Konak Turkish Restaurant

4.1/5* The Feed Punchers ventured into Newtown to try out ‘Konak’, a traditional Turkish restaurant. The food was tasty, offering a variety of flavours, but the portions were very small, bringing the value down. The mixed Mezze contained a variety of Turkish inspired dips, including; Tzatziki, fava, muhammara, and of course, hummus. Accompanied with freshly baked pide, these dips were perfect. Our favourite component on the mezze came from the spicy capsicum flavours found in the muhammara dip. The Adana kebab was the next endeavour for the punchers - A lamb kebab accompanied by a bed of almond and currents rice, with onions. The lamb carried strong flavours of garlic, cumin and sumac. Cooked to perfection, mouthfuls accompanied with raw onion and rice made us feel as if we were in Turkey. The chicken shish spoke to us through a strong smokey profile. Brought out beside the smokey taste was prominent flavours of paprika, tomato and garlic. Again, accompanied by rice and onion. The lamb shish utilised lamb back-strap, a tender cut of meat which was perfectly complimented by the charcoal method of cooking. This lamb shish harnessed beautiful smoky flavours with paprika, cumin and garlic and was complimented by a citrusy lemon-sumac flavour. The Beyti tasted like a sausage roll with strong Turkish elements. It featured lamb mince intertwined with pistachio and strong tomato-paprika-capsicum flavours. This was rolled in a fried tortilla and served with yoghurt in bite sized pieces. The falafels were very moist, cooked very nicely with a golden herb crust. They paired nicely on the bed of hummus they were served on, topped with a sprinkle of sumac. The Sucuk was a pide which featured; Sausage, egg and mixed cheese. Topped with fresh coriander, it was like a wood fired pizza in taste. Overall, Konak presented the Feed Punchers with a tasty array of Turkish flavours, but fell short in portion sizes. Two little kebab sticks for $34 is offensive.

Feed Punchers

Our time at Konak was good. The restaurant offers a decent variety of dishes and is conveniently located in the heart of Newtown. The food was satisfactory, providing a good overall experience. Additionally, the prices are quite reasonable, making it an affordable option.

Wellington Silva

Wonderful meal with authentic flavours. Won’t say that I am an expert with Turkish cuisine but this was amazing. Great food, very well priced and just all so delicious. Kids can eat here too as they provide high chairs. My only concern about this place is the narrow steps that go up to the indoor dining area!

Joshua Lee

Bread is the star, with the woodfiree pide here, as it should be - it is freshly baked and fluffy inside and a thin crisp top - all the textures that you don't find in most pide elsewhere in Sydney. You'll smell that fresh bread as you walk in, and the smoke of skewers cooked over charcoal. The lamb kebabs are decent, they come with rice so if your entourage is getting multiple I recommend getting at least one Ali Nazik style which instead of rice puts it in smokey eggplant and yoghurt. It looks a little cramped from the front but there is a second floor and an enclosed area out the back, so usually there is actually plenty of room. The place itself is casual but has a background with owners being from Pasha's next door and long standing Sydney home of Turkish pide at Erciyes. The pide here is what you get when you give Erciyes a woodfired oven instead of electric, just a huge upgrade.

Paul Nguyen

Yum! Great food, it’s a bit different to the usual things you’d expect from this cuisine so I loved that! Felt like I was exposed to some really delicious dishes I didn’t know about otherwise, and everything was very affordable. Staff are very friendly as well.

Rachel R