We’ve loved the rich flavours and textures of Turkish cuisine since our visit to Turkey a little while back, so we were thrilled to find that the newly opened Anatolia in Clemton Park has brought a slice of that to Sydney, complete with dramatic lighting details and authentic ingredients that brought us right back to our trip.
Although it was lunchtime when we arrived at Anatolia, their set breakfast (Turk Kahvaltisi) for $30 a head was still going strong as it runs from 10am to 2pm on weekends, so we ended up going with that to share between two and we were blown away by how much food was on offer.
The Turkish breakfast spread which came out artfully presented on a huge wooden board was amazing on its own, with a variety of savoury flavours for pairing with the soft breads and some olives too to get the tastebuds going – we especially liked the chilli relish dip, spicy cured meat slivers and the chewy cheese on the platter. We also enjoyed the borek sticks in the bread basket, featuring thin, flaky filo pastry and a delicious filling.
There were also two hot options served on the side which we enjoyed – both featured eggs, but were matched with different ingredients. The first was the menemen which was baked eggs served with tomato, capsicum and chilli for a bit of a kick and tasted great mopped up with the bread on the side. The fried egg option featured sujuk, which is a spicy Turkish sausage and was packed full of flavour.
We were pretty full by this stage from all the flavoursome savoury dishes, but definitely could not pass up the delectable sweet dip options for the bread like tahini, honey cream, rosewater and cherry jams which we slowly grazed on for a while. We also enjoyed nibbling on the halva which is like a compact nugget of nutty fairy floss in terms of flavour and texture, accompanied by some Turkish tea and Turkish coffee (served in the prettiest cups we’ve ever seen!)
To finish, we balanced out all the carbs with some fresh watermelon, strawberries and honeydew melon as well as some refreshing fruit juices – the Pinky Juice hit the spot with the mix of watermelon, orange and strawberries while the Pear Me also worked with its more tropical blend of pineapple, pear, apple and mint.
Pinky Juice and Pear Me, $7 each
We were impressed by the contemporary Turkish decor at Anatolia, which elevates it beyond the standard suburban restaurant. Anatolia’s offering fits nicely into the bustling vibe in the gentrified residential precinct within the little-known suburb of Clemton Park (next door to Campsie) and the breakfast set menu alone makes it worth the visit, especially for group gatherings.
Excuse Me Waiter dined as guests of Anatolia
Anatolia
16/5 Mackinder Street, Campsie NSW 2194
Phone: (02) 8731 1876
