REVIEW
Perhaps it’s the glowy backlighting, moody as all get-out. Or maybe it’s the genuine sense of hospitality, instantly evident in the bright-eyed welcome. But what strikes you almost immediately is Tulum’s rare sense of warmth, which percolates through the entire dining experience that follows. In his quest to “rethink the Anatolian kitchen”, chef-owner Coskun Uysal has forged a startlingly original vision of Turkish cuisine. Take the içli köfte – or lamb kibbeh – reimagined as a slender pie slice, given crunch and complexity from walnuts, currants, cumin and buttermilk garlic sauce. Or dolma-style sardines dressed with tart sumac tea, wrapped around cinnamon-fragrant lemon rice. Supple, marble-sized manti soaked in brown butter and garlic yoghurt, meanwhile, are a win for the purists, while the shredded chicken and milk pudding known as tavuk göğsü, teamed with lemon thyme ice-cream, upends tradition in just the right way. There’s nothing else quite like it.
ABOUT
Tulum
Turkish
217 Carlisle St, Balaclava
(03) 9525 9127
Chef Coskun Uysal
Price guide $
Bookings Recommended
Wheelchair access No
Open Lunch Sat; Dinner Tue-Sat
This review was written independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way. To learn more about the process, head over here.
Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Guide
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot of the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national guide.
