An Anatolian adventure awaits at Yagiz. High on Toorak Rd, young chef Murat Ovaz is reinterpreting the cuisine of his homeland into the food of Melbourne today. 

From the opening snacks – a crisp ‘cigar’ filled with confit duck; a fat mackerel ‘meatball’ – through to a knockout tarama topped with crab and trout roe to scoop onto puffy fried bread, this is Turkish, but not as we’ve known it. 

And while there are some misses from the kitchen – shish kebab served cold; bland bulgur-crumbed calamari – there’s no faulting the gold-handled pan of lamb liver that’s finely diced, fried, and served with labne and a scattering of herbs. Also great: pan-fried pine mushrooms served on a cloud of cheesy cornmeal, like a Turkish polenta. 

Service, though sweet natured, could do with a sharper focus, but the team is well drilled in the handful of Turkish wines on an otherwise local-leaning list. 

Must Eat Dish: Millama (pine mushrooms with ezine cheese)