Coming Soon: One of Sydney’s Best Kept Secrets To Open in Former Yagiz Space in South Yarra
Words by Elizabeth McDonald · Updated on 08 May 2023 · Published on 30 Mar 2023
In a glass-encased lobby level of a Wolli Creek apartment complex you’ll find Yan , a Cantonese and Singaporean-inspired smokehouse by Narada Kudinar of Woolloomooloo cafe John Montagu , and now-closed CBD cafe Ms Murray.
This might not be the most obvious location for an innovative restaurant of this calibre. Now, the folks behind Yan have set their sights on a more prominent site – popular, soon-to-close Turkish restaurant Yagiz in South Yarra.
In a statement given to Broadsheet , Kudinar says the decision to branch out was a matter of perfect timing. “We’ve been friends with the Yagiz guys for years … they've always said they think Yan would work well in Melbourne. It was an alignment of timing with where we're at with the original venue in Wolli Creek, and them shutting down Yagiz, so it was kind of like, ‘should we give this a go?’,” he explains.
As for what’s in store for Melbourne, Kudinar won’t be shaking up the menu too much. “We’ll pretty much bringing over all the dishes that we have in our repertoire.”
This is good news considering the current creations at Yan include delicately smoked prawns served chilled with ginger sauce; braised winter melon with smoked almond cream; lamb ribs with coriander-based “chimichurri”, brightened with black vinegar and soy sauce; and a liquid nitrogen coconut ice-cream, served in the shell of a coconut and topped with coconut jelly.
Kudinar indicates there’ll be some light renovations to the current space but will largely keep the venue as is, with the addition of work by local artists to be revealed soon.
Yagiz will continue to trade until April 6. Chef-owner Murat Ovaz has chosen to close the modern Turkish restaurant after five years, citing lockdowns and a subsequent “new perspective of life” as the catalyst for change.
Yan will open in South Yarra in early May.
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