Malika Bakehouse brings Turkish cafe fare to Surry Hills, Sydney - Cafes

Jul 03, 2023

And yes, it has a Turkish big breakfast.

Malika means ‘queen’ in Arabic. And if the executive chef behind the new Turkish bakery and café in Sydney’s Surry Hills has anything to do with it, Malika Bakehouse will be “the queen of all the bakeries”. Efe Topuzlu says the Turkish bakery on Crown St will have all the signature sweet and savoury goods as Malika Bakehouse, its sister venue in Botany.

“Breakfast is a ritual in Istanbul, where I grew up. You sit with your family and friends for hours. It’s the most social meal of the day. It’s a very special occasion,” says Efe.

Efe says the new venue will serve the signature sweet and savoury options that have proved so popular at the Botany Road outlet. He says there’ll be everything from house-baked sesame simit sandwiches with different fillings to all-day brunches such as menemen (Turkish chilli scrambled eggs) and the hugely popular Turkish big breakfast.

“Botany Road has been open a year and a half and we got such a great response, so we’ve essentially rolled out the same concept. Same menu, same prices, same orange-and-green colour scheme, different location,” he says.

Malika Bakehouse. Source: NewsCorp

“There are gaps in the market for Turkish food in Sydney and Malika Bakehouse will find its niche in Surry Hills,” says Efe, who has opened four venues with business partner Ozgur Sefkatli in the past four years. Efe and Oskar both grew up in Istanbul, but met in Sydney. “Oskar was raised on the Asian side and I was raised on the European side. We met in Sydney and became like brothers. Four different venues is a lot in four years but we are giving the people of Sydney what they want. We’ve listened to the feedback,” he says.

Efe describes Malika Bakehouse as “a bit of a game-changer”. He says if he were to present what is referred to as Turkish bread in Australia to a Turkish person in Istanbul “they would not even look at it”.

“The shape of our Turkish pide is different. We know what real Turkish bread is like and we try and get it as authentic as possible. Some come to us for the bread only. It’s that good. We also serve Deluca coffee,” he says.

Ozgur says the 60 sq. metre space will have indoor and outdoor booth seating for 35 and a picture window to showcase the production of baked goods such as börek and künefe (Turkish sweet cheese pastry). “Customers will be able to see us playing with the dough. It’s part of the fun,” he says.

Malika Bakehouse. Source: NewsCorp