Located in the Bebeköy neighborhood of Etiler, Backyard is a restaurant/café/relaxation center with a truly your-own-backyard-like kind of atmosphere. The large, green backyard, the cushions, the lounge chairs, the patio all add up to create one of the most chill-out environments in the midst of the city. Oh, and did we mention the breathtaking view?

In this warm and inviting place, the menu (which ranges from Turkish classics to international fare) focuses on natural and organic produce, and many of the ingredients are sourced from co-owner Zeynep Moroğlu’s family farm in Çatalca.

We started this week with a breakfast at Backyard and got to meet the creators behind this gem of a place. Just like the place, owners and chefs Zeynep Moroğlu and Esra Muslu are quite the warm and laid-back people. Once you meet them, it becomes clear how Backyard was created: from the ideals and principles that both Zeynep and Esra live by.

So here is an insider’s look into Zeynep, Esra, Backyard, and this whole organic deal.

Zeynep’s food journey began as a result of coincidence. She had always loved eating but didn’t necessarily grow up with a love of cooking. While she was working in finance in the States, her father fell ill and she wanted to offer him something other than a get-better meal and dived into the kitchen to create something different. And that, Zeynep says, marks the day her food journey began.

After spending several years living in the States, she came back to Turkey and became a partner at the first branch of the House Cafe chain. By then, her love affair with food had taken a serious turn, and she went to San Francisco to study baking and pastry.

A former theater make-up artist, Esra’s story is similar to Zeynep’s in the sense that her food journey began as a result of coincidence as well. Esra spent three months in London, where her homestay family’s life revolved around food and cooking. This rubbed off on Esra, and what began as a hobby later became a passion and profession. She went to Melbourne to study the art of cooking and later returned to Istanbul.

Having come back home from two far corners of the world, Esra and Zeynep met and decided to work together and created Backyard.

Having spent such considerable time abroad, we wondered what they love about Turkish culture and Zeynep replied: the concept of family, the close-knit relationships, and the values that are still going strong. Even if they chose to leave Turkey for other countries, they came back having gained new perspectives and opened up their horizons. Now, they are paying it forward.

Zeynep explains that they learned to respect nature when abroad, and they’re trying to continue to do so here. An example of this is the organic bazaar held at Backyard every Sunday around 4pm. Going on until around 6pm, the bazaar is made up of a small stand where they sell what they grow at their garden as well as at Zeynep’s family farm in Çatalca. The products on sale include fresh spices, beans, a variety of cheese, jams, freshly-squeezed fruit juices, freshly-baked breads, and much more.

But it’s not just on Sundays that you can buy the goodies at Backyard. Their breads and pastry products, which are also sold at other cafes like Pop Up and Fudu, are also on sale on a daily basis.

With cooking as their pride, passion, and profession, we wondered whether the duo cooks at home. They both smile at the question, nodding no. And it’s not because they get tired of cooking, they just don’t have the time.

That’s probably because when they’re not working in the kitchen, they’re busy coming up with new ideas and getting inspired for new dishes. So we ask them who or what their muses are. They are big fans of the owners of River Café in London. They closely follow the likes of Anna Olson and Jamie Oliver. They also embark on gourmet holidays to Spain (Donostia-San Sebastián), England (London), France, the Far East, and Africa (Morocco).

When asked about the books that keep making their way to their nightstands, Zeynep picks Nick Malgieri and Andrew Whitley’s books, while Esra swears by Gordon Ramsey’s books and Grand Livre De Cuisine by Alain Ducasse. They both love A Day at elBulli by Ferran Adrià, Albert Adrià, and Juli Soler, which is a photographic journey into how a restaurant functions.

Speaking of journeys, Backyard is about to take a new turn come fall. The patio will be covered on all sides to become a restaurant, while the indoor dining area will turn into a neighborhood bar where customers will be able to enjoy a glass of wine by the fireplace after work. Keep following us to get the scoop on what will happen at Backyard.