It’s been a remarkable journey in short order for Executive Chef-Partner Omer Artun and co-owner Koray Altinsoy who started Meyhouse as a weekend pop-up in 2017, then opened a brick-and-mortar in downtown Sunnyvale in 2018, followed by a splashy downtown Palo Alto location in 2023.
Last week, they started renovations on a third location to serve their patented modern Turkish cuisine, this one in City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. It will be slightly larger than the Palo Alto restaurant. But like that one, it will also feature live jazz regularly. If all goes according to plan, the San Ramon outpost will open its doors in November, Artun said. He’s not stopping there, either, as more locations may be on the way in the future.
What’s even more impressive is that this is not only the second career for Artun and Altinsoy, but one that they had never worked in previously. Altinsoy is a tech marketing executive while Artun has a background in software and physics. As someone who has always loved food and cooking, Artun decided to embark on this next chapter after he sold his IT company.
To say that Meyhouse is a very personal project for him is an understatement.
About half the menu is based on family recipes. A passionate ceramist who even has his own studio at home, Artun fashioned many of the serving dishes, as well as the pendant light fixtures in the jazz room in Palo Alto. Look on the walls there, and you’ll also see his boldly colored paintings on display.
Ask him if this career is more fun than the previous one, and he answers affirmatively without hestiation.
“People think tech is complicated, but owning a restaurant is even more so,” he says. “You are responsible for so many things. You have 5 minutes to make a guest happy. There is a huge engineering component to it all. But there’s a lot of joy in that, too.”
Last week, I was invited in by the Palo Alto restaurant to try another new addition: a $39.95 three-course lunch prix fixe, available from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. It also can be enjoyed at the Sunnyvale location.
The prix fixe features many favorites from the dinner menu, but in smaller portions. You get to choose a meze, a main course, and a dessert.
First, though, it was time for a couple of non-alcoholic cocktails to cool off with on a warm afternoon. The Ginger 75 ($16) lives up to its name without being too sweet, with the throaty warmth of ginger blended with Seedlip Spice and a touch of lemon, and prettily garnished with a rolled-up slice of thin cucumber. The Nar ($16) was fruity and tangy, and again not overly sweet, with pomegranate juice, lemon, a touch of cinnamon, and a maraschino cherry.
Meyhouse makes most everything in-house, including the fabulous sesame-flecked bread that’s puffy, airy, and a carb lover’s dream. It arrives with a tangy green sauce to dip into.
My friend Charlen and I shared everything family-style. From the meze section, we chose the karidesli enginar, which are artichoke hearts braised in olive oil, then topped with poached prawns. It is a sunny tasting dish, so much so that one bite transports you to an outdoor cafe along the seashore.
Our server Christian had recommended the kopoglu, and he did not steer us wrong. Meyhouse makes its own yogurt, which acts as the foundation for oven-roasted eggplant, peppers, and tomato sauce. Seasoned with garlic, the yogurt is thick and luxurious tasting. Spread a little of everything on a slice of bread and go to town. The eggplant couldn’t have been cooked more perfectly — crisp on the very edges yet custardy within. My friend appreciated that the peppers lacked any bitterness. We cleaned the plate, and if she had her way, she would have licked it, too, she joked.
From the mains, the izgara levrek personifies simplicity done well. It’s a half branzino fillet that gets grilled, rendering its flesh incredibly succulent. A drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon over it and some greens is all that was needed to bring out the best in everything.
The lokum, which has a supplement of $7, is 6-ounces of grilled, thinly sliced prime beef tenderloin that could not have been more tender or juicy. I loved how the mashed potatoes had a chunky texture. No mere afterthought, the mash had a pool of olive oil, lemon juice, capers, and dill that really turned it into something memorable.
For dessert, the baklava is crisp and loaded with pistachios. It’s definitely sweet, but not cloying.
I can never resist the kunefe, even with its $2 supplement. A little sweet and a little savory, this classic Turkish treat is a pistachio-topped pastry pie wrapped in crispy, buttery, finely shredded phyllo threads that hides a center of gooey, melty mozzarella. Seriously, what’s not to love about that?
On a day when you’re not wolfing down a sandwich between meetings or brown-bagging it, treat yourself to a leisurely Turkish lunch that’s destined to be the highlight of your week.
