WHEN the owners of the Sofra Istanbul restaurant on Florida Road, Zohra and Ismail Teke, received a call from the Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) informing them that the popular Turkish eatery had been voted among the top 100 restaurants in the country it was met with denial and disbelief from the couple.

“I told RASA that they must have the wrong Istanbul, and that they might be looking for the one in Joburg,” said Zohra as she recalled the shock. Zohra said she had called the association for another matter when the person on the other end said they had been trying to contact the Florida Road restaurant for a long time. “I was floored and in total disbelief, I thought they had the wrong Istanbul. I even asked them to send me something in writing and soon realised that they had the right Istanbul and we have been voted among the top 100 restaurants in SA by our customers via the association on social media,” said Zohra.

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The husband and wife duo who wear many hats in running the successful restaurant, from chefs to waiters and managers, first opened shop in Pavilion in 2017 but moved to Florida Road after the Covid-19 pandemic. They have created a number of job opportunities, and employ young people while empowering and upskilling the ones already working for them.

A young waiter at Istanbul, Ben Tianzambi, said he started working at the restaurant while he was a student at a local college. “With money that I am earning here, I am able assist at home and live comfortably. We are treated like family here and our bosses are very hands-on and work alongside us. They recently treated us to a hotel stay in uMhlanga which was a great experience and a first for some of us,” said Tianzambi.

Zohra said the restaurant’s authentic home and village-style feel and food is what has made it popular among customers. She extended her gratitude to the restaurant’s patrons for voting for them with RASA.

She said, “The food is cooked with passion and based on my mom-in-law’s recipes from the Turkish village which is a winning combination. We are not about smoke, fire and theatrics which is what our customers love. We are grateful to everyone that voted for us. We do what we do because we love it and not for accolades,” added Zohra.

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