Caravanserai's name alone conjures up vibrant images of a roadside inn packed with hot, hungry and thirsty travellers seeking respite from their journey. With possibly a camel or two parked outside. For Caravanserai owner Michelle Stafford, it's also been her reinvention.
Stafford, who initially worked as a waitress for the popular West End establishment, went on to buy the restaurant 27 years ago after its original owners – who opened it three years prior - returned to Turkey.
"It is a big leap. I was looking to buy a business or go to uni and I thought I would buy a business. It's been successful ever since," she says.
"I've always worked with gobsmackingly wonderful people. It is all about the team including my four chefs.
"The recipes we change and update and make them Brisbane relevant in terms of produce but we try to be as authentic as possible."
So authentic, in fact, that almost three decades later, many original items remain on the menu. Think spiced Turkish meatballs with rice, chicken shish skewers on cranberry tabouleh, and prawn and mussel pilaf.
It is a place to come to celebrate.
Not to mention the trademark platters which have always been mainstays, including the Caravanserai meze with hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki, romesco (also spelt romesco), carrot and onion pickle, marinated olives, feta, capsicum and a basket of warm Turkish pide.
The house-made baklava with vanilla bean ice cream is crafted by Stafford herself who says she's been told "many times it's the best baklava in Brisbane". After all, she's had nearly three decades to perfect it.
"West End is diverse and colourful. Caravanserai is in a lovely old building, with candlelight and Turkish rugs. It is not posh," she says.
"It is definitely a destination restaurant for big bookings and special occasions where people will fly in to dine here.
"It is a place to come to celebrate."
While there are restaurants serving the same type of cuisine in Brisbane, Stafford says, you won't find belly dancers at Caravanserai. Instead, there's a Turkish twist or two, such as a Turkish sangria made with white wine, and a choc-mint chai whose minty flavour promises to induce a "warm feeling" and which is "brimming with spices".
For something more traditional, try the apple tea or sahlep – a warm, creamy spiced milk drink which, according to the menu, is rumoured to have aphrodisiac qualities.
You'll also find the usual suspects: Turkish and Arabic coffee, and rose petal Turkish delight.
Famous diners over the years have been almost as colourful as the meals themselves, with Australian musician Peter Garrett, environmental activist Bob Brown and Queensland politician Bob Katter all gracing the table at some point.
Caravanserai's signature dish is the "sublime platter", which consists of grilled chicken skewers, garlic prawns, tender lamb, kofta meatballs, grilled haloumi, green bean and roasted almond salad, rice, pickles, olives, sauces and warm pide.
Banquet-style dining is also encouraged with the aptly named deluxe sultan's banquet. It consists of four courses including mezes and mains. The Turkish lemonade with fresh limes, lemon and mint, and the baklava, fish mousse, Turkish delight and tea and coffee are a huge hit.
"That concept of sharing food is very Middle Eastern," Stafford says. "I like people to just walk in the door and forget everything and just be in the Caravanserai experience. The lights are on low but there is no whispering. It's a noisy, chaotic restaurant. It is a little bit of escapism."
Tuesday–Sunday 5:30pm-10pm
Friday-Saturday: Lunch
