LAKEVIEW — An Anatolian tapas restaurant has opened in Lakeview, bringing a taste of Turkey and the Middle East to Chicago.
Avaspi opened Tuesday at 1258 W. Belmont Ave. It serves Turkish, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine with a focus on mezze platters, which are shareable appetizers like tapas. It takes the place of Pescadero, a seafood and oyster bar that closed in January 2023.
Owner Mehmet Duzgun’s new restaurant is inspired by the food and flavors of Anatolia, or the portion of modern-day Turkey that resides on the Asian continent.
Duzgun grew up in Mardin, a city in southeast Turkey near Syria, and got his start in the restaurant industry there about 25 years ago. He worked around Anatolia and moved to Chicago in 2010, continuing his culinary career in kitchens around the city.
With Avaspi, Duzgun said he hopes to share the eastern cuisine he grew up eating and making. Even the restaurant’s name is an ode to Anatolia, named after a “small, beautiful river in my hometown,” Duzgun said.
Many of the dishes Duzgun makes are from his family and hometown, like a Kurdish meat-filled dumpling called kutilk which follows his mother’s recipe. These traditional menu items are then served in a “modern, chic” and open space, complete with dim lighting, black marble tables and velvet seating.
At Avaspi, diners can try Anatolian classics like dolma, which are vegetables and grape leaves stuffed with meat or rice, tomatoes and herbs; and ezme, a salad made with finely chopped walnuts, tomatoes, onions, peppers and parsley.
There are also dishes like muhammara, a spicy dip made of walnuts, red peppers, pomegranate molasses and breadcrumbs; and haidari, a yogurt dip with fresh herbs.
The menu also features a variety of beef, chicken and seafood dishes.
People in many parts of central and east Anatolia, including Turks, Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians, sit on the floor to eat meals, placing dishes in the center and sharing them with one another. Translating that concept into a restaurant “has always been something that I wanted to do,” Duzgun said.
“There are different ethnic groups of people who have lived in Anatolia in general for centuries,” Duzgun said. “All these different ethnic groups have their food cultures, and they do certain things a little bit differently, and I was always interested and inspired by how they make food according to their culture.”
Avaspi offers a more “upscale” take on that communal style of eating, Duzgun said.
There’s also a full bar stocked with wine, beer, classic cocktails and cocktails with an Anatolian twist, blending regional flavors like sumac and fig. Some of those ingredients, as well as the herbs and spices used in the meals, will be imported from Turkey, Duzgun said.
Avaspi is open 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, when it will host lunch service. The bar will stay open a bit later than the dining room, Duzgun said.
Once the restaurant is up and running smoothly, Duzgun plans on adding a weekend brunch menu, he said.
Neighbors can make dining reservations online via Resy or by calling Avaspi at 773-720-1297. The restaurant is also on Instagram @avaspichicago.
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