There’s a new name on Cammeray’s café scene, with ROKA bringing Turkish flavours, family recipes and some seriously good spices to Miller Street.
Newly opened at 450 Miller Street, ROKA is the creation of owner Atilla Zeyrek, who has drawn heavily on his Turkish background to create a menu that stands apart from the usual café fare.
For Atilla, the new venture combines two things he knows well: Turkish food and hospitality.
“ROKA comes from a genuine love of creating places people want to return to,” he says. “Before opening ROKA, I was involved in running Demlik Cafe in Frenchs Forest, which gave me hands-on experience in food, coffee and building relationships with regular customers.”
Many of the flavours at ROKA are those Atilla grew up with, with family recipes also making their way onto the menu.
And there’s plenty happening behind the scenes. The tomato relish, whipped garlic yoghurt, chilli oil, hash browns and dukkah are all made from scratch.
Then there are the spices. Atilla personally brings many of them back from Turkey, and their freshness and intensity are immediately noticeable in the food.
Breakfast gives you a good introduction to what ROKA is all about.
The Eggs Benedict puts a twist on the café staple, pairing toasted sourdough, sautéed greens and poached eggs with grated potato hash browns, lemon hollandaise and dukkah.
Rather than the hefty slab of potato that often arrives alongside a café breakfast, these hash browns are crisp and light, while the citrusy hollandaise and aromatic dukkah bring plenty of flavour.
For something more distinctly Turkish, there’s the sujuk egg roll. Turkish sujuk, a spiced sausage similar to chorizo, comes with fried eggs, tomato relish, whipped garlic yoghurt, chilli oil and cheese on a sweet potato muffin. It’s rich, spicy and a very good reason to stray from your regular bacon and egg roll.
“Our other must tries for breakfast are the roka & roll, the Turkish Breakfast, menemen, and eggplant bruschetta,” suggests Atilla.
“For lunch, please try the grilled zucchini and roasted pumpkin salad and shawarma bowl, lamb pita (slowly cooked overnight), and the adana skewers and chicken skewers are great choices.”
And anyone saving room for something sweet has a couple more options to consider.
“We also have the chefs’ selection of soups which changes every week. And, if you have room, our Kunefe toast and Crema Catalana are definitely worth trying. We cook everything fresh at ROKA.”
Choosing Cammeray for the new cafe was also deliberate. Atilla was attracted to the suburb’s village feel and the mix of people who call it home.
“There’s a mix of families, professionals and long-time residents, and a strong sense of community here,” he says. “The aim is for ROKA to become somewhere locals can drop in for their morning coffee, meet friends for breakfast or lunch, or simply sit and catch up.”
Coffee comes courtesy of Will & Co, while there’s also a small cocktail selection if breakfast or lunch happens to stretch a little longer than planned.
And ROKA isn’t stopping at daytime dining. Dinner is planned from September, giving locals another opportunity to explore the Turkish side of the menu.
“We don’t want to be somewhere people visit once – we want ROKA to become part of their routine,” says Atilla.
With family recipes, spices brought back from Turkey and a menu that offers something genuinely different, ROKA looks well placed to do exactly that.
ROKA Cammeray
450 Miller Street, Cammeray
Instagram: @roka.cammeray
Phone: 0459 286 971
