Yagiz

An Anatolian adventure awaits at Yagiz. High on Toorak Rd, young chef Murat Ovaz is reinterpreting the cuisine of his homeland into the food of Melbourne today.

Pan-seared duck.

22 Toorak Rd, South Yarra

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yagiz.com.au

An Anatolian adventure awaits at Yagiz. High on Toorak Rd, young chef Murat Ovaz is reinterpreting the cuisine of his homeland into the food of Melbourne today.

From the opening snacks – a crisp ‘cigar’ filled with confit duck; a fat mackerel ‘meatball’ – through to a knockout tarama topped with crab and trout roe to scoop onto puffy fried bread, this is Turkish, but not as we’ve known it.

Arnavut Cigeri - lamb liver, garden herbs. Picture: Rebecca Michael

Yagiz’s dining room.

And while there are some misses from the kitchen – shish kebab served cold; bland bulgur-crumbed calamari – there’s no faulting the gold-handled pan of lamb liver that’s finely diced, fried, and served with labne and a scattering of herbs.

Also great: pan-fried pine mushrooms served on a cloud of cheesy cornmeal, like a Turkish polenta.

Service, though sweet natured, could do with a sharper focus, but the team is well drilled in the handful of Turkish wines on an otherwise local-leaning list.

Must eat dish: Millama (pine mushrooms with ezine cheese)

Cuisine: Turkish

Chef: Murat Ovaz

Price: $$

Open: Lunch Fri-Sat; Dinner Mon-Sat

Bookings: Yes

BYO: No

Instagram: @yagiz.melbourne