Troya #2 Opens Today With New Fillmore Street Slant

2125 Fillmore St., Pacific Heights
Phone: 415-563-1000
Status: Opens today at 5 p.m.
The Richmond's successful Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant Troya opens its second outpost in the old Citizen Cake digs on Fillmore Street today. See above, the 50-seat space redesigned by R3 Builders, who lengthened the bar and added a communal table. The colors and overall feel are quite a departure from Citizen Cake's former ice cream parlor/bistro shtick.

Owner Brigitte Cullen says the food will be considerably different than what Troya followers in the Inner Richmond have experienced for the last six years. New chef Philip Busacco, comes from a chef de cuisine role at Cow Hollow's Terzo, and he'll bring much more of a California slant to the food. The opening menu includes an extensive selection of meze ($7-12) like beef cheek dolmas with pomegranate molasses and tahini, and Turkish brandy-steamed mussels with garlic and aleppo, stuffed flatbreads ($11), several kebab options ($13-14), and entrees ($14-$23) like hand-rolled Turkish manti and braised chicken with eggplant, coriander, hazelnuts and garbanzo beans.

Another point of interest is the new Turkish baker, Behiye Golgeci,
who will hand-roll pasta and bake traditional pide, or stuffed flatbread, solely out of the Fillmore location. The unprecedented pide, "like Turkish calzones," will come in three to four seasonal varieties made from scratch daily and baked in the pizza oven.

Cullen also enlisted Saison co-owner and sommelier Mark Bright to consult on the Mediterranean wine list. Hours this week will be dinner only from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Next week, lunch hours will be added on Monday — Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch will start the weekend of the 12th, when weekend hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. will begin. Look for a brand new Troya website to go live later today.

· All Troya Coverage [~ ESF ~]