Istanbul Modern, Sultans' Brunch
In-PersonMission, San Francisco
SOLD OUT
$45.00
Restaurant
BYOW,Available for purchase
Banquet (20+ Guests)
greek, middle eastern, turkish
Gluten Free, Vegetarian
In-Person
The legacy of Istanbul, once Constantinople, the capital of four empires, is greater than meets the eye. It's the Bosphorus, Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean; Mesopotamia, Balkans, Anatolia, Caucasus, North Africa, and Persia. It's the palace and the countryside, the business capital and the cultural capital. It's a little Turkish, a little Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Arabic and Persian.
It's Istanbul Modern. We tell the story.
Menu detail
Simit and Yogurt Butter
Appetizer
Simit is the most consumed street food in Istanbul. It resembles a pretzel but it's baked with molasses and sesame seeds. On the streets of Istanbul it's served with 'smiling cow' brand cheese, the little triangles. We break bread with a yogurt butter.
Eggplant stew with caramelized farmers cheese
Appetizer
This is the lovechild of a couple dishes, the Bulgarian ajvar and the Turkish kopoglu but we serve it warm. We bring in the flavor of dates, pomegranates and our homemade preserved lemons onto the plate. The caramelized homemade farmers cheese carries all the flavors.
Ouzo cured salmon, raki bardaginda balik olsam
Appetizer
Famous Turkish poet Orhan Veli yearned to be a fish in a bottle of raki. We impose his wishes on California salmon.
Our cured salmon is permeated with a light breeze of ouzo and fennel pollen.
Ouzo (Greek), raki (Turkish) and arak (Arabic) are all interchangeable words. They are all distilled spirits with anise flavor.
Whipped feta and quince marmelade
Appetizer
When you put a briny piece of feta on a piece of warm pita and top it with a sweet and tangy marmelade, all of a sudden you hit all the flavors on the flavor wheel. A fundamental indulgence of the Eastern Mediterranean breakfast table.
We will have Lebanese pita and crispy Armenian lavash for everyone to share.
Jilbir, the original eggs benedict
Entree
This is the main event at this brunch. The claim 'original' still needs a citation but be rest assured that this is the better benedict.
The dish jilbir is an ancient Anatolian tradition. In its essence, it's poached eggs served with yogurt.
We add brown butter crutons seasoned with sumac and Turkish peppers, a bright tomato sauce, and arugula. This is one of our favorite things to cook at home for ourselves and for our friends.
Kaymak, honey and grey sea salt
Small Plate
Kaymak is one of Turkey's most prized delicacies, it's similar to british clotted cream or Mexican nata. We love it because it's a big part of Laura's culture (Mexican) as well as Sayat's (Turkish).
Our process takes about 48 hours, this plate is probably the most decadent at any of our meals but also the most addictive.
Tiktik boreg
Dessert
Tiktik boregi is sold at every corner in Istanbul, it's one of the most common breakfast items around the city.
The phyllo is lined up, layered with the magical leavener butter, and rolled into a long tube, which is then rolled into a snail. Said snail is then baked until it's golden brown and delicious.
The boreg is then carefully chopped into mounds and finished with toppings such as honey cream and caramelized goats milk.
Add-ons
Pomagranate kir with our liqueur and pom juice
$8.00
Istanbul Modern, Sultans' Brunch
In-PersonMission, San Francisco