Just Open: Tulum, Balaclava

If his 1000-watt smile is anything to go by, Istanbul-born Coskun Uysal​ might just be the happiest chef in Melbourne.

After 12 years of travelling back and forth from Turkey to cook atthe River Cafe and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen in London (and our own Attica and Pei Modern), he opened his first solo venue last week.

It's a modern Turkish restaurant, named for his favourite cheese, and there's not a kebab skewer in sight. "This is what restaurants look like in Istanbul at the moment. This is the modern style," says Uysal of the pared-back fitout of polished concrete floors, hand-made turquoise tiles and traditional ladles used to make tarhana (a dehydrated tomato soup base) that remind him of his mother.

The menu takes its cues from childhood recipes too, which are given a modern spin in collaboration with head chef and old friend and Istanbul native Murat Ovaz​, who was most recently at Colin Fassnidge's Four in Hand in Sydney.

A traditional one-pot vegetable stew has been deconstructed: organic leeks slow-braised in orange juice and olive oil are served with a puree of tea-soaked prunes, raw carrots sweetened with molasses and puffed rice for crunch, while a crispy-skinned duck breast served on baharat-spiced freekeh with an earthy black tahini (painstakingly made in-house) should be on your hit list.

Open Tue-Sat 5pm-11pm.

217 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, 03 9525 9127, tulumrestaurant.com.au