The only problem with living in an area like Hackney with such an abundance of great, affordable…read moreworld cuisine is that it makes English food seem about as appealing as day old spotted dick. I am a sucker for a Sunday roast, but for every other day of the week I eat West Indian, Nigerian and Turkish. Mangal II is the crowning glory of East London's Turkish restaurants and displays this fact proudly on a window adorned with so many paper clippings it looks sponsored by Time Out. The menu is vast and everything on it (I go there a lot) is delicious, extra special is the vegetarian moussaka. It's a traditional ocakbasi restaurant with all the delicious meats and sauces sizzling away on hotplates and a big flame grill. This can be distracting when especially hungry, I have found myself on dates here, staring, drooling, nostrils flaring at the chefs, completely ignoring which ever poor soul I roped in to my feeding frenzy. This is one of my favourite restaurants in London, its perfect in every way and if you don't believe me, just ask Gilbert and George.

Very good food! Really enjoyed, good prices!! I will be back 100% …read more The service a bit slow, I had to ask the bill 3 times before I got it. I understand very busy place!

This was by far the best Lebanese restaurant and meal we had for a long time. Jaff our host treated…read moreus like royalty with a generous and incredible sense of Lebanese hospitality. shkraan jzylaan! Attentive, great counsel he recommended that we taste the Makloube Lamb and some Kibbeh Nayeh. By Jove this was exquisitely delicious! You had the feeling to eat homemade Lebanese food with your friends and family! Their hummus and Motabal was also remarkably good. Somehow for two hours we had the impression to be back in the Middle East enjoying the best of food. Even at 11pm the restaurant was buzzing and happening! This is really a real Lebanese gem in London! The owner is a great Chef and it shows!

Yummy is all what I can think of almost 10 hours after our dinner. It's by far the most delicious…read moreLebanese food I have had in London in the past 10 years. It felt I am eating at someone's house and not a restaurant food. The service was amazing and they were so smooth even tho the restaurant was full house. The lady who was taking care of us didn't fail to have a smile on her face the whole time. The restaurant is really beautiful and has beautiful decor. Next time I am in London I will be going back for sure! Enjoy it and let me know what was your favorite dish!

My partner and I dined here on October 4th 2015 our first day on vacation in London …read more We had just finished visiting Hyde Park as well as Kensington Palace. We had walked extensively and were hungry. We wanted to dine at the Orangery at Kensington Palace for the upgraded tea service but the weather was sunny and the crowds were huge with a long wait. We decided to walk in the surrounding area and discovered Randa. We saw they had open tables so we popped in. Service was prompt, polite and on target. The restaurant is pretty both outside and inside. My partner ordered the beef kebobs. I ordered lite bites from the "mezze" appetizer side of the menu. I had the fish in tomato sauce and the spinach and cheese puff pastries. We also ordered the Lebanese White House wine which paired nicely with the bold favors of the food. Everything was delicious ! A large salad of fresh raw vegetables was included plus we ordered the marinated tomatoes and onions. We commented to the management on how much we enjoyed our meal. We ordered cafe macchiatos and the kind manager brought us an assortment of baklava and pastries for free!! What a nice gesture! Really made us feel welcome and offered us tips for our vacation. Overall, we had great food and service in a really nice ambiance. Total bill with tip was 65 pounds which was a good value for the generous portions and quality in a prestigious area.

Allen and I had a night free of any engagements with friends in London on a recent visit so we…read morethought we would pick a neighbourhood within an easy and relatively short ride on the Tube from our hotel. We decided on the Kengsington Church Street neighbourhood which neither of us had visited. We got off the station and immediately saw an array of restaurants and a Whole Foods along the main street - Kensington Church Street. We walked around for a bit since we were not hungry yet. We checked out the residential parts of the neighbourhood, studied the menus of the restaurants nearby, and settled on Randa. It is Lebanese restaurant and is part of the Maroush restaurant chain but I did not feel like I was in a chain restaurant. The atmosphere was lively in a elegant setting. There was an 2nd dining level built into the loft space. A basket of vegetable with peppers, tomatoes, ... was brought out along with bread and hummus as soon as we were seated and ordered. We both had kabobs for dinner and they were delicious. I had a mixed grill which included a piece of chicken. This is my only regret because I don't like white meat which tends to be dryer and less flavourful than dart meat when cooked in many restaurants. Service was prompt and attentive. Our waiter came and asked how we liked the restaurant and what we thought of the service which I thought was nice. I added this restaurant to my restaurant list for our visit next time. The prices are very reasonable for London standards. We had softdrinks, our own appetizers, our own main dishes and coffee. All came to less than GBP 50 including the charge for the vegetable basket.

Service was so friendly. The wait staff was constantly checking in but in the most genuine way. We…read moresat at the counter with a front row seat to the chefs at work. The saffron rice sprinkled with crunchy rice and the grilled tender meats was perfection. Met the hype!

My friends absolutely love Berenjak, so of course I had to see why they rave so much about it…read more Definitely make a reservation, because you will not have much luck if you are trying to walk in. Unfortunately, it seems like all the reservations are for counter seating. It was fine though, since we were able to watch them grill all the kababs in their coal-fired grill! Kept it straightforward and ordered the Feast Menu, which is £55 pp. Comes with two types of bread in Taftoon and Sangak, four starters (Mirza Ghasemi, Mast O Khiar, Hummus, and Black Truffle Olivieh), two kababs (we chose the Koobideh Kebab and Jujeh Kebab), and three sides (Shirazi, Torshi Phel Phel, and House Rice). I've never had Persian cuisine on this level as all the dishes were very unique. Even the hummus tasted like hummus I've never had before. I would say that the Jujeh Kebab took me by surprise because I don't expect white meat chicken to be very good, but this was genuinely great! Service was fine, although nothing to rave about. We were handed our bread and starters pretty quickly, but the kebabs took 25 minutes for us to get. I don't know if that was an intentional decision to space out the starters from the kababs. Since we could see that they were cranking out many kababs, maybe that was an intentional decision. I don't know. Ambience is fine. Hard to feel the ambience when we were sitting at the counter rather than an actual table. Overall, I can see why my friends love Berenjak, because everything was absolutely delicious! Worth the visit.

Obsessed with this Lebanese gem located in Marylebone! The Makloobeh was absolutely amazing - a…read moreperfect blend of flavors that left me craving more. The restaurant is small and intimate with wonderful service and a friendly vibe. 10/10 recommend.

A must have. The food here is amazing. It has so much…read moreflavor. You can't go wrong. We took the easy way out and had the set menu. It is a wonderful mix of starters and grilled meats. Every last thing was sublime. If I had to pick a favorite it would be the chicken. However, the babaganouch was a close second. The place is small so plan ahead

Truly delicious Mediterranean food in delightful Notting Hill side street. Started with the pitas,…read moredips and olives. We had to order a second set. The smoked eggplant was a revelation! Then delighted the table with medley of lamb shoulder, kebab, octopus, potatoes, labneh and cauliflower. Service was attentive and courteous and outdoor seating makes it safe and delightful for everyone. Cushy seats and blankets on chairs added the comfy feeling. We will be back!

Food, drinks and service are absolutely AMAZING. Francisco and Dimihtri andMaciej are the sweetest…read moreand most attentive staff I've ever encountered since I've been in London. You will not regret ordering their yummy drinks and food.

0 stars! Went to…read moreRakkas to celebrate my brothers birthday in June 2023. After eating at the restaurant 3/5 of us had symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting including my brother. 1/5 had diarrhoea and upset stomach. On the day, the lamb chops had no flavour and I had to spit out a piece of meat I had in my mouth as it was really hard to chew. The prawns also did not seem to taste quite right. I am not one to complain so just paid the bill in full and left. I had eaten at the restaurant before going to celebrate my brothers birthday and had no issues, the food was also really nice which is why I decided to book here again to celebrate my brothers birthday. I contacted the restaurant the following day (17th June 2023) to inform them of myself and other celebrants becoming ill following eating in the restaurant, and have since contacted them on 8 separate occasions in addition to going to the restaurant in person for a response. I spoke with a man on 23rd June who said he was a manager in the restaurant, he said the email and receipt had gone to the directors and I should receive a response by 27th June latest. He also said that noone else had made a complaint about the food on the day our celebrants were at the restaurant. This was accusatory, as if I have fabricated 4 out of the 5 of us being ill the day after eating at the restaurant on the 16th June 2023. I am still yet to receive a reply. Aesthetically, the restaurant is nice but the food was tasteless and the company/directors have no values, ethos or care for their customers. My experience with Rakkas has been really awful and personally I will not use or recommend it to others again!!

I'm a big fan of the Turkish breakfast item called Menemen (tomatoes, scrambled eggs, peppers and…read moreonion) and they do this beautifully here. But that's not the only thing that's noteworthy about this place - I really enjoyed the Wan breakfast, which consists of various cheeses, spreads, sweet condiments, fried egg and plenty of warm pita bread. In fact, my friend - with whom I came to this place - had originally come to this place because he saw on their menu that they serve this special breakfast and apparently it's not easy to find it here in London. (He's Turkish by origin and always on the lookout for things that remind him of home.) Insider tips for eating the Wan breakfast: - generously spread the white/soft cheese (upper right bowl on my picture) on some pita bread and top it of with honey...heavenly! - put a slice of the feta cheese (lower right bowl on my image) on a piece of bread and top it off with a slice of tomato; - I liked to combine the olive mash (mid-left bowl) with the crumbled cheese (upper left); - dip your bread in tahini and pekmez and just enjoy; Also, I highly recommend coming here with at least two people and then order one Wan breakfast and one Menemen...that, combined with loads of cups of tea, will leep you busy for a while! Although, I haven't tried their lunch or dinner menu, I trust that it's equally good too.

First time trying woody grill and decided to sit in rather then take away. The service was fast and…read morethe place was packed. I ordered lamb chops with a side of fries. The portion wasn't as big as expected considering most Turkish restaurants are known for there big portions. I'd say the flavours wasn't as strong as I wanted, food needed bit more seasoning but other then that, I'd go again and get something different.

Cheap, delicious, turkish food. they do a great yoghurt drink called ayran. The staff are friendly…read moreand the toilets are clean, as is the whole restaurant really. the decor is beautiful, and the meat is very well cooked, great value for money and the atmosphere is very vibrant. you can get a great meal for well under a tenner!! it is located in kilburn minutes from the station. no criticism really! the donner is devine by the way, must try it, it is freshand absolutely delicious! really polite and a really nice environment actually. I am a big fan of this place. They do fine grub for pretty good prices