Efendy Modern Turkish restaurant Review

Two of us dined here on Saturday night, my beverage came swiftly however we had to wait for 10 min for the other diners beverage. We then ordered dips and pickles to start, the waiter asked us if we wanted bread to go with it, we said yes and we re surprised when the bill came with the cost of $10 for a piece of bread, as the waiter did not mention this when we ordered. The bread and dip came out very quickly followed by the mains so all the food was sitting on the table getting cold. The pickles came last! We also ordered a pastry and received 2 however we didn t ask for 2 and were charged double also without asking. I ve dined here once before and was returning as I enjoyed it the previous time however I will not be returning, the standards have dropped significantly.

Was nice, staff could have been a little friendlier, and have had better value Turkish Breakfast in Newtown.

Great service and the slow cooked lamb shoulder is to die for for.

Efendy offers the best breakfast in Balmain on the weekends. Turkish breakfast is like a feast with so many delicious items to choose from accompanied with Turkish tea and finished off with Turkish coffee is an absolute treat! Really good value for money too

Such a great experience. The atmosphere was great and the staff were very friendly and attentive.
All the food was very nice, even that lamb testicle.

The service was extremely slow and they have no idea to feed hungry people. I took my family there for a lunch. We were starving to death but food were coming just one at a time in toddler size portion in every 30 min sharing five of us and I was about to start eating napkins .
It was quite embarrassing for me in front of my in laws.
thank god food was delicious ! but not enough at all .
This service is probably ok for a fancy dating but not recommended if you hungry and with family.
Go to auburn if you feel like delicious Turkish food and be happy.

The claimed that they are the best Turkish restaurant in Sydney and I have heard a lot about them.
We went there for breakfast and nothing was special about this place. Generally, i can list my experience as below:
Very nice and relaxing atmosphere.
The place is located in a price suburb.
Interior is very nice.
staff was ok but could have been a little bit friendlier especially the male waiters. The lady was good.
Portion size was a big issue compared to their price tag,it was much smaller than my previous Turkish restaurant. We payed 35 dollar each for food that was worth $23-27 maximum.
service was a bit slow.
The turkish breakfast portions/variety was much less than my previous experience especially cheese variety.
Needed to ask for bread but was charged extra $1. SERIOUSLY!??? Charging $1???? I reduce 2 star from my overall feedback just because of charging extra $1 for the bread.

You can find much better value Turkish Breakfast in Newtown.

Phenomenal Van style breakfast, amazing flavours and quality ingredients. Suitable for people with all types of dietary requirements and preferences. Come here as a couple or a big group.

Loved the place and food, highly recommend it for everyone WITH BOOKING, went there without booking cos didn't mentioned in the website and the staff asked us to have our breakfast within 40min only lol a bit funny yea, I would just recommend the staff to talk English when they first meet someone as no all the people go there will be Turkish, and also when they talking to each other enghlish would be preferred. Other than that food was quick, price was OK and place was amazing.

This place won't disappoint you. I come here every so often for it's delicious food, comfortable outdoor garden seating, and unfailing service. Efendy is by far the best Turkish restaurant in Sydney.

The food is really unique and delicious. Recommend!

Incredible food and customer service! 10/10!! So kind to put out soup and bread for the members of the community who may be struggling during this time.

Couldn't fault the quality of the food.
A bit over priced. Looks like they were very good then became complacent and dropped the level of service. I will go back again though

Visited this restaurant for the first time tonight. It was pretty good, the cocktails were nice and unique. The food was descent - ordered the cauliflower to share and some dessert. The kesgul however tasted bland (it was fine, but just More

Do not visit this sub-standard restaurant. We had organized a large event and when we called to confirm two days before they informed us the event was cancelled. They were very rude. There are many delicious places to eat in Balmain/ this is not one of them. Stay away!

What: A nice Turkish place in the heart of Balmain

Why: Great food, good service, good location and good decor. Oh, and if you go for any of the fixed price menus you will not go hungry.

Why not: A touch pricey

Fantastic authentic Turkish cuisine, lovely setting and environment a definite must try for lovers of authentic Turkish cuisine. The eggplant is cooked to perfection, charcoal smokey skin and delicious soft melt in the mouth eggplant flesh More

Great menu options I'm the weekend. Plus the tea is great!

Some great dishes, especially the 'eggplant bomb'. Beautiful restaurant, great service too. The Turkish delight at the end was possibly the best I've tasted.

Fantastic authentic Turkish food and really child friendly

Fantastic, Best Turkish breakfast in Sydney.
Friendly and professional staff, the girl from Belgium was super polite and happy to serve her customers.
Food is phenomenal!!

The experience at Efendy was overall great! We had the breakfast board for breakie and there was a variety of yummy things to try. There were plenty of things to suit everyone on this board. Alongside this, you could get a Turkish coffee or tea (this was unlimited). However, on the down side they did not provide enough bread to try all the dips and spreads. There was two small portion of simits (seame bread) on the board as well as two pita breads. For two people we felt we needed more to enjoy everything and when we did as for more they said it was $2 pp per portion. FYI a whole simit is worth $1 and these guys are charging the size of your finger for $2 which I didn't find fair at all...

Overall great experience just expected a whole round simit not small portions of it that didn't fit the ratio.

Love, love, love their Turkish Breakfast. Especially the fresh breads, cheese & sudjuk. Yummo!

Fantastic food, reasonably priced, good service, great atmosphere and friendly staff. I would strongly recommend this beautiful restaurant.

Van breakfast is a good quality but I think it could be more special at this price range. For instance, it could include a whole round Simit or special Pides and more variety of drinks included. It can be just me! Cause I have had lovely Turkish breakfasts in Turkey before. So, I expected to have breakfast like a king in a restaurant that is claiming as the best Turkish restaurant in Sydney and charging you $35 per person for breakfast.

One of the must have Breakfasts in Sydney with great diverse taste. Service is fantastic. Will definitely come back again.

Beautiful delicious cuisine and warm Turkish hospitality

We came here for the Turkish breakfast.(adults is $35pp), Great quick service. You will need to book as it's always busy and booked out. No coffee machines. So couldnt get a latte or cappuccino... option is Turkish tea or turkish coffee to accompany the food, which keeps getting topped up for free as u drink it . The people serving were so polite and kind. Highly recommend this Turkish restuarant. Set up very nicely in an old heritage 2 story home,turned into a restuarant based amongst the beautiful suburb of Balmain.

Great breakfast. Loved the capsicum dip and rose jam, just so delicious. The bread basket was great and Turkish tea blended very well with all the items offered. Service could have been a bit better.

Awesome Food.Couldnt pick which dish was better.they were all A mazing.

Delicious Turkish food really helpful friendly staff

Early on a Saturday, venue was fairly empty and service was poor

A lovely set up and wonderful service. Efendy is a place you would love to go with a big group of people because you can try a diverse range of food items. There are some nice flavours with their food but perhaps not quite matching the price you are required to pay.

The food, drinks and atmosphere at this place is just insane! The food was so fresh, full of flavour and so authentic! The drinks (cocktails) were so delicious, that we had to try a different one each time and we were not disappointed, they were just like the food, amazing and each sip was so good... The atmosphere was really nice and we got there just before it became a bit crowded. Will definitely visit again

[update] had to change this to 5 star after trying the breakfast. Best breakfast I had in Australia. Bar none.

+ Very friendly staff
+ Restaurant looks nice and feels Turkish

- Food servings are very small - so unlike the generous real Turkish restaurants I went to in Turkey.

Went for lunch. Staff charming and attentive. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. We order a selection of small mezze dishes (smoker aubergine salad, kofte, pide, prawns) and all were excellent. Didn't try the mains.

The food is presented beautifully and tastes incredible; but the service really ties the experience together. We got the sense our waiter sincerely cared about our experience and was pleasant without being overbearing. To top the lunch off we were brought a complimentary dessert. I can't wait to come back.

Superb, Wonderful.
Great atmosphere

Delicious food - I particularly liked the baba ganoush and the fairy floss dessert.

Don t waste your money going there. It s a fine dining restaurant where you pay too much money for small portion of average quality food which is opposite to the generous Turkish cousin. cold Mazza like hummus but baba Ghanouj are served without bread and each tiny bread is 3 dollars that are not enough to finish your dips. The main dishes are even smaller than kids meal and only for people on strong diet.

Excellent service and delicious dishes. The baklava direct from Turkey was amazing!

Absolutely fantastic and delicious food that is absolute perfection every single time you go. What is the best about Efendy though is their outstanding service, absolutely next level. You will feel like eating in the living room of a long lost friend. Cannot recommend highly enough, love this place.

Outstanding food and service by Alp and the team. The food is simply authentic beyond measure. My partner (Belgin from Istanbul) and I were so impressed. DEFINITELY will be back. And by the way, save time and choose the feast. It s only a little more than you can eat but not over the top. All the signatures are there. Don t miss out!

4 of us came for dinner on the weekend. The place is nicely designed with and authentic Turkish touch. The menu is a Mezes (Tapas) menu which is great and offers good variety.
One dish stood way above the rest of them for us and that was the Kadayif Prawns, absolutely amazing!! The rest of the dishes (lamb cutlet, Kebab, chicken thighs) failed to impress and really lacked some basic seasoning (like salt...). Overall a nice night with very good service but food failed to impress.

Had the banquet which was delicious. Impressed by the matching wine selection - very decent. Highly recommend for good Mediterranean fare in a romantic setting

First time visitor and was pleasantly surprised with the interesting food

Food was ok. Worth a try if you are interested in Turkish cuisine. One may find it hard to justify the price.

Food and service was outstanding. I would highly recommend.

Wow! Yum fresh, interesting, great value and beautiful service!

The food was very expensive and does not fit with Turkish dining. the entrees were good but the mains were below average particularly the Kebab. Turkish dining is to enjoy the culture and the love for food and it is NOT fine dining as the restaurant tries to achieve. I DO not recommend it if you are hungry and looking for food comfort.

The food was honestly pretty good in taste. The only real issue is the portion sizes and how overpriced it is. We had 6 people dining and paid over $400. It was such a disappointment because we didn't get our money's worth. I would honestly prefer to go to Auburn and get a good kebab plate for less than $20 but at least I'll be satisfied. There are heaps of other excellent Turkish restaurants like Otto Noorba in Glebe if you're after a similar setting. I don't know if I'll go back to this restaurant.

I ate one portion "Ali Nazik" here and there was only 7 little pieces of meat in it. The restaurant was extremely dark. Therefore I could not see what I ate. Even the kebabs in Auburn are better than here. Would I prefer this restaurant again? No way. I do not recommend it.

Modern Turkish cafe/restaurant. Good service and great food. Nice atmosphere in and outside.

We were warmly welcomed from the beginning. Food was amazing. Loved the kale, slow cooker lamb, cauliflower, chicken and haloumi. Can't rave about this place enough.

Was satisfied by the set menu offering - certainly won't forget the lamb pie! I was full afterwards.

too expensive. suggest double check the charges on bill they have a tendency to overcharge deliberately unless you pick them up on it. Portions are measly for the prices charged.

Great food and fantastic service!! Definitely recommend!

Really yum and interesting Turkish food (not your standard Turkish fare). Friendly staff and pleasant outside area. Great!!

We had the brunch buffet Turkish style which was honestly very good. A lot of variety of breads, cheese, jams, and meats. The restaurant owner also informed us of certain traditions and ways we should drink the coffee and apple tea. Overall while the foods aren't of the expensive kind (restaurants need to make their money somehow), we still had a pretty good experience. That being said, it was more or less a gimmick and not being of the culture, I would probably not return - it was a novel experience and would probably stay that way.

Came here with my family. Absolutely loved the place. Service was outstanding and the food was amazing. We felt like we were in Istanbul

Worst service, food, mentality ever. Not even close to be a genuine Turkish Restaurant.

I went to this restaurant last year, it is a really excellent Turkish restaurant, Somer chef is very relevant.
I hope this restaurant will spread all over the country.

Efendy reaturant is better than all its provide greate service i highly recomanded.

Best breakfast. Great selection of small dishes. Good food good atmosphere.

One of the best Turkish Restaurant in Sydney if you like to taste Turkish food

Efendy is easily the best Turkish restaurant in Sydney. The food is always exceptional and always changing. The vast selection of Turkish wines are great and worth trying. The service is friendly and attentive. So glad this is in our locale.

Really bright, light delicious food, very friendly staff, and idyllic setting. We had a very pleasant afternoon.

Was an old time favourite but the quality and quantity has changed this time around. The turkish breakfast portions/variety have reduced and so as service. Needed to ask for bread over and over until we got few more pieces by the the egg was cold :(

Walked a few kilometres up from the Balmain. East ferry wharf as the reviews were good. We weren't disappointed. We sat at a table in the front courtyard of the lovely two storey house. We were greeted by accomodating family style service. The staff were most helpful with deciding on our menu choices. Started with a couple of dips with pita bread. The eggplant and pistachio dip was yum. Tried the lambs testicles....certainly an interesting texture and aroma. The standout dishes were the half lamb shoulder and char grilled whole snapper, both with delicious authentic flavours. Desserts capped off an excellent meal.

Very nice place but very expensive. I had a breakfast and it didn t worth the price.

Had the perfect meal. Relaxing courtyard, great ambiance. Eggplant was to die for. Lovely staff. Can't wait to head back.