Matee Turkish Restaurant, Newtown
When I am craving bread, in particular warm Turkish bread, I love to turn to a delicious Mixed Dips Platter. I convinced my boyfriend that to satisfy my craving I have to make my way down to bustling Newtown to find the famous Matee Turkish Restaurant.
Once inside I could smell the authentic Turkish food cooking in the front. We were escorted to the back to a sun basked room where we sat at a table with ornate cloths.
Hai and I ordered the Mixed Dips - it included Hummus, Carrot Dip, Babaghanoush, Chilli Dip and Tzatiki and a basket of warm fresh bread for only $19. I greedily tore apart bread and smeared generous amounts of freshly made dip all over, enjoying the rich flavors. My favorite were the Chilli Dip and Tzatiki.
We were nearly full when we realized I over-ordered because the Pides that came out next were of generous size. The huge Sucuklu Pide (Turkish salami, cheese and egg $15) and South King Street Pide (chicken, onion, capsicum, cheese and BBQ sauce $16) arrived fresh out of the oven on Wood Boards and it smelt wonderful. With a squeeze of lemon we tucked in. We ended up taking away more than half the Pides home but that was still a happy choice. I had to cancel my side of fries when I realized my ordering error. Everything was plentiful!
With full stomachs we walked out. I went into a Food Coma and strolled dazed onto the streets of Newtown. I was half focused when we spent the next forty minutes browsing the Vintage stores.
I will revisit whenever I have that fresh bread and delicious dips craving. Matee's quality and generous servings of food doesn't make it easy to forget and I'll be back again for sure (and I will order sensibly this time!).