Don’t be fooled by the glowing neon sign. Maydanoz is not here to sober you up before your nightride home.

Sydney’s newest Turkish restaurant specialises in the vibrant vegetable-based fare from the western Aegean coastline. If you’re after a late night kebab, then you’d better keep walking. 

The new CBD restaurant is the latest offering from celebrity chef Somer Sivrioğlu, who opened the doors to Maydanoz just one week before jetting off to Istanbul to shoot the latest season of MasterChef Turkey. 

His TV star status doesn’t quite extend to Australia, where Sivrioğlu is best known for his restaurants, including the recently relocated Efendy (it’s in Istanbul now) as well as Anason and Tombik. 

Related review: Anason, Sydney: truly a Turkish delight

Maydanoz, by contrast, is a plant-based diner named after the Turkish word for parsley. You won’t find it as a kitsch decoration on your dips, but you will taste it in the Zamrut, a refreshing apple, lime and rum cocktail that has all the fresh flavours of a green juice with the benefit of a little booze.  

Parsley also springs up on the cilbir, a tartine of garlic toast topped with just-set quail eggs and sprinkled with sweet-hot marash pepper. 

The menu skips over the skewered meats, but who needs ‘em when you can have a chargrilled haloumi kebab, glazed in a honey sesame sauce and served on a tabletop grill (shawarma who?). 

Sivrioğlu sets the record straight with his imam biyaldi, which arrives in a tepid tomato and bullhorn pepper broth. It’s smoked in house and served at room temperature – the way it should be, but seldom is. 

As for the prettiest dish award, that goes to the jajik. It is reinvented here with coconut yoghurt and topped with a headdress of coconut shavings, charred cukes and garlic flowers, though it’s a little light on flavour. We much prefer the carrot hummus, which combines the sweetness of carrot with the earthiness of chickpeas, finished with roasted nuts and seeds for crunch.

The menu is not completely without meat (hello, sheep’s head wedding soup), but as tempting as that sounds (it’s the wedding part that scared us off) we opt for the tencere-style chicken instead. This claypot-style casserole is filled with bulgur pilaf, hunks of tomato and peppers, and juicy charcoal chicken pieces like something your Turkish grandmother would make. 

That homeliness extends to the interiors, which have been decked in blue and green in homage to the Aegean. Copper pots adorn the walls, while a collection of gourds make a generous, country display.  

It’s hard to miss the vertical wine library, which reveals a strapping display of imported vinos from the Turkish coastline. Although, we think they look even better in the glass. Expect mineral-rich whites like Narince, Kolorko and Yapincak and delicate and floral reds like Papaskarasi, Calkarasi and Karalahna, poured alongside Turkish beers like Efes. 

To cap off your evening, we can’t recommend the Turkish coffee and date martini strongly enough. Just don’t have too many, there’s not a kebab shop near by.