Gigi Baba
102 Smith Street
Collingwood Victoria 3065
t +61 3 9486 0345
web and email not available
open Tuesday to Sunday 6.00 pm to 11.00pm — reservations are not taken
discover the neighbourhood
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FOOD the end of autumn in Melbourne as the cold starts to seep into your bones, it is a sure sign that winter is on its way. A perfect time for a glass or two of red wine and a menu that takes the change of season into account. Gigi Baba, a small Turkish establishment located in, Collingwood, a few minutes’ tram ride from the CBD is a wonderful example of modern casual dining with an emphasis on food and wine and season.
Gigi Baba has a narrow frontage onto Smith Street, that is so unassuming if you blink, you’ll miss it. Casual and funky Gigi Baba is operated by chef/owner Ismail Tosun who draws his culinary inspiration from his Turkish heritage. Tosun’s previous Western Australian restaurant Eminem established him as the master of modern Turkish cuisine in Australia and won him an honoured reputation with food and wine obsessed diners and highly regarded Australian and international restaurant reviewers including John Lethlean and
Matt Preston. Galaxy Guides food editor Ann Oliver thought her best Australian restaurant meal in 07, out of many amazing meals, was at Eminem, Ismail Tosun’s former Western Australian restaurant. She said, “It was not that the food was so complex, or the plating so stunning, but that the food had a flavour, freshness and integrity that has become so very hard to find.”
It is easy to understand why chefs get fed up with the very often completely unreasonable dining expectations at the pointy end and Tosun’s re–entry into the Australian food scene brought with it a flurry of excitement from admiring chefs and dedicated diners. Lethlean and Preston quickly noted Tosun’s re–emergence in Melbourne and Melbournians have rapidly taken Gigi Baba to their hearts. Gigi Baba does not have a web site, there are no business cards and they do not take bookings. Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis, so it pays to arrive early to secure a seat.
The space is dominated by a large carpet clad bar that is topped with beautiful Carrara marble and the room is lit by numerous clear and opaque over–sized light globes dangling from a tangle of cords strewn across the high ceiling. Table seating is available at the front and the rear of the room. On the wall opposite the bar hang colourful painted Turkish plates and a traditional rug covers the entire back wall, providing both form and function. Highly decorative the rug has a dual purpose of providing better acoustics for the laid back music strengthening the already cool vibe. Exposed brickwork adds to the warmth of the interior and strategically placed Turkish objects, on the bar and in the shelving, link Gigi Baba back to its cultural origins without seeming kitsch. With the exception of the cups and saucers, which are new yet equally interesting, due to their unusual designs the crockery is quirky and pre–loved. The informal atmosphere lends itself to sitting at the bar for a better vantage point of this intimate space where service is excellent with staff, that are both friendly and attentive. Even groups of four can comfortably perch themselves on the bar stools on one of the corners for a more interesting option than a table and sitting at the bar there is the added enjoyment of the intoxicating aromas that waft from the kitchen who enjoy a close view of diners delight.
The menu, like Gigi Baba, is compact and features a diverse selection of morsels, ranging in price from $7 to $22. These small portions are fresh, flavoursome and interesting, enabling diners to enjoy numerous dishes without a hefty dégustation price tag to match. Bread is also included at no extra charge. The BBQ Hellim Cheese $7 with its rubbery texture and salty flavour had a distinctive smokey flavour introduced by their charcoal grill. The combination of flavours and textures worked extremely well with our wine. We also enjoyed the Cauliflower, pomegranate and roasted nut Kisir $11. Kisir, the Turkish equivalent of the more widely know Middle Eastern tabouleh, has many intriguing variations and this salad was a pleasing mix of flavours and textures traditionally filled out with cracked wheat and finished with finely chopped parsley. The Pumpkin, chickpea, coriander and tahini yoghurt salad $11 also presented interesting, but very different, contrasting textures and flavours. The Pickled octopus salad $12 was unadulterated delicately handled tender octopus. Despite the chill of the evening these interesting salads were served at room temperature and remained seasonally appropriate.
The Pan roasted snapper fillet with eggplant, peppers, basil, anchovy $22 was perfectly cooked, moist and succulent, the fish combined well with the robustly seasoned accompaniments. The Sea salt and wild oregano BBQ lamb cutlet $6 each, were delicately treated with the herbs so as not to impregnate and spoil the flavour or the lamb. We also enjoyed the BBQ Beef Skirt Ali Nazak $18 marinated and grilled it came with a wonderful charred crust and was tender, perfect medium rare, embellished with tomato and smoked eggplant.
Desserts at Gigi Baba are not to be missed. The Almond Baklava $3.50 and Ice Cream of the Day $4, a single luscious scoop which happened to be chocolate praline on the day of our visit were wonderful. The Spiced Revani $7.50 was precisely the moist, syrup drenched semolina cake it is meant to be and served with house–made hazelnut ice cream definitely completed a dining experience that had been made fascinating with many small delicious and contrasting tastes. Traditionally these classic desserts are served with Turkish coffee or sage tea.
Great food and wine in a relaxed but attentive environment Gigi Baba is now high on our list of Melbourne favourites, however, next time we’ll be there at six o’clock on the dot to snaffle a front row seat at the bar. Gigi Baba is a great addition to the Melbourne casual dining scene we liked it a lot!
WINE Raki is described as, “a liquor distilled from grape spirit with the addition of anis seeds. It is the national drink of Turkey. It is generally drunk with ice and water.” Gigi Baba has six examples of Raki from the brands Efz and Tekirdag and their cocktail list introduces traditional Middle Eastern flavours with orange blossom water, rosewater and pomegranate infused vodka. The wine list, like the menu, is small but interesting with wines from Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Spain and Italy. Allowing the opportunity to explore their eclectic small list wines are served in a choice of a 120ml glass (priced from $8 to $16 a glass), a 300ml flask (straight from a chemistry laboratory) or a 500ml flask. The
07 Kangarilla Road Primitivo (a grape variety better known as Zinfandel) from McLaren Vale is $20 for a 300ml flask. A bold wine with a lengthy powerful palate it worked very well with the bold palate spectrum and textures of the food.
Even the beers on offer at Gigi Baba are eclectic, ranging from Austrian, Australian and Japanese examples, as well as the Turkish Efes Pilsner.
tips — get there early, as close as possible to 6pm. A good place to enjoy on your own or with company.
the neighbourhood
The area surrounding Gigi Baba is certainly worth exploring on foot before dinnertime, as the Collingwood/Fitzroy precinct where Gigi Baba is located is undergoing a gentrification, with up market shops, galleries and other small bars and eateries popping up along the main drags.
In fact, on the night of Galaxy Guides’ last visit, we happened to be in the area to attend a Jeffrey Smart exhibition opening at
Australian Galleries, which is within walking distance, in Derby Street, Collingwood.
Gertrude Street
Also nearby is South Fitzroy Antiques, which boasts an impressive range of high quality French and European antiques, some dating as far back as the sixteenth century with the most recent examples from the nineteenth century.
Master jeweller,
William Llewellyn Griffiths of Metal Couture, has a studio specialising in haute couture jewellery. British–born Griffiths has collaborated with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood.
Assin stocks cutting edge and quirky clothing for men and women. While the city store is still located in Little Collins Street, this new boutique, was once located on Toorak Road, South Yarra.
The Builder’s Arms Hotel where a large dog was recently wandering around the front bar on the cold evening is a popular watering hole throughout the year.
Smith Street
The discount outlets for leading sportswear brands are located on the same street as Gigi Baba, with the likes of Nike, Adidas and Fila conveniently situated only metres from each other.
For lovers of twentieth century furniture, look no further than
Angelucci which still is located across the Yarra River in High Street, Windor (near Prahran).
Marian Clarkin
copyright © images Marian Clarkin 2010 — copyright © text Marian Clarkin and Galaxy Guides 2010
