Topkapi Turkish Restaurant

LOCATION
A new addition to Fortitude Valley’s Brunswick Street Mall food and entertainment scene.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Tucked up half a dozen or so stairs, off the infamous perils of the Brunswick Street Mall, a colourful ethnic sultan’s restaurant awaits. Bowls of thick and steamy lentil soup, platters of delectable dolmades, skewers of tender lamb and tasty slow-cooked chicken shish-kebabs are on offer for the ravenous lunch or dinner guest. One thing that this place excels in is scrumptious dips served with freshly-baked, fluffy Turkish bread. We fought over the sartsula (a blended mixture of eggplant, capsicum, onion, garlic and tomato), a traditional chickpea hummus and a delicately minty dill-and-yogurt-based haydari. Add a flare of Mediterranean to the mix, some seafood and a few pasta numbers, and this spruced-up menu will keep you busy for many a night – without pinching the sleeves of your wallet.

If you know what pide is I am guessing that you’re already salivating. If you don’t, listen up! Pide is the delicious flat bread commonly known as “pitta”, “pita” or “pite” ... it is “pide” to the Turkish! The name is somewhat irrelevant though, clearly it all comes down to what savouries adorn it. Topkapi’s specialties include a tasty vegetarian, loaded with spinach, onion, mushrooms, olives, tomato and tasty cheese, the traditional kiymali with seasoned beef mince and parsley, and the Topkapi mixed special which brims with salami, parsley, fetta, capsicum, spinach, onion and eggs. Don’t leave without trying (or at least buying) a serve or two of the traditional baklava with roasted walnuts – a must at any Turkish place.

Katharine Chapman