The owner of a popular Turkish restaurant in Cardiff is planning to transform former public toilets in a park into a café. Hakan Sir, the owner of Lezzet Turkish Kitchen on St Mary Street, said he hopes to turn the Grade-II listed building into a community-centric eatery that hosts cooking lessons, student art displays, student music performances and charity events.
Located in Cathays Park on Museum Avenue, the historic block, which was built in the 1930s, sits between the National Museum of Wales and the main building of Cardiff University. It was originally designed by the city architect's department and the original layout remains in place.
It has been disused for more than 30 years and has fallen into disrepair due to vandalism and a lack of maintenance. According to Cadw's heritage impact assessment of the site, the building has suffered damage from fire and being broken into, and its remaining original features are beyond repair due to fire damage and damp.
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Plans were revealed last year to renovate and extend the building at the rear, and integrate it into the new park layout. As a Grade II listed building, it is subject to regulations protecting its unique character. The proposed extension would be built with stone cladding, and the colour and finish will match the existing structure.
Mr Sir said he is still awaiting planning permission and the go-ahead from the council, but has submitted a licencing application, and is hoping to open the café by Spring 2023 or sooner, if his plans are approved. "It's an interesting project for us, the council and the environment," he said. "It's an unusual historical site, so we need to make sure everything goes well. It needs to be modern, but it has to look historical, blending in with the rest of the buildings."
The 45-year-old has owned Turkish restaurants in Cardiff for 23 years - notably Bosphorus in Cardiff Bay, which sadly closed its doors in 2017 after 17 years of trading. He opened Lezzet in the city centre in 2019, which serves mezze, grills, stews and Turkish flatbreads. The new café, however, will incorporate a mixture of cuisines. "I won’t be doing heavy cooking like barbecue there. It will be more like a cafe," he said, adding that choices will include coffee, sandwiches and salads.
Mr Sir envisions a café with a difference - something that is "convenient, good and useful" for the area and the city. He's particularly keen to work with students, and warmly welcomes contributions from students from Cardiff University and students from the Roya Welsh College of Music and Drama, both of which are nearby.
"W e don’t just want to do a business and make money. I would like to make more of a community venue, working with art students, who can display their work, and working with music students, who can perform there - they would be more than welcome to," he said.
"I'm always, always open to suggestions to work with students to help with their portfolios. We'd also like to set up cooking lessons some evenings, if we can get people on board or charity evenings. These ideas are what we had in mind for a long time because the location is quite suitable, with car park spaces and it's close to the university. I think it can be done but obviously we’ll just see how it goes." To get more stories about Cardiff sent straight to your inbox every single day, click here.
