pazar food collective

a friend of mine referred me to this restaurant for a 60th birthday dinner of around 18 people.  on making inquiries for our group we were told about a 10% surcharge for groups of over 10 people or more.  for what reason?  i asked if they had jugs of soft drinks and was told no.  only beer and another alcoholic beverage. the only other alternative was a mexican drink.  what??  then i asked if i could bring a birthday cake and was told no.  now i understand if they just want us to order their desserts (which they did offer and they could put a lovely little sparkler and candle in it  ... sounds absolutely marvelous -  not) but  to be told it was due to cross contamination!??  c'mon people, i feel like i am in a twilight zone here.  well, we decided this wasn't the place for a group like ours and i was so unimpressed with all the negatives that  i am giving someone else my money.!

thoroughly enjoyed my dinner experience here! first of all, the environment was so vibrant and just adorable especially with the pink v-groove walls in the back. the menu was 'to share' so meals came out on large plates and really encouraged socialisation with others during the dining experience. the ordering process was easy as you can tick what you'd like on the menu. 

i ordered the zucchini balls, spicy watermelon and leek paliki (highly recommend) as the starters, the braised lamb (soooo soft) as main and tres leche cake as dessert! 

all dishes explored my tastebuds especially watermelon and cheese?! it was great! must visit

absolutely amazing food!! we did however over order for two people, ordering two main dishes (both the chicken and the lamb) and hummus with bread to start. the hummus was so unique and tasty, with the sundried tomatoes being an excellent additional touch. the lamb and chicken were both tender and perfectly cooked. decor of the restaurant was rustic and fun.

sorry, its no party out the back!. taken thru the warm and bustling party atmosphere of the front room, out the back to basically a partially covered garage - not much atmosphere and seats metal and cold, heating not working! hey guys, its 11 degrees out here! food was turkish with a token twist or two to mexican - weird combo, not an amazing 'fusion' as per critical vibe. lamb sausage pide came with 3 miniscule slices of said sausage, but liberally basted in lamb fat - does that count as lamb? staff were harried and rushed off their feet. prices were steep for the standard fare. better value elsewhere.

came here on a recommendation and mixed feelings about this place. they've done a great job look with it's bare-brick, shabby-chic get up. service friendly and attentive enough. food unfortunately was a little underwhelming.

seated in front of a roaring fire on an uncomfortable, hard stool with no back rest is not my idea of a fun time. do not go to this restaurant if you'd like to dine in comfort. the food was also lacklustre.. i guess i had high expectations due to the reviews and none of the food really met my expectations. the lamb was dry and boring which left the most disgusting aftertaste in my mouth. the food is way way overpriced for what you get. the most enjoyable thing about the evening was the amazing service we received. everything else was completely mediocre.

too expensive. ordered pide - nothing special $20
lamb shoulder - $35.00 - served few shredded lamd meat served over khus khus and salsa dip. hardly call it a lamd shoulder
dont think will go there again

8.5/10

1) maple smoked labne - must get - favourite place to get labne. it's balanced with sweetness from the caramelised fruit and the toasted seeds give a crunchy texture

2) wood-baked house bread - must get - needed for the sharing dishes

3) zucchini feta & herb balls - popular menu item amongst other diners, really nice bite 😊

4) wood roasted beetroot - tasted like a normal beetroot salad which i love because beetroot is my weakness

5) chilli hummus & pickles - slight kick, not sure if pickles paired well with the hummus but give me pickles anytime, love them

6) flame roasted corn elotes - after a while the dish gave me a feeling of 'the same flavour'

7) smoked wood lamb w/ bulgar pilav - tasted like normal roast lamb, nothing too special

8) spinach, chipotle beef, garlic yoghurt, burnt butter - must get - if only they still had this on the menu 🥺 one of my fav dish of theirs

9) tres leches cake - must get - the cake is super moist and subtlely caramel-ly

10) muhallebi - the milk pudding itself and the jam didn't quite taste pleasant for me but really nice wobble

the food was an interesting turkish and mexican fusion with unique variations of flavours. if there was one word i’d describe the food, it would have to be flavoursome!
we ordered the chilli hummus but they accidentally made us an extra one with chilli mint peas and surprisingly the peas complimented the hummus so well and gave it some texture. also ordered: lamb fat roasted potatoes - nothing out of the ordinary, zucchini fritter balls - so yum! & the smoked wood lamb - a bit dry honestly but still good flavour wise and not too salty. the best part was the unlimited bread 🤩 it was also my first time trying a tres leches cake and i was not disappointed. it was so creamy, milky and light which was perfect after our main meal. and lastly, there was incredibly friendly service. the place is quite small so you might have to book beforehand but this comes with a very chill and relaxed ambience! recommend coming with a group!

one word for this joint is - flavour!
i loved pretty much all the dishes! the freshly made bread was so addictive with hommus and labneh dips. the harissa chicken was juicy, zucchini falafel were good too the pumpkin was delicious with chimichurri and good textures with feta and almonds, watermelon salad was interesting with spice but acted like a palette cleanser after all the flavoursome dishes and finally the roast eggplant was heavenly with a flavoursome tomato sauce (didn't take a photo 😢). the only thing that wasnt a standout was the smoked wood roast lamb, parts were dry and overall too salty for my taste. overall i would definitely come back in a large group!

a very disappointing first and last experience.
took our girlfriend for a birthday celebration after she herself had raved about the restaurant.
food was extremely late. the bread was cold and butter warm. the smoked lamb tasted of chemicals and only smoke. was returned after a bite was taken. chicken was good though. after waiting two hours and a meal still had not arrived. we enquired as to where it was, and was asked didn’t you eat it already? uh, no...that’s why we’re asking for it. the interesting thing was that waitress herself suggested we order it.
after my girlfriend started complaining the manager came over. she stated our food was served late because we had added the lamb at the last minute. again, wrong. we ordered our food all at the same time. they told us food would start arriving in 10 to 15 minutes. after over 30 minutes they brought the bread and a yogurt dish and an hour after that the first hot food arrived. the manager said it’s because they’re so busy. great! for a restaurant who has such strict rules about arrivals and requests of expected behaviour of the patrons. i expected at least better communication. not once were we approached to let us know our food was going to be late or to apologise and say the kitchen was busy. as to why food was forgotten the reply was again they were so busy and only two waitresses working the back room and it was too much for her to remember everything.
we asked them to refund the returned lamb and they said they don’t do refunds, and also it was eaten. yes. we tasted it. it was awful hence why it was sent back to kitchen. only a bite was taken. by then there was a full argument between my girlfriend and the manager and the manager was not backing down and being argumentative and when told she was being argumentative and upsetting our friend whose birthday it was, her reply was that she was explaining. you have to first listen and you weren’t, and just because your using a calm voice does not mean you’re not arguing.
our experience could have been made positive if they had communicated about kitchen being busy. offered a refund on the dish that was returned or at least offered a replacement.
instead of making excuses, accepting their faults ie, super late arrival of food, forgetting to bring food, and accusing us of adding food late (untrue)
i found the waitress who served us and the manager inexperienced, and not able to handle a busy restaurant and rightfully unsatisfied customers, and for their no phone and no kids running around.... well. phones were out, and no young kids running around which would’ve been ok because they’re young, but 2 older 8+ girls skipping and going up and down a very busy and tight area.
mistakes are made and can be forgiven, but not when your arguing with your customers and making false accusations, and not sorry for poor service.

i found this place quite amazing! it’s a hidden gem in canterbury and was pleasantly surprised at the quality and the flavours of our meals. we ordered some hummus, beetroot/goat cheese dip, 2 servings of bread and chicken plus more. everything was created perfectly and the flavours were more complex than just a simple dip!

the hummus was served with some roasted tomatoes, it was a good mix with sweet and savoury.. also the goat cheese was slightly sour but balanced with the beetroot and walnuts. the chicken was so moist and flavoured quite well, i couldn’t fault it at all, maybe just slightly salty but still cooked very well.

our desserts were a perfect way to end our meal, the tres leche cake was super moist and was not too sweet at all! i found the caramel a good pairing with the jam on the side.

the service was quite good too, our waitress was quite attentive and greatly explaining the dishes to us. i would definitely come back here and i highly recommend this place! it will not disappoint

love the ambience and music of this restaurant!
food was delicious!
i didn’t really enjoy the dessert selection but the savoury foods were a hit for me!

edit: they have updated their dessert selection and i had one of the best desserts ever!! i think it was called the milk cake? 11/10!

i’ve been dying to come here for ages and now kicking myself for taking so long! everything about this place is great - decor, ambiance, service and the food. the standout dishes of the night were the beetroot on herbed labne, the brussels sprouts (our dish of the night) and the roast chicken, but there wasn’t a dud at all out of 7 dishes. our only problem was that we were too full for dessert, i really liked the sound of the tres leches cake. definitely need to go again!

truly fabulous food!  why then a three star rating?? read on!
very cool vibe, great music, and garage-like interiors. we were booked for 6:30pm (told we had to be out by 8pm). it was also mentioned to us by our waiter, due to the time constraints, most of our food would come out all together.so we started with the maple smoked labne $17 (rated: 3/5), followed by the 2 x chili hummus $17 (4/5), wood roasted beetroot w/ herb fetta $21 (5/5) and the bread $5ea basket.  for mains we ordered, roast pumpkin w/ chimichurri $24 (3/5), half-harissa roast chicken $27 (4/5), the wood roasted lamb $38 (4/5) and 2 x wood-fired octopus $29 (3/5).a couple of us ordered the pomegranate mojito (i substituted the rum for vodka), another ordered the spiced margarita, and another the negroni. all the cocktails ($16 each) were delicious, however, not their usual strength!  when one of the guests took the ice out of his negroni (he had a sore throat) there was far less than 3 nips in the glass (three of us have worked behind bars!!) beers were $9 and not filled to the top! :-(  we didn't order any dessert because we were very full, and the waiter cleared our table, and then brought the two octopus dishes out (clearly the kitchen had forgotten to send our food out with the rest of the mains!) we had to option. to have them there and then or take them home - we decided since we were going home in different directions, it would be easier to eat them!
when my husband when to pay the bill, hubby was a little ticked off that the octopus had been forgotten, the shortfall of the negroni and beer, he decided not to leave a tip. the waiter was clearly unimpressed with hubby's decision, and the waiter's whole demeanour changed and courtesy went out the window!! would we go back? yes.  however, we won't order the octopus - in my honest opinion, $29 for one tentacle (approx 30cms long) is not value for money. cocktails? again, no. i'll order a vodka lime and soda..