Lonsdale Street Roasters

I have been a Canberran for a few years now, and until recently I had to admit that I’d never been to Lonsdale Street Roasters. Shock, horror. To rectify this, I met my Braddon-residing friends in the upstairs seating area of the original LSR (#7 Lonsdale St, not to be confused with #23 down the road) for breakfast. The space is surprisingly big and decorated with homely quirks – a TV set, a tricycle and big stripes of fluro pink paint. The breakfast menu is simple but has a good mix – I chose the eggs benedict, and both of my friends picked the ricotta hotcakes. I’ve said before that eggs benny is my test dish for a new place, and LSR’s interpretation passed with flying colours. Served on a savoury dill scone and topped with Pialligo bacon, the real highlight of this meal was the dollop? pile? of bacon jam on the side. I promise you, it’s not weird, it’s freaking delicious! The eggs were perfectly poached and whilst the scone base was a bit heavy, the dill cut through the creamy hollandaise.  From all accounts the hotcakes were a good bite too. As a real Canberran now, I expect to be back soon!

Lonsdale Street Roasters, 7 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT                 http://lonsdalestreetroasters.com/

Mikla

After enjoying the views from the bar, we moved down a floor to the restaurant, where we had been told the ‘tasting menu’ (degustation) was well worth the price tag. Mikla is known for modern Turkish with an emphasis on local produce, and it showed – not only were the ingredients fresh and flavoursome, but all of the matching wines were local too. We had seven courses, with highlights including the crispy sardines adhered to olive oil bread, the salted and dried beef tenderloin, and the caramelised rice pudding with sour apple sorbet for dessert. Each course had its own distinct flavours, and we felt that the progression from entrees to main to cheese to dessert was well paced over our three hours there. In between courses we oggled the spectacular views as Istanbul put on weekend fireworks and the haunting call to prayer echoed through the city. The staff spoke excellent English and were very accommodating – they happily wrote out a list of all the wines we’d had so I could remember them. I would definitely recommend Mikla as a memorable, modern Istanbul food experience with views to die for.

Mikla, Cafe Marmara Pera, Meşrutiyet Cd No:1, 34430 Beyoğlu, Turkey http://www.miklarestaurant.com/en