Nazar brings a taste of Turkish cuisine to Cambridge

Nazar, a new restaurant offering Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisine, has opened in Cambridge.

Located at the Leisure Park on Clifton Way, the restaurant, which also has an established branch in Bedford, took over the space previously occupied by Turkuaz. Prior to that, the site had been a Frankie & Benny’s.

Yusuf Aslan, Nazar’s co-founder, said: “It’s a family-run business and all our chefs are authentic Turkish chefs.

“We’re heavily into kebabs, which are from south west Türkiye, but we also do north, west and east as well – dishes from across the Turkish region.

“I’ve been in the restaurant industry for over 25 years, and one of my chefs has been in the industry for 37 years.

“Our meat that we use is Irish or Welsh lamb – we never use frozen meat in our kitchens.

“And the wholesaler is actually a cousin of mine so he hand-selects our meat for us – and we also have an in-house butcher.”

Yusuf says Nazar – which welcomed the mayor of Cambridge, Cllr Baiju Thittala, last week – has an atmosphere that helps it stand out as a dining out experience.

But what is the key to its offer?

“I say number one is the taste of the food,” replies Yusuf. “Everything is made in-house. Even our fish that comes in, we don’t use sweet water – it’s from the sea.”

For more information, visit cambridge.nazarkitchen.com.