A taste of Turkey and more at Mediterranean Breeze in Olympia

Steeped in restaurant and food service experience, Mehmet Sipahioglu, originally from Turkey, looked for a new opportunity in 2002 and left his country for the United States.

He since has learned English , found work as a house painter — he also runs a separate painting business — but also had a dream of opening his own restaurant. He had worked for his uncle’s restaurant in Turkey, while also learning from his father who sold produce and raised chickens and cows.

Thirteen years later, Sipahioglu has opened Mediterranean Breeze at 2302 Harrison Ave. NW, in space once occupied by the Italian restaurant Apollo’s. In all, his restaurant has filled 5,500 square feet of space for a restaurant and bar.

Before the opening, Sipahioglu studied other Turkish restaurants throughout the U.S. and arrived at a decision: Make everything from scratch, cook with wood-fired heat, offer variety on the menu and create the right ambiance for his restaurant. The doors opened in June.

Mediterranean Breeze serves Turkish food, but also has pizza and pasta. Sipahioglu wasn’t sure customers would embrace the Turkish dishes right away, so he kept pizza on the menu.

Pizza sold well at first, he said, but now it isn’t as popular because more and more people have discovered his Turkish menu. Lamb, chicken or beef kebabs are growing in popularity, as are the appetizers, the fresh pita bread or stuffed Turkish flat bread, the salads, seafood, or dessert, such as rice pudding or a new entry: irmik. Irmik is made from a fine semolina, cooked with butter and simple sugar, and served with ice cream.

Some popular dishes:

▪ Iskender kebab: Thinly sliced beef or lamb on a bed of diced pita bread, topped with a special sauce, butter, yogurt (on the side), grilled tomatoes and peppers.

▪ Three-combination cold appetizer: Eggplant salad, hummus and Acili Ezme, a mixture of walnuts, hot pepper paste, pomegranate pate, tomatoes, parsley, onions, fresh lemon and olive oil. Served with flat bread.

▪ Karisik: A stuffed Turkish flat bread with mozzarella, ground beef, beef sausage, soujouk, salami, pastrami, onions, green and red peppers.

Although Turkish cuisine is known for its meat, the menu abounds with vegetarian and vegan options.

“Everyone can find something here,” Sipahioglu said.

As for the name of the business, Turkish food has been influenced by the Mediterranean region, so he wanted a name to reflect that as well as his “respect for other cultures.”

Entrees range from $15 to $25. Mediterranean Breeze is open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 12:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. You can find Mediterranean Breeze on Facebook.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "A taste of Turkey and more at Mediterranean Breeze in Olympia."