A York restaurant has started to serve modern Turkish cuisine – and showing that there’s way more to it than just kebabs.
Trio Kitchen & Bar, on Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, has revealed a new menu that aims to showcase the variety of Turkish food.
New chef Aydin Caliskan, from south Turkey, is bringing traditional cooking with a twist of British ingredients – and it’s a match that’s been a hit with customers.
Aydin first studied engineering before attending culinary school in Turkey and training to be a chef. He’s spent seven years as a professional chef, and first came to the UK four months ago.
“York is a beautiful city,” chef Aydin told YorkMix. “You can smell the history when you walk. There’s some amazing food around here.”
Aydin is passionate about bringing a style of Turkish cuisine that people may not be familiar with to York, and creating a concept at Trio where people can ‘eat their way’ around the different regions of the country.
“The main problem is when you think Turkey, most people just think of kebab,” he explained. “They don’t think seafood, but it’s amazing seafood.
“We want to be different, we want to be a good example of every part of Turkey.”
The mussels (£9.95) are a favourite at Trio. “The sauce is so unique.” The sauce remains a secret, but Aydin reveals that it contains soy sauce and garlic, among other ingredients.
The bestseller at Trio is a dish called Pachanga (£8.95), which is spicy sausage, fresh tomatoes, peppers, and mozzarella wrapped in baklava filo pastry.
“We are making traditional dishes but the ingredients inside are not from Turkey, as there is pork inside the Pachanga.
“In a restaurant you can have the traditional techniques but you have to add some twists in there, because there’s a wide variety of people and tastes.”
Another popular dish is Dövmeç (£5.95) – a smashed charcoal grilled aubergine dip with peppers, fresh tomato and garlic, served with bread.
Trio will also have daily specials, to showcase more dishes inspired by the country’s cuisine.
“In here, we don’t want people to get bored.”
The new menu has been going down a treat with Trio’s customers.
“The feedback that we get from customers is phenomenal,” said Matt Simsek, manager at Trio. “They see the time and effort put into the dishes.
“Our chef has certain dishes that he’s put into this venue alone, and he’s using the organic products of England to give a taste that you wouldn’t even have in Turkey,” he continued.
“It can’t be fresher than it is right here – we get all locally sourced everything. Locally sourced meats, everything is handcrafted here. Everything is done in house.”
To find out more or to book your table, visit the Trio Kitchen & Bar website.
