BY JESSICA GREGOIRE
Combining all the best foods the Mediterranean has to offer, Troy Mediterranean Cuisine is an international restaurant offering fresh and tasty food.
“We take the best items from Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, and we put it together to make one unique menu,” owner Deniz Suuctugu said.
Troy opened last November inside the Mall at Wellington Green. Suuctugu is an experienced restaurateur and has been in the business for 13 years. “I grew up in the restaurant business, and my whole family has had restaurants,” he said. “My mom and dad had a restaurant, and so did my grandparents. I went to college for hospitality management, and then I went to culinary school, so I know this business so well.”
A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Suuctugu opened his first restaurant in 1999. He later operated a restaurant for several years in Naples, Fla. He closed that business recently to focus here in the Palm Beaches.
“I’m now working on opening another location in Palm Beach County,” Suuctugu said. “Since this is a family business, it was getting harder having two locations so far from each other.”
The menu items at Troy are a mix of all Mediterranean favorites, from Turkish to Greek dishes. Everything is freshly made, using traditional family recipes.
“We try to stick with the traditional foods, but we customize it a little for Americans,” Suuctugu said. “In Turkey, everything we eat is spicy, but here we have to make it less spicy because Americans don’t like everything to be spicy.”
Suuctugu emphasizes the importance of healthful eating by having menu items and cooking with ingredients that are good for you. “Most restaurants cook in corn oil, but here at Troy, we use extra virgin olive oil in our cooking, which is better for people,” he said.
Some of Troy’s most popular dishes are kebabs, lamb and gyros. Troy sells an estimated 1,000 gyros a week. “These are not your typical gyros,” Suuctugu said.
A Troy gyro consists of a pita filled with various sauces and slow-cooked meat. Customers have a choice of chicken, beef or lamb, and the meat is slowly turned as it cooks, in order to create a tender fall-off-the-bone consistency. “When people order it, we shave the meat off the cone, and then we grill it one last time to give it a fiery grilled taste,” Suuctugu said. “We get rid of all the extra oil, and it’s very low calorie, less fattening, healthier, and it tastes good.”
Troy can accommodate up to 78 people and will soon be adding more booths to accommodate 100. “We will be getting a big family table,” Suuctugu said. “We will also be upgrading the menu to include more items.”
Troy has begun serving Sunday brunch at which customers can get an American- and Mediterranean-infused breakfast from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We will soon be starting a buffet on weekends, where kids can eat free if they come with their parents,” Suuctugu added.
Troy is located in the Mall at Wellington Green, on the upper level next to TooJay’s and near Macy’s. For more information, visit www.troymci.com or call (561) 798-2521.
