Lezzet Anatolian Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

I’ve been coming to Lezzet for many years now, and it still remains my favourite for special occasions, family gatherings, or simply whenever I’m in the mood for incredible food. One of the things I love most about this place is the ever-changing, creative menu that owner & chef Kemal Barut masterfully curates. He is truly a remarkable masterpiece when creating beautiful delicious food dishes.

Kemal has a unique way of keeping Turkish cuisine fresh and exciting, constantly evolving his menu while staying true to the rich traditions of the flavours. No two visits are the same, and that's what keeps me coming back time after time.

Every season brings new ingredients, new combinations, and inventive twists on classic dishes—all executed with perfection. Whether it’s an unexpected take on a beloved traditional dish or a totally new Anatolian dish that I’ve never tried before, I’m always impressed by the creativity and quality that goes into every plate. The food is consistently exceptional—rich, flavourful, and beautifully presented.

On top of the fantastic cuisine, I’ve always been well looked after. The service is warm, attentive, and feels personal, making each visit feel like a true homecoming. 🇹🇷 The staff always go out of their way to make sure every detail is perfect. We would like to make a special mention to Emre who truly elevated the dining experience for us all last night. His warm personality and impeccable attention to detail made every meal feel personal, adding a special touch to our dining experience. Also a big thank you to Baris who has always looked after us over the years and is always overseeing everything at Lezzet with his care and dedication for all the diners. His hospitality is truly unmatched—he’s always there to make sure everything runs smoothly and if he isn’t there he is always a phone call away. You can really feel the family-like atmosphere they have cultivated here at Lezzet, which is one of the main reasons I keep returning.

If you're looking for a place where the menu is always evolving, yet rooted in the traditions of Turkish food, this is your spot. The owner and chef Kemal Barut’s passion for both creativity and tradition shines through in every dish, and it’s what makes this place so special. Every meal is a new adventure, and I can’t wait to go back and dine over and over again.

Thank...

It’s been over 5 years since we visited Lezzet and the deal on The Fork app was the perfect excuse to return though there was a discrepancy between what the email and app said that entailed and what the restaurant wanted to honour (they agreed to it as a one off). Unfortunately I found the experience very underwhelming and the composition of flavour poorly balanced. The entree and main were excessively salty and the dessert was overpoweringly sweet.

The main itself was entirely one dimensional. Pieces of chicken in a béchamel with a thin piece of bread on top. If needed vegetables or something else to entertain the palette because I couldn’t keep eating the same mouthful. It is also not remotely authentic which is unsurprising given none of the staff seemed to know anything about Turkish cuisine when asked questions. Certainly not value for money at full price given even the presentation fails to impress

Original review My cousin and I were excited to check this out for dinner as there's a real gap on the Melbourne foodie scene for fine dining Turkish cuisine. It was very dimly lit and had a wonderfull ambiance but the generosity of the portion size immediately concerned me.

They seem to have bumped up their prices when they renovated. The dips and bread are $16.50 and while I do have a fondness for carbs that extends beyond the norm I don't think this is a shareable serving. Certainly not when you think of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean hospitality. Not sure why fine dining seems to be synonymous with microscopic but there you have it.

Diet portions aside there were some good flavours there and the bread was lovely and soft. I was loving the drinks menu and how you can drink your way around the region with from Morocco to Croatia with a cocktail list comprising traditional flavours from the different counties.

I had the Istanbul lamb which I quite enjoyed, it was certainly a unique offering compared to what you find at other Turkish restaurants in Melbourne. In fact the entire menu was very elegant as was to be expected I suppose given we have 'contemporary' right there in the name and we are tailoring to an Elwood audience after all.

Creative but it didn't necessarily wow me enough for a return trip as I missed the presence of a few rustic homely...

pretty sad that this restaurant has gone down hill. i came for my birthday dinner last night as we had come a year ago for another occasion. $350 between 5 adults, had to ask multiple times for more bread as they came out with four quite big dishes of dips and one loaf of bread cut into 5. then we ordered the lezzet platter which for $58 per person (for four people) was disappointing. the food is nice, but we were served a huge 10cm bit of fat and our bread that was meant to be served with the meal came later then the rest of the platter. and considering this was $58 per serve it was as big as the smaller dishes on the menu per person. to top it all off my fifth family member who was not eating the platter had ordered a lamb bechamel pie. it arrived 15 minutes after we got our main, burnt, and with hardly anything in it. some of the waitstaff were fantastic - the two shorter waitresses were phenomenal, however the taller waitress when asked what the lump of fat was returned to the front and pretended to ask and was never seen from again. and the male waiter was rude and basically didn’t care. that was the reason we won’t be coming back - your restaurant does not care. at one point a guy dressed differently to the wait staff came over to ask how we had gone and we didn’t want to be rude so i said ‘it was okay’ and he didn’t even ask further he just continued clearing. at one point the wait staff were trying to get us out and we had asked for a takeaway box (like i said the food was good) three times and the third time when i said we were still waiting on a box and no one has come one of the great waitresses blatantly said ‘yeah they’re not going to bring you one let me go get that for you’.

so yeah if you want good food at tiny portions at exorbitant costs. hopefully you won’t be served a huge chunk of fat and feel uncomfortable the entire time...