Off Essendon’s main drag,there’s a lovely old double-fronted shopfront with handsome windows and a cheery blue door.

Bodrum’s blue-accented dining room,with its rough brick walls and pops of blue glass as bright as the Mediterranean,is warm and unpretentious. After a hearty greeting from the ebullient owner,feel yourself unwind as you settle in.

House-made dips – earthy sweet beetroot,tzatziki with cucumber crunch – are almost virtuous alongside wickedly oozy feta cigars. Mains are big on seafood and are largely gluten-free. Tender rockling with roast vegetables comes with a perky salad of rocket and spice-pickled pear,and a rustic chicken and potato stew hits the table in a claypot with warm Turkish bread on the side.