Salep brings authentic Turkish ice cream and European café culture to Ronkonkoma

For years, Gulden Durdu dreamed of introducing authentic Turkish ice cream to New York.

After spending 13 years with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, that dream has become a reality with the opening of Salep, a new ice cream café at 920 Johnson Ave. in Ronkonkoma.

“I’ve had this goal in the back of my mind for many years of bringing Turkish ice cream to New York,” Durdu told Greater Long Island. “Hopefully one day we can bring it to the rest of the country.”

The opportunity came unexpectedly after her brother, Mustafa Toslu, owner of neighboring Prestano Bakery, purchased the former O’Brien’s Pub and asked whether she wanted to do something with the space.

“I immediately said, ‘Ice cream,’” she recalled.

That simple conversation set in motion a two-year renovation that transformed the former neighborhood bar into a bright, welcoming café.

“We pretty much gutted the whole place,” she said.

While authentic Turkish ice cream is Salep’s signature offering, Durdu designed the menu to appeal to both adventurous diners and those looking for familiar favorites. Alongside traditional Turkish flavors, the café serves more than 20 homemade American-style hard ice cream flavors, as well as soft serve and Italian ice.

“We didn’t want to do only Turkish ice cream because a lot of people don’t know what it is,” she said. “We wanted people to be able to try it while still having the flavors they’re familiar with.”

Nearly everything at Salep is made from scratch using premium ingredients. Fresh fruit is pureed in-house rather than relying on artificial flavorings, while pistachio, hazelnut and other specialty flavors are made using the real ingredients.

“I’m very picky when I go out to eat,” Durdu said. “I wanted to make something that I would want to eat.”

Turkish ice cream gets its distinctive texture from salep, a powder made from the bulbs of wild orchids. The ingredient creates a thick, creamy consistency with the signature stretchiness that has made the dessert famous around the world.

Beyond ice cream, the café also serves traditional hot salep drinks, coffee, smoothies and other specialty beverages. Durdu said the menu will continue to grow in the coming weeks with the addition of waffles, crepes, paninis and traditional Turkish desserts.

But for Durdu, Salep is about more than what’s on the menu.

“My goal is to turn this into a beautiful ice cream café,” she said. “I don’t want it to be a place where people just come in, buy ice cream and leave. I want people to come here, relax and enjoy themselves. I want them to feel at home.”

Inspired by the café culture found throughout Europe, she hopes Salep becomes a place where friends can gather over coffee and dessert, students can spend an afternoon studying and families can slow down and enjoy time together.

Future plans include expanded outdoor seating and a small play area for children, creating even more space for the community to gather.

“This is our passion project,” Durdu said. “We want it to be a place where friends can meet, students can study, families can spend time together and everyone feels welcome.”

After years of planning, renovating and countless sleepless nights, Durdu said the greatest reward has been seeing customers come back.

“When people taste the ice cream and say, ‘I love it,’ that’s the reward,” she said.

See what’s in store

Photos by Julianne Mosher