a trio of stuffed grilled vegetables -- a mixture of rice, lamb and beef is stuffed into a zucchini, a pepper, and an eggplant. I finished the whole dish with some help from the other two, very tasty, this one can easily be shared. I liked it a lot but I think its probably too much stuffed stuff, it gets a bit monotonous, so I would order this and split it between two people and perhaps order a kebab entree as well.

We didnt have coffee or anything because we were so full from the huge appetizer platter and our main dishes, but I plan to try their turkish coffee and their baklava selection. All in all I'd have to say Sapphire is probably going to become the eminent middle eastern restaurant in the Begeren County area, they are that good.

Goodbye Kervan... Hello Sapphire!