Denizens of Barracks Row surely noted that very little time lapsed between the closing of Ellington’s on 8th and the beginning of renovations to change the space into a new use. Last month I erroneously reported that a new Mediterranean restaurant called Café Med had opened in that space. Well, by the time this goes to print <fingers crossed> Barracks Row will indeed be home to a new Mediterranean restaurant. It won’t be called Café Med, but rather Café 8. And the menu, while generally Mediterranean, will be particularly Turkish.

When the restaurant at 424 Eighth St. SE became vacant, it was a very attractive space. One block from the Eastern Market Metro, a fairly spacious interior, a working fireplace for chilly evenings, and a garden back patio for fair weather – it should surprise no one that it took no time to get it leased again.

Turan Tombul, owner of Café 8 and a native of Turkey, saw a great opportunity to open a restaurant in a location that he has seen change tremendously in the 10 years or so he has been investing in greater Capitol Hill. Opening up a restaurant in the location seems to have been an easy decision for him to make. And how fortuitous that he decided to open a Turkish restaurant so soon after the demise of Meyhane, another Turkish restaurant, that closed on Pennsylvania Avenue just over a year ago. Not so fortuitous, actually. Turan happens to own the building where Meyhane had been located (now home to Locanda, an Italian restaurant). After Meyhane closed, Turan knew there was a void in the Capitol Hill restaurant scene for Turkish food – a void he plans on filling.

Turan has invested in a number of properties and businesses on Capitol Hill, but he needed someone with restaurant knowhow to get his new business up and running. He turned to his longtime friend Isabelle Garcia.

Isabelle, raised in France of Spanish ancestry, knows Turan through another Turkish friend, and is a lover of Turkish cuisine. She is the operations manager of the new restaurant and has been working with the head chef – who, like Turan, is from Turkey – to shape the menu. Her resume is impressive, including a long tenure with the famed Club Med, local French restaurant Les Halles, and currently, the Georgetown Club. She helped a friend open a restaurant once before, in Florida, and is looking forward to the challenge of opening one here in Washington where she lives. Isabelle has been working to prepare a menu that will be reasonably priced and family-friendly – a true neighborhood restaurant to which people can come once a week or more and not feel like they’re breaking the bank. Children are most definitely welcome. Isabelle thinks Capitol Hill is the perfect place to open a neighborhood restaurant because to her it is one of the truest and most unique neighborhoods in the city. Both she and Turan noted that the American Planning Association just named the neighborhood surrounding Eastern Market, including Barracks Row, one of the top-10 best neighborhoods in the country.

Of all the menu items, Turan is most excited about the döner kebab. This is a dish made of spiced meat – generally lamb – slow roasted on a revolving spit, shaved off with a knife, and served in warm pocket bread, or pide; it is similar to the Greek gyro or the Middle Eastern shawarma. Café 8’s döner kebab will be made fresh daily. Incidentally, döner kebab is said to be the most popular fast food in Germany! So there.

As pide is a critical component of any good döner kebab, and in fact plays a prominent role in Turkish fare generally, Turan has purchased a special dual wood burning/gas oven in which to bake it. Pide will be used in a range of sandwiches on the new menu, and the oven will also be put to work baking individual pizzas. Other entrées are traditional Turkish takes on chicken, beef and lamb, and desserts (all homemade!) will include baklava and rice pudding. The menu is likely to start small and expand as more people discover it. Don’t be surprised if some of your favorite dishes from Meyhane show up. Other culinary influences will include Café Divan in Georgetown and Levante’s and Rosemary’s Thyme in Dupont Circle.

Folks familiar with the space as its Ellington’s incarnation know of the cozy back room and the rear patio full of plants and trees. These will be put to good use – a fountain is being installed on the patio, and both spaces will be available for private events. Neighbors can expect to see a lot of Turan. He owns a house on Seventh Street SE and has decided to move there full-time now that he is starting a business in the neighborhood.

Come visit soon and enjoy the pide!