My colleague grins, “It could’ve happened to anyone.”

But let’s start at the beginning.

Sultan, a Turkish grill restaurant, caught our attention during our strolls around Kville. It always appeared as a reliable grill and meze place, and its ambitious website boasted a scrumptious array of offerings: Lahmacun (flatbread with minced meat topping), Adana (lamb skewers), and Tavuk Pizrola (grilled chicken), to name a few.

Sultan also seemed highly attentive to its branding. Their logo adorned everything from saltshakers, napkins, cups, and plates, to walls and tables. The place was also clean, fresh, inviting, and relaxing. The salad bar was remarkable. However, if they aspire to become a franchise, which we strongly suspect, reevaluating their service might be… prudent. Here’s what happened.

As I ordered, already set on the beautifully charcoal-grilled Adana (I’ve never been surer of anything in my life), the server caught me off guard, suggesting, “You should really have the beef with potato gratin. It’s delicious.”

Such unanticipated contra-suggestions tend to render my brain inactive. Determined to eat one thing, I was suddenly confronted with an alternative I perceived as non-negotiable. This unnerved me. Internally, I frantically tried justifying my choice. Not wanting to appear foolish or demanding, I opted against exploring other options and instead engaged in a masterful act of self-deception: “That looks great, thanks. It really does. I’ve been craving this all week.”

You might question my fixation on this cognitive dissonance. Perhaps it’s because my colleague, who ordered after me, didn’t yield an inch and thus ended up with an awesome plate of food – the lamb skewers. Consequently, I found myself eating a meal reminiscent of a high school reunion. Golf club lunch. Hospital food. It wasn’t bad. It was just not what I had prepared for.

How to evaluate Sultan? I’m uncertain. It genuinely seems like a nice place. Once again, all faults and shortcomings are entirely my own. (And I can’t understand how I keep ending up in these predicaments.) As our policy is to only rate food we willingly order, we’ll need to return for a second attempt.

• Name and address: Sultan Kolgrill & Meze
• Cuisine: we’ll see
• Distance from Zenseact: a 15-minute walk
• Price: 99 sek
• Rating: N/A (Norra Älvstranden Culinary Assessment Program)

We’ll return shortly with another review. In the meantime, heed the great Robert Frost’s advice and choose the road less traveled – a wise gastronomic approach and an outstanding professional mantra for every Zenseactian.