The dynamic East Dallas dining scene has a new exciting addition with the arrival of Alania Mediterranean Grill, a family-run Turkish restaurant now open at 4812 Bryan St., in the former Mai’s Vietnamese, right around the corner from Jimmy’s Food Store, and between bars Saint Valentine and Dallasite Billiards.

The new concept is from Melike and Kenan Turan, and their son Kaan Elagoz, a Turkish family who moved to Dallas in 2012. Kenan has a background in hospitality, having worked in restaurants and hotels in Istanbul. In 2017, they opened Istanbul Palace in Richardson, which sadly did not survive the pandemic and closed in 2020.

For this new start, they partnered with chef Tuna Patiroglu, who previously also worked at Istanbul Palace, to create an authentic Mediterranean rooted in Turkish flavors.

The menu includes dip-like cold appetizers like yogurt-based atom, hummus, fire roasted eggplant and whipped feta. Each plate is $9, but a $13 sampler called Triple Mezze allows diners to try three. Hot appetizers include crispy falafel, broccolini, grilled asparagus and halloumi cheese.

A spread of cold appetizers at Alania, including hummus, yogurt-based atom, and fire-roasted eggplant, topped with walnuts and pomegranate seeds.Photo by Toni Kay.

For entrees, they serve an assortment of charcoal-grilled meat skewers or shish, including beef, chicken, shrimp and lamb, ranging from $22 to $33, as well as lamb chops for $36. All plates are abundant and include a side of rice and a salad.

For big groups, they offer a mixed grilled plate for four people for $90, and one they call The Grand Feast, for six people at $200, which gives guests an opportunity to taste every single meat they serve at the restaurant.

They also offer salads, soups and stone-oven flatbread-based Turkish-style pizza or pide as well as Neapolitan pizza.

Deserts include baklava, tiramisu, and kunefe, a traditional Turkish dessert made of crispy, shredded pastry filled with melted cheese.

After opening with dinner service only from 5-10 pm during its first two weeks, the restaurant is expanding its hours this week to begin service at 11 am daily. The new lunch menu features a variety of salads, wraps, and kebabs, and a weekend brunch menu is also in the works.

Alania Mediterranean Grill joins a list of foodie favorites in East Dallas, with Mot Hai Bai, from 2026 Tastemaker Awards Chef of the Year Peja Krstic, St Martin’s Wine Bistro, Urbano Café, Sylvestro and Molino Olõyõ - opening soon in the former Cry Wolf space - all within a mile.

The restaurant brings Turkish hospitality to life in a warm, welcoming space designed by Melike, featuring comfortable leather seating imported from Turkey, landscape photographs of Istanbul and Alanya — the coastal city where she and Kaan are from — and the kind, thoughtful service that makes guests feel right at home.

Chef Tuna Patiroglu grills meats over charcoal in Alania's authentic ocakbaşı room, where guests can watch the cooking process firsthand.Photo by Toni Kay

The restaurant includes a dining room with a bar that will serve alcoholic beverages once its license is approved (expected next month), an authentic Turkish ocakbaşı room — a traditional style of cooking meaning “in front of the hearth,” where chefs grill over charcoal in full view of diners seated around a counter — as well as an outdoor patio.

“For Turkish people, we try to bring the culture to them, so they can feel at home," Elagoz says. "For non-Turkish customers, we want to show them a bit of our culture."