Babajan, Carlton North's Turkish-inspired cafe, has opened its second store on Little Collins Street. After six years leading the Northside brunch scene, the eatery has expanded its takeaway concept into the city – so your CBD lunch just got a whole lot more exciting.
Back in 2020 and in response to the pandemic, the Nicholson Street eatery ditched dine-in and transformed permanently into a takeaway concept, allowing visitors to pop in and select their vice from the large class cabinet overflowing with pastries, breads, house-made boreks and simits, alongside salads, desserts and pretty much any other delicacy they choose on any given day.
Owner and founder of Babajan, chef Kirsty Chiaplias says it was a natural progression, "Pre-pandemic I wanted to change the business, and funnily enough, despite all the stress and pressure,
COVID allowed me to do that," she says.
City slickers and workers alike will be spoilt for choice come lunchtime, with Babajan offering up their beloved boreks (yes, the silverbeet borek will be on offer), famous roast chicken sandwich with stuffing and will have a focus on simits – a Turkish circular bread generously encrusted with sesame seeds.
Although it may be a hole-in-the-wall, the new CBD shop will offer up a host of Babajan's retail products too, like eggplant aleppo, harissa, baharat and sumac to take home.