Meet the man who is opening TWO Altat cafes in York

Turkish-born Umit Altun has joined forces with his cousin Deniz Altin to open Altat cafe on the corner of Belle Vue Street and Heslington Road, in the former Cafe Frida.

As if that wasn't enough, Umit has plans to open a second cafe in the car park at Nunnery Lane - bringing back to life a closed retail space at the Micklegate end of the car park.

Umit, who ran cafes in Turkey before moving to York two years ago, says his cafes will offer a coffee house "with a twist".

Altat coffee house in Heslington Road, formerly Cafe Frida

He told The Press: "I have always loved coffee shops and wanted to try something different."

At first glance, Altat looks like another smart, trendy cafe, from the gleaming state-of-the-art coffee machine, to the green, brush-velvet chairs, 'living' green Instagrammable wall and free wifi offer.

On the menu, you will find the usual suspects too - a full range of coffees and other hot drinks, as well as a decent selection of breakfast/brunch and lunch plates; everything from a full English or veggie breakfast to bacon, egg and sausage rolls. There is a choice of paninis, toasties, wraps, pastas and soups too as well as cakes and treats.

Interior of Altat cafe

But tucked away without much of a fanfare there are some items you don't normally find in a York cafe.

For starters there is Turkish coffee - but also a Turkish breakfast, labelled on the menu as 'Mediterranean breakfast'. This features a feast of middle eastern flavours including fried eggs with Turkish garlic sausage, feta cheese, grilled halloumi, olives, cucumber, fresh tomato and bread with butter and honey, served with tea or coffee.

The Turks, Umit tells me, like tea and coffee, but drink it differently to us.

"We have black tea, with no milk. And our coffee is served short, like an espresso, and is black, with sugar."

Intrigued, I follow up my flat white (a lovely mellow blend from Dancing Goat) with a teeny cup of Turkish coffee which Umit makes in a separate unit, and where the Turkish ground coffee is mixed with water and sugar then percolated.

It looks thick and dark and I fear it will taste too strong. But it is surprising - much lighter in flavour with just a note of sweetness from the sugar. I like it a lot.

The cafe has only been open for a week, but already Umit and the team are looking to build regular customers and are offering students 10 per cent discounts and a loyalty card will also be available.

He hopes to open his second cafe at Nunnery Lane next month.

Watch this space!