As Evi Bakery and Restaurant
Small, unassuming eatery in Henrietta offers authentic Turkish fare
By Jacob Pucci

When one thinks of weekend brunch, one may conjure up images of a carb-laden feast that’s salty, fatty, potentially boozy and set to knock you to the couch afterwards for an afternoon nap.
Then there’s the Turkish breakfast at Aş Evi Bakery and Restaurant, a small, unassuming spot in Henrietta where the decorated cakes behind the front counter catch your eye and the authentic Turkish fare will keep you coming back for more.
There’s a full menu of salads, soups, pide flatbreads, kebabs and grilled meats, but it was the traditional full Turkish breakfast, known as Serpme Kahvaltı, ($25.99 per person, served Friday to Sunday only) that drew us that morning.
Soon after ordering, a dozen dishes arrived — not including the saucers for our cups of strong black tea — covering much of our booth seat table.

Vibrant colored bowls of briny green and lightly bitter oil-cured olives were nestled on a long wooden board alongside bowls of strawberry preserves, chocolate hazelnut spread, chocolate halva — a sweet, crumbly confection made from sesame seeds — and tahin pekmez, a mix of tahini and grape molasses that tastes a bit like a Turkish PB&J.
That’s joined by a small platter of sliced tomatoes and cucumber, dressed simply in olive oil, and a whole bear’s worth of honey, accompanied with softened butter and kaymak, a rich spread similar to clotted cream.
Alongside that was a quartet of cheeses and a skillet of four eggs, fried hard and mixed with cheese and sucuk (pronounced soo-jook), a spiced beef sausage that served as the only meat in the feast. The skillet arrived at our table still sizzling, which not only gave the eggs a delectably crispy edge from the bubbling browned butter, but, like a pan of fajitas capturing the whole restaurant’s attention as it makes its way through the dining room, a little bit of fanfare always seems to make it taste better.

It’s been more than a few years since I studied in Turkey as a college exchange student, but in one bite of the simit — Turkey’s answer to the bagel, thoroughly coated in deeply toasted, nutty sesame seeds — I was transported back. Aş Evi’s version was every bit as good as the ones served by street vendors pushing little red wheeled carts throughout the winding streets of Istanbul — maybe even better.
The bread platter also included cheese-filled poğaça (poe-ah-cha), a tender, crumbly pastry similar to a savory scone and a pair of Ramadan pides, a warm, lightly chewy flatbread topped with sesame and nigella seeds that paired particularly well with a thick schmear of honey and kaymak.
Despite such a wide range of items, nothing felt disjointed.
A salty olive balances out a sweet bite of honey, the complexity of the tahin pekmez and the simplicity of a wonderfully ripe tomato and a piece of salty cheese. The eggs and sucuk might be considered the centerpiece of the meal, if only because of its size and the egg’s traditional role as a breakfast staple, but the pleasure really lies in grazing from one bite to another, knowing that regardless of order, it’ll taste good. It’s truly a meal greater than the sum of its parts.

A couple of detractions –— service was friendly, but slow. After delivering our breakfast spread, our server, who doubled on register duty at the bakery counter in the front of the restaurant, had moved on to other tasks. This wasn’t a problem as we leisurely meandered from one little bowl to another, but as our beverages ran dry, acquiring a refill of our Turkish teas took more than a few attempts to gain anyone’s attention.
Pony walls separate the restaurant inside a larger industrial building, but with minimal décor and no discernable background music, the space can feel a bit sterile. Most of the customers we saw during our 90 minutes or so at Aş Evi were there for takeout orders or to pick up pastries from the bakery, so creating a homey ambiance might not be a top priority, but for a meal designed to be shared in-house at a leisurely pace, a few more creature comforts would be welcome.
Despite struggling to finish the whole breakfast spread, we made sure to stop at the bakery counter for some baklava for the road.
We ended up with a few pieces each of the chocolate pistachio and another shaped like a little purse, filled with pistachios. We almost made it out of the parking lot before opening the container and diving in.
A meal like this is nostalgic for me, but nostalgia doesn’t make this pide bread perfectly chewy, or help the baklava achieve the ideal balance between sweet, crispy and nutty.
Real Turkish restaurants are typically few and far between in Upstate New York. I’m glad we have a good one.
As Evi Bakery and Restaurant
2973 W. Henrietta Road, Rochester
A sister restaurant, Aş Evi Turkish Cuisine, is located at 315 E. Ridge Road, Rochester.
Open daily, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Full Turkish breakfast served Friday to Sunday.
585-413.1947