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For Sydney chef Somer Sivrioglu, one of the perks of spending half the year as co-host of MasterChef Turkey is his exposure to a wide array of Turkish hospitality talent. And two of those finds, mixologists Emre Bilgin and Berk Abdullahoglu, will form the backbone of cocktail bar and eatery Baharat, which opens in Sydney this week.

Bilgin arrives in Sydney via Istanbul bar Geyik, while Abdullahoglu has dive bar Kaia on his CV. With the drinks covered, Sivrioglu will add inspiration to the other side of the business, a casual eatery and spice shop.

Baharat’s food direction has its roots in trial and error. Last year, Sivrioglu – who also co-owns Anason restaurant – opened Tombik at Barangaroo, specialising in authentic Turkish kebabs.

The kebabs, made in-house, were the real deal and while the concept worked at lunchtime, “customers didn’t take the bar part seriously at night”.

So they ditched the kebab machinery and drafted Jordan Design Studio to give the space a makeover. Part of that refit includes shelves lined with spice jars and a fixed window that now showcases cured meats rather than a huge doner kebab.

“Baharat means spice,” Sivrioglu says. “It’s such a great name we thought it would already be taken.”

The spice theme touches the drinks list, with Bilgin and Abdullahoglu pouring sumac and black salt margarita and barrel-spiced negroni, while the food will sweep dips and lahmacun (Turkish pizza), pide topped with three Anatolian cheeses, and falafels with condiments

Baharat will have a DJ regular pumping out ’70s Turkish psychedelic rock.

Sivrioglu is keen to showcase lesser-known spices from his homeland.

“We believe that every spice has a story, and we are dedicated to sharing those stories with our customers, imparting knowledge and promoting cultural understanding,” he says.

Open Mon-Fri noon-late; Sat 5pm-late

Tower One, 100 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo