Rustic Pearl

Overview

If you're looking for a hearty, hearty feast with Turkish flair, you can't go past Rustic Pearl. Sitting on Crown Street opposite the Clock Hotel, the Pearl was started by two Turkish friends who decided to put the delights of their homeland alongside Balkan and Mediterranean cuisines into a snuggly Sydney cafe.

Turkish classics like gozleme get a modern update with smoked wagyu, spinach, mixed mushrooms with pecorino and chargrilled Japanese scallops — this isn't your regular food stall gozleme. Friday and Saturday nights are dedicated to Meyhane, a Turkish version of Spanish tapas but with more yoghurt. There's big lunches like chargrilled Mediterranean lamb, Hungarian beef goulash and kipfler potato and lentil salad. Plus, if you're a fan of stuffed vegetables like eggplant and tomato, the team do specials heaving with the likes of spiced lamb and veal mince, or herb rice and garlic yogurt.

But alongside their infamous and addictive savoury treats, Rustic Pearl do a mean hot chocolate — Callebaut hot chocolate (it's one of our favourite hot choccies in Sydney). Served in either a cup ($5) or a bowl ($6), their citrus and orange blossom creation is one deliciously fragrant indulgence, and they do a rosewater version too. Combine this with a hearty breakfast of poached eggs with Brickfields toast, Australian clotted cream and organic honeycomb and you're starting your day off pretty damn well.