PROFILED BY DEGROOTS MEDIAShortly after winning Gourmet Traveller’s Best New Talent of 2007, Ismail Tosun closed the doors of his much acclaimed and incredibly popular Perth restaurant Eminem to howls of dismay. Now he’s here in Melbourne, in a tiny space in Collingwood where he has free rein to present his delicate and intensely personal approach to Turkish bar-style food. The setting is intimate, with only a few low tables and a dozen or so stools at the bar, and competition for a seat is fierce. A tangle of wires lead to low voltage globes that lend a warm glow, and wall mounted Turkish carpets and brightly coloured plates adorn the walls in a cosy fashion.
Large and small dishes are designed for sharing, with wines also designed to mix and match, available in 120, 300 and 500ml sizes. It’s the attention to detail and the intensity of flavours that make it such a pleasurable experience. Delight in the bread lightly dusted with cinnamon, a delicious little plate of peeled broad beans with garlic and aged vinegar, slow cooked flat green beans, sea salt and oregano spiced lamb cutlets, or chilli and cinnamon squab served on Jerusalem artichoke puree with hazelnut and beetroot salad. Desserts are subject to the chef’s whim, but might include such tiny little confections as candied pumpkin, bite-sized baklava or a magnificent Turkish delight-centred chocolate truffle on a bed of minty Persian floss. It’s a wonderfully low-key place to sit casually at the bar over a glass of wine and sample beautifully realised, fresh Turkish flavours.
Angela Costanzo, December 2008