New Turkish spot goes upscale
The team behind popular Mediterranean brunch spot Lokma is stepping into fine dining with Taksim, a modern Turkish restaurant opening Thursday in San Francisco.
It takes over the former Cockscomb space at 564 Fourth St., near Brannan Street. The huge, two-story restaurant has 90 seats, two bars and private dining areas. Owners Serkan Sozen, Birkan Dogan, Emre Kabayel and Neslihan Demirtas tapped Daniel Gribble, formerly a chef at three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn, to lead the kitchen.
With Lokma, Kabayel said he wanted to show that Turkish cuisine is much more than kebabs. Now, he’s taking that idea further — “fine dining with Turkish influences,” he said.
His favorite starters include butter-poached shrimp ($18) wrapped in crispy, shredded phyllo dough and served with muhammara, a smoky-sweet dip of roasted red bell peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. There’s also stuffed peppers ($15), inspired by dolmas, with a filling of woodfired eggplant and manchego cheese.
Main dishes include a spin on a traditional Turkish white bean stew called kuru fasulye. Instead of serving primarily beans cooked with a little meat, Taksim’s version stars a massive lamb shank ($34) with beans, sun-dried tomatoes and lamb jus. A twist on Italian risotto ($28) employs wheat berries instead of rice, Turkish raki instead of wine, and aged kasseri cheese instead of Parmesan.
Cockscomb’s wood-fired oven will be put to use for breads such as bazlama ($8), a Turkish yogurt flatbread served with sumac-tinged butter, and pita ($8), available with cheese, roasted garlic or za’atar.
On the beverage side, the wine list includes a mix of funky natural wines and classic European bottles, with a few options from Turkey. Raki flights — paired with feta and grapes — are available, and the alcoholic drink, made with grapes and anise, makes its way into cocktails like a pomegranate martini ($13). Several cocktails highlight Mediterranean ingredients like black urfa chile and carob molasses.
The restaurant is named after a district in Istanbul that’s full of 19th century architecture and international chain stores — a mix of traditional and contemporary that Taksim hopes to show through its food.
Taksim. Opening Thursday. 3 to 10 p.m. daily. 564 Fourth St., San Francisco. www.taksimsf.com