The second branch of an award-winning Turkish restaurant opens this week and we’ve been given a sneak peek inside.

Family-run Alim-Et will welcome customers to its new venue in Maidstone tomorrow (Friday, May 9).

KentOnline was invited to see the results of a four-year revamp of Sunley House in Middle Row – the former home of Bar 6.

The interior has been transformed with a sleek modern look featuring panelled walls, neon lights and cushioned chairs and marble-style tables imported from Turkey.

Mevlana Carbcabuk, who is running the latest business venture with his sisters and brother-in-law, said: “We had to do so much to bring the building back to life – from all the electrical works to every single bit of plumbing.

“It took forever to do – the internal works took a solid year, but I think we did the best we could do. We did not run away from quality.”

The family, who run Alim-Et in Larkfield, bought the four-storey building after it went on the market in 2020 and had planned to open a restaurant three years later.

This was delayed for a number of reasons, including high costs, planning permission and internal work delays.

Further delays were caused after imported plates and cutlery were stolen during a burglary last year, which meant the family had to travel back to Turkey to buy replacements.

The project was also put on the back burner after the family took time out to organise the sending of major donations back to their home country of Turkey after an earthquake in 2023 which killed more than 50,000 people.

But now everything is ready for its grand opening with the restaurant set to welcome its first customers.

The ground floor features the main dining space, a bar area and kitchen, while downstairs, in the basement, are the toilets. The upper floors are to remain as office space for now.

The new branch is bigger than its other venue in Larkfield, which opened in 2017 and soon garnered a reputation for its award-winning Turkish mezzes and grilled delicacies.

It was named best takeaway in the regional category of the British Kebab Awards for two years running in 2019 and 2020.

The Maidstone restaurant operates under the same name as the original and is a combination of the names of the brothers that founded it, Ali and Ahmet, and a play on the word “et”, the Turkish word for meat.

The Larkfield branch will continue running as usual, with its 20-strong team.

Meanwhile, 30 new employees have been recruited for the Maidstone venue to “give the best service to customers”.

The new restaurant has space for 80 diners inside and a further 30 outside, at both the front and back of the building.

It will be serving breakfast every day from 7.30am to midday, featuring Turkish pastries.

On weekdays, the Maidstone branch will offer a lunch menu of traditional dishes and soups until 3.30pm before switching to a la carte until closing time.

Like the Larkfield restaurant, it will operate a takeaway service from noon until it closes seven days a week.

It will shut at 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday, although these hours may be extended in the future, says Mevlana.

This will be so they can bring live music nights to the venue inspired by Istanbul’s Meyhane culture, which brings traditional tunes, mezzes and alcohol together.

The new eatery will also feature new specialities including an Alim-Et kofte made from minced lamb, cooked in a clay pot with tomatoes, peppers and onions and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella.

Mevlana said: “We’re just super excited for the weekend to see how it goes.”

For the grand opening, from tomorrow (Friday) to Sunday, the restaurant will be offering a 30% discount to those paying cash and 15% for those using card.

There will be a private ribbon-cutting ceremony today (Thursday) which is due to be attended by the Mayor of Maidstone Cllr John Perry.

The building was originally a regional head office for Barclays Bank and opened in 1960. The bank left the premises in the mid-1990s.

Since then, the ground floor has been home to a succession of bars, including Bar Coast, V Bar, Breeze Bar, Players Coyotes, Bar Delicious, Oxygen and Bar 6.