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San Carlos now has a Turkish restaurant. Esnaf opened on June 15 in the former Cuisinett space at 1105 San Carlos Ave. and serves traditional Turkish food like girit (a mix of Turkish cheeses and herbs), Izmir kofte and mercimek corbasi (lentil soup).
“Many Turkish entrepreneurs open Mediterranean restaurants because the cuisine of that area is more familiar to people here, but we want to showcase the amazing and diverse food of Turkey,” said Cansel Tok, co-owner of Esnaf.
The name, Esnaf, comes from the Turkish word for artisan business. In Turkey, esnaf lokantasi are cafeteria-style restaurants that serve nostalgic foods often prepared by women in the home. Tok hopes to introduce diners to Turkish dishes influenced by Central Asia and Middle Eastern ingredients and combinations.
“Our food is more than just kabobs,” she said.
Tok met her business partner Sedri Gundogdu in 2019 when he hired her as a server at his Northern Italian restaurant Pranzi on Laurel Street.
“I had just graduated college in Turkey and had come to the Bay Area to learn English,” Tok said. “Not long after I started working for Sedri, we began talking about how San Carlos didn’t have a Turkish restaurant and he said, ‘Find a location and we’ll do it together.’”
Several months ago they signed the lease and transformed the space into a warm and modern dining room with muted limestone-washed walls, imported Turkish ceramics and airy rattan light fixtures. Tok worked with Hayward-based Statuswood on the design concept. The team also created custom-built wood features like the cabinet and narrow counter at the entrance, the rear banquette and the solid walnut dining tables.
“The space feels like the small restaurants that sit on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, places that are so beautiful and relaxing that you never want to leave,” Gundogdu said.
With a new bread oven to bake pita and pides and a Turkish chef and kitchen staff, the menu provides a good balance of recognizable dishes like mani and kofte with dishes like stuffed cabbage rolls that aren’t typically found on Turkish restaurant menus.
“The ispanakli pide uses tulum cheese, which is a goat cheese that comes from my hometown of Erzincan,” Tok said.
Gundogdu and Tok also plan on broadening their freshly baked bread offerings, using flour imported from Turkey. Soon the team will be serving a proper Turkish breakfast, with house-baked sesame simit, eggs, olives, cheese, fruit and Turkish coffee.
Esnaf, 1105 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos; 650-394-0244, Instagram: @esnaf.restaurant. Open Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m.