58 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {food coloring} At first glance, a physics degree or decades of experience in the tech world doesn’t sound like a recipe for making a successful restaurateur. Omer Artun and Koray Altinsoy, the owners of Turkish fine dining restaurant Meyhouse in Palo Alto, would disagree. It’s that love for both science and food that ushered Omer into his career as executive chef. As for Koray, his business acumen and corporate experience have made him the ideal guy to manage the day-to-day operations, overseeing a swanky dining room that invites diners to linger over sea bass and sips of Sauvignon Blanc. “There’s a clear division of responsibility and together it makes the whole thing work,” Omer explains. A passionate home cook, Omer ran his own software company, but after hours he poured his energy into researching and experimenting in his kitchen. Then a friend suggested he try hosting a pop-up dinner. “I started doing them every two months and they became very popular and sold out within minutes,” the chef recalls. “That was my first foray into people actually paying for my food.” In 2018, after 10 sold-out dinners, each one serving 18 themed courses to 150 guests, he partnered with his friend Koray to start a small restaurant. “I came from a tech background, but I love food as well,” declares Koray, who had helped his wife’s uncle open a restaurant in San Francisco. “Omer and I decided to start with a small space in Sunnyvale. It became super successful and within a few months we were profitable.” When they opened their second Meyhouse location in August of 2023, however, they decided to dream big. The Palo Alto location is more stylish, sophisticated and contemporary than its Sunnyvale sister, while maintaining what Meyhouse is best known for: a warm, communal vibe. The Palo Alto restaurant includes an intimate back room for live jazz performances on Thursday nights
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