Overview
There were rumours of a new Enmore opening by the Porteno crew in an old hair salon last year and it's finally happening. Say hello to Stanbuli — a kind of Turkish tapas bar opening on Enmore Road on December 9. With former Porteno chef Ibrahim Kasif behind the pass, you just know that the dishes cooked over hot coals will be top tier, but what else can we expect from Stanbuli?
The restaurant aims to give diners a good ol' Meyhane experience — drinks and meze basically. Proving Turkish cuisine isn't all kebabs, Kasif will be serving up tavern classics like fish sandwiches and stuffed mussels. As for the charcoal cooked meats, expect things like seftalia — little sausages wrapped in caul fat. It would just be wrong to have meze without raki, a Turkish aniseed spirit, so we're expecting a few varieties on the wine list.
Stanbuli is hidden behind the pink and purple façade of Marie-Louise Salon, which has somehow stayed untouched since the 1950s. Its interiors have been done by Sarah Doyle, the vintage queen and one of the co-owners of Porteno along with her husband Elvis Abrahanowicz and Joe Valore. On the bottom floor, you can dine at the marble bar seating or at the bar itself with its overhanging glasses and Turkish coffee trays. There's also table seating upstairs if you're dining with a larger group.
The Porteno crew have been pretty damn busy recently with Continental Deli opening in Newtown and the soon-to-be-revealed revamp of The Unicorn, and it looks like they've got a pretty convincing gem in Stanbuli. It's one of a slew of new restaurants (think The Gretz and Bauhaus West) solidifying Enmore as one of Sydney's most serious eating suburbs, and its location close by the Enmore Theatre makes it a prime contender for satisfying your post-show hunger.
Stanbuli is located at 135 Enmore Road, Enmore and is open Wed – Sat 6pm – late; Sun noon – 10pm.
Via Good Food
Image: Andrew Quilty.