Dajko’s Kilim Cafe is a cosy, family run Turkish restaurant on Hastings Street in Napier, and it has quietly built a loyal following among locals. Diners often mention the warmth of the family behind it, and recent guests have praised the owner for looking after them personally. Its own description promises authentic Turkish classics made with the freshest ingredients, yet the menu also reaches across to the Balkans, which gives the place a character all of its own. It is as comfortable handing over a quick doner kebab as it is hosting a long, relaxed dinner of mezze shared across the table.
Iskender, billed on the menu as the world famous Turkish classic, is a cornerstone here, served on rice with a side salad and a choice of grilled chicken, lamb, mixed meat, halloumi, falafel or a vegetable mix. Traditional kebabs wrap the same fillings in pita with fresh salad, finished with sauces that run from mint and aioli to hot chilli and satay. Turkish style skewers of marinated lamb or chicken, listed as izgaras, come with rice and salad, and a mixed grill for two brings lamb and chicken skewers, ćevapi and doner together. Clay pots, the Anatolian güveç, are slow cooked casseroles of lamb, chicken or falafel.
A section called the Balkan Table promises old world flavours made fresh in the kitchen. Ćevapi are handmade beef sausages, grilled and served with pita, salad, ajvar and kajmak yoghurt sauce, while pljeskavica, the spiced Balkan burger, arrives on pita with potato wedges and comes classic or spicy. To begin, there are dips with warm pita, halloumi and falafel bites, shopska salad and börek, filo rolls filled with spinach and feta. Mezze platters in vegetarian, chicken, lamb or mixed meat versions are laid out as a generous spread of house specialties for sharing, and vegetarian choices are marked right through the menu.
Sweet endings lean Turkish, with baklava and ice cream, a Turkish dessert platter and the Sultan’s Treat, alongside affogato, a wide range of ice cream flavours and hot drinks. Diners can bring along a bottle of wine, which suits unhurried group dinners, and ordering and payment happen at the counter. Recent diners describe a calm room that makes talking easy, and some mention tables outside as well. For nights at home, the kitchen also delivers through an app, so a plate of ćevapi or an iskender can make the short trip from Hastings Street to the sofa instead.
Address: 193 Hastings Street, Napier South, Napier 4110
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