A LONG-awaited Turkish restaurant has finally opened its doors in Winchester city centre, more than a year after it was initially due to open.

Turkuaz, in Jewry Street, was originally meant to open in September 2022, but the opening date was pushed back multiple times. However, the business finally opened its doors to customers on December 22 with a soft opening.

Yusuf Edebali, a business partner at Turkuaz, told the Chronicle: “It is incredible to be finally open and serving the residents of Winchester.

Hampshire Chronicle: L-R: Cevdet Mutlu and Yusuf EdebaliL-R: Cevdet Mutlu and Yusuf Edebali (Image: Chris Atkinson)

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“With the building's historic value and what it means to Winchester, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to serve our customers.”

Alongside the main restaurant, Turkuaz also features a social dining area with interactive dart boards which can be rented out by groups.

Yusuf added: “Turkuaz and Turkuaz Social comes hand in hand with our food offering that we have, and our guests can come either before or after their meal and we can provide them with social entertainment – it is a real first for Winchester.

Hampshire Chronicle: The interactive dartboards were created by UnicornThe interactive dartboards were created by Unicorn (Image: Chris Atkinson)“The feedback we are getting on Turkuaz Social is incredible.”

Speaking on the delays, he said: “First of all, thank you to all the residents who have been looking forward to us opening our doors. We would like to invite all of them to come and visit and dine with us.

“We took our time to open due to the nature of the historic building. We are lucky to be here, and are really excited to welcome customers.”

Cevdet Mutlu, who runs Turkuaz alongside Yusuf, said: “It is an incredible building and it feels great to be open. We are using a lot of local ingredients from Winchester, Alresford and Alton, and shopping locally is really important for us, so it is wonderful to be supporting the local economy as well.”

Hampshire Chronicle: TurkuazTurkuaz (Image: Chris Atkinson)SEE ALSO: Proposal to enlarge Hampshire country pub car park withdrawn by applicant

Yusuf and Cevdet said that Turkuaz is planning on holding events in the coming months, starting with a grand opening at the end of January or beginning of February.

This will be followed by a potential Valentine’s Day event in February. The pair are also planning to monthly performances from local musicians as well.

Yusuf said: “We want a lot of people to be able to come along and have a good experience.”