Turkish Restaurant Esnaf Opens in San Carlos
-
Loading... - Dendera Abdo
- 27 Jun 2024
- 418 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
San Carlos welcomes a new culinary addition with the opening of Esnaf, a Turkish restaurant, on June 15. Located at 1105 San Carlos Ave., the former site of Cuisinett, Esnaf serves traditional Turkish dishes such as girit (a mix of Turkish cheeses and herbs), Izmir kofte, and mercimek corbasi (lentil soup).
“Many Turkish entrepreneurs open Mediterranean restaurants because the cuisine of that area is more familiar to people here, but we want to showcase the amazing and diverse food of Turkey,” said Cansel Tok, co-owner of Esnaf.
The name "Esnaf" is derived from the Turkish word for artisan business. In Turkey, esnaf lokantasi refers to cafeteria-style restaurants serving nostalgic, home-cooked meals often prepared by women. Tok aims to introduce diners to Turkish cuisine influenced by Central Asian and Middle Eastern ingredients and combinations.
“Our food is more than just kabobs,” Tok emphasized.
Tok met her business partner, Sedri Gundogdu, in 2019 when he hired her as a server at his Northern Italian restaurant Pranzi on Laurel Street.
“I had just graduated college in Turkey and had come to the Bay Area to learn English,” Tok explained. “Not long after I started working for Sedri, we began talking about how San Carlos didn’t have a Turkish restaurant and he said, ‘Find a location and we’ll do it together.’”
After several months of planning, they signed the lease and transformed the space into a warm and modern dining room with muted limestone-washed walls, imported Turkish ceramics, and airy rattan light fixtures. Tok collaborated with Hayward-based Statuswood on the design concept. The team also created custom-built wood features like the cabinet and narrow counter at the entrance, the rear banquette, and the solid walnut dining tables.
“The space feels like the small restaurants that sit on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, places that are so beautiful and relaxing that you never want to leave,” Gundogdu said.
With a new bread oven for baking pita and pides, and a Turkish chef and kitchen staff, the menu balances recognizable dishes like mani and kofte with unique offerings such as stuffed cabbage rolls.
“The ispanakli pide uses tulum cheese, which is a goat cheese from my hometown of Erzincan,” Tok shared.
Gundogdu and Tok also plan to expand their freshly baked bread offerings, using flour imported from Turkey. They will soon serve a traditional Turkish breakfast, featuring house-baked sesame simit, eggs, olives, cheese, fruit, and Turkish coffee.
Esnaf promises to provide a rich and diverse dining experience, showcasing the best of Turkish cuisine to the San Carlos community.
