There’s a print-out stuck to the wall at Bodrum, visible to kitchen staff, servers and your correspondent, a sneaky restaurant critic who loves to position herself with a full view of the whole room. “We are not just here to serve food and drinks,” reads the sign. “We are here to create an experience.” It’s a mission statement that is carried through in food, service and setting at this colourful and friendly Turkish restaurant in Essendon.

Bodrum has been in the neighbourhood for 30 years, first in Napier Street around the corner, and for the past decade in this handsome Victorian building. Owner Aydin Bol has been a constant presence, and it’s still him and his moustache that greet diners today.

The dining room is done in exposed brick, glossy timber and Aegean blue accents in tiles, paintwork and a ceiling light that resembles an octopus with shiny glass tentacles.

When Bol opened Bodrum, late in the last century, the initial impetus was to show Melbourne that Turkish food is more than bread, dips and kebabs. Australia’s Turkish culinary culture has come a long way since then – and there’s nothing wrong with a great kebab, of course – but Bodrum’s offering looks as relevant as ever, built on freshness and an unstinting commitment to hospitality.

I don’t know how you could go wrong with this menu. There’s good seafood, a joyful approach to vegetables, and a nice balance of classic flavours and contemporary finesse.

The saganaki – fried cheese – is gooey and golden, swimming in its own fat.

Yoghurt is strained overnight then topped with brown butter and roasted chilli to make the creamy-spicy hot pepper dip.

The fish changes daily but there’s usually grilled rockling, impeccably cooked and served with lemon gel, and an attractive salad of cucumber ribbons, radishes, tomatoes and sea purslane, a juicy, salty succulent.

Most Turkish restaurants do their own take on an Adana kebab, which is traditionally made with generously spiced minced lamb meat and tail fat. Bodrum mixes in beef too, grilling the meat so it’s partially charred, serving it over a tasty currant and pine nut pilaf. I like the meat but I think I love the rice even more, especially as it gets sluiced with tasty fat from the kebab.

I don’t know how you could go wrong with this menu.

Naturally, there are baklava and lokma (doughnuts with honey and thyme) but chef Dylan Nava is rightly proud of his crisp, fresh millefeuille layered with coffee-spiked mascarpone.

Aydin Bol ditched a career in finance for hospitality, first running Gary Mehigan’s Boathouse in Moonee Ponds, now also running Koffy, a cafe in Gladstone Park. For Aydin, it’s all about looking after people, sharing hospitality with humility and heart, creating – like the sign says – experiences.