Blue subway tiles, seagrass matted chairs and breezy harbour views are a sleek backdrop for Anason, the Turkish meyhane-style restaurant (a style of Turkish bar that serves traditional seafood-focused mezze with wine or raki) from industry veteran Somer Sivrioglu of Efendy. It’s a style that translates well in Sydney on the bustling Barangaroo wharf.

A copper carafe brimming with a Turkish Isabey chardonnay is poured at the table, a refreshing companion to a tangy starter of Sivrioglu’s atom – a thick labne yoghurt glistening with a slick of burnt butter and chilli and roasted curly peppers. Simit, the ubiquitous street cart bagel-like bread of Turkey is fresh, doughy and covered in smoky toasted sesame seeds.

The adventurous diner will be intrigued finding sucuk, a traditional spicy sausage commonly made from beef, made from camel and served with beetroot and flecks of pistachio. The dolma are standout – little delicate tubes of calamari unusually but enjoyably stuffed with salty kashar cheese and shanklish (zaatar and Aleppo pepper-spiked cheese).

It’s a go-with-a-group venue to be able to order the full span of the menu, and with the boats carving up the water just beyond the table, you could almost be in a meyhane on the mighty Bosphorous.

Must eat dish: calamari dolma
Instagram: @anasonmezebar