Inside the Abergavenny restaurant five years in the making

Hassan Saritaj bought the premises which is now named Anatolian, on Cross Street in Abergavenny, in 2015.

Since then Mr Saritaj, who also owns Pick A Pizza in the town, has rented it out for three years, while it has remained empty for the last two years.

“I was waiting for the right time,” he said.

“I needed to know the people who I was bringing in were the right people for the next step in our journey, and I’ve finally persuaded them to come with me.”

Mr Saritaj was speaking of his team of chefs and front of house staff, including head chef Izet Ogur, who arrived from Turkey, where he has run kitchens at five-star hotels.

“It took me a while to persuade him to come here for this project, but I know with him we can offer really fantastic food.”

As the business had not yet started operating, Mr Saritaj did not receive any government support throughout lockdown, while the majority of his new recruits were unemployed.

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“We had planned to open in April,” he added. “It was so frustrating after waiting five years for this that we had been delayed again, but we knew it needed to be done.

“There was no money coming in but luckily we had no bills to pay either, and our deliveries at Pick A Pizza kept us afloat.”

If the start to life on Cross Street is anything to go by, the restaurant will be doing much more than staying afloat in the years to come.

“I’ve been blown away by the response. We had a celebration with balloons for our launch, and the mayor came to do that with us.

“It made the long wait worthwhile, and we’ve been inundated with messages with people wanting to book, and also those wishing us well.”

A traditional Turkish cuisine, the food is prepared on a charcoal grill and diners can watch as the chefs cook.

Mayor Tony Konieczny said: “It was very kind of them to ask me to come along for the launch. It is so important for Abergavenny to cement this place as a food destination in the region.

“We’ve already got a fantastic Turkish restaurant with Mezze Me, but there is nothing wrong with some healthy competition. It’s incredible they’ve decided to open now, and I am confident it will pay off for them given the start they’ve had.

“It’s in a part of town in desperate need of some regeneration, so the location they’ve chosen for this is very pleasing as well.”