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Restaurants

Erciyes Turkish Restaurant, Surry Hills

The entrance to Erciyes Turkish Restaurant is a little deceiving. You can easily mistake it for just a takeaway shop in Surry Hills with its Coca Cola signage. But alongside that section lies another space with a bar and a dining room decked out with Turkish insignia and carpets on the wall.

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Erciyes Turkish Restaurant, Surry Hills

In this odd mix of setting, you’ll find a modern space that serves tasty Turkish fare at reasonable prices. The restaurant is BYO and licensed but for the full experience, indulge in Rakı, the Turkish equivalent of Arak or Efes, a Turkish Beer.

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Rakı and Efes Turkish beer

The menu is divided into mezzes, side dishes, pide (meat and vegetarian), grills and kebabs. Banquets are available with a minimum of four persons starting at $40. On Fridays and Saturday nights, a belly dancer performs and the vibe gets a little lively with loud Turkish tunes during her performance.

The dishes shown below were ordered to share among four hungry diners. Every dish was flavoursome and passed the taste test from a Turkish-born friend, particularly the beetroot dip, fried zucchini, pastirmali and Iskender Kebab.

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Beetroot dip ($10)

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Cacik – cucumber, garlic, mint and yoghurt ($10)

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Turkish bread

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Kusbasili (flat) – Diced leg of lamb onion, tomato, capsicum, parsley and spices ($15)

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Fried eggplant $10

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Fried Zucchini ($5 each)

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Iskender Kebab – Layers of beef on chopped up Turkish bread, with yoghurt, garlic and traditional
Iskender sauce ($16)

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Pastirmali (folded) – Turkish style pastrami with cheese, egg and spices ($15)

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Mixed Grill – mixture of lamb cutlets, kofte, lamb and chicken shish ($39)

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Assorted sweets: Kadayif , Tulumba, Birdnest Baklava, Diamond baklava ($4 a piece)

You can choose dessert from the takeaway shop and have it there with a Turkish coffee or take it home to enjoy it at your own leisure. Each of the pieces is syrupy sweet and puts a sugary and satisfying end to your Turkish experience.

Erciyes Restaurant, Surry Hills
Belly Dancer

Erciyes Turkish Restaurant – Go there for: casual, cheerful and no fuss dining, easy drinking rakı with flavoursome Turkish food, fast service. And if you’re not inclined to have your Iskender Kebab interrupted by a shimmying belly dancer beckoning you up from the seat, just avoid eye contact. Afiyet olsun!

Erciyes Turkish Restaurant
409 Cleveland Street
Surry Hills NSW
erciyesrestaurant.com.au

About the author

Corinne Mossati

Corinne Mossati is a drinks writer, author of GROW YOUR OWN COCKTAIL GARDEN, SHRUBS & BOTANICAL SODAS and founder/editor of Gourmantic, Cocktails & Bars and The Gourmantic Garden. She has been writing extensively about spirits, cocktails, bars and cocktail gardening in more recent years. She is a spirits and cocktail competition judge, Icons of Whisky Australia nominee, contributor to Diageo Bar Academy, cocktail developer and is named in Australian Bartender Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential List. Her cocktail garden was featured on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and has won several awards. She is a contributor to Real World Gardener radio program and is featured in several publications including Pip Magazine, Organic Gardener, Australian Bartender and Breathe (UK). Read the full bio here.

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