PROFILED BY DE GROOTSStop by Erciyes Restaurant (the “c” is pronounced as a “g”) on a Friday or Saturday night and you’re likely to find a lively room packed with punters eagerly sampling the authentic Turkish food on offer and taking in the live belly dancing shows. Taking its name from Mount Erciyes, the highest mountain in Anatolia, this Surry Hills restaurant has been around for 20 years and heralded the arrival of Turkish cuisine in Sydney. Recently refurbished, Erciyes’ appears deceptively small from the outside, yet the dining room (with walls adorned with Turkish artworks and curiosities) seats 150, creating a very merry atmosphere when the restaurant is full.
The menu is filled with all sorts of tempting morsels. If you have trouble deciding and you’re dining in a group of four or more, the banquet menu is the best option. For $35 per person you are treated to a smorgasbord of Turkish delights including mixed dips, garden salad, Greek salad, meat and vegetarian pides, Iskender kebabs, a mixed grill, mixed dessert, and tea or coffee. If your appetite doesn’t quite warrant such a feast, try the popular lamb shish grill served with rice, garden salad and Turkish bread followed by baklava or Turkish delight. After dinner, show your skills or lack thereof and kick up your heels on the dance floor.
Shelley Hepworth, February 2007
