Have been picking up lunch from here on and off for nearly 2 years now with delicious results! One…read moreof the best tasting falafel a around in my opinion, freshly prepared and topped with herbs, salad and your choice of homemade chilli sauces. This stall is run by two lovely ladies, I think nearly everyday but Wednesday's. My usual is the medium wrap, which for £3 is great value! If you are really hungry, can pay 50p extra for another falafel! Also available as a salad, but the wrap is excellent.

Literally THE best lunch I have ever had. I was obsessed with this place when I lived there. Gotta…read moreget there early before lunch because the queue gets big! People often come back again for a second wrap!

Having lived in Turkey, this bought back all the memory. If you are in the area, give it a shot…read more This is proper Turkish food, but not too formal and have that causal (yet clean and nicely decorated) feel to it. You can see the food a proper Turkish - as most customers there are Turks, gotta be good, right?

Yet another one of those Greenlanes places worthy of a stop by. It's probably one of the least…read moreTurkish places round here - it states its case with the words 'brasserie - creperie - ciabatta - baguette - sandwiches - jacket potato' - which is obviously a little unexpected, and perhaps, confused. The food here is good though, despite the lack of specialising, and comes in pretty huge portions. The salads are rather gigantic, and don't get smaller when they're a side for something else. The Turkish influenced ciabattas are well worthy of a mention - the sucuk and olive one is a particular winner. The Turkish breakfasts are also very popular - more of those sausages and lots of eggy goodness. There's an odd raised platform to eat at at the back of the shop - it's a little too close to the roof for comfort and gets a bit hot up there. Particularly when you're trying to tease out the remnants of a bit of a hangover with a tall glass of odd hot orange squash. Great place for a lunch stop, though, well priced and friendly. There's a shisha garden out the back too.

Lal is a delightful little find smack bang in the middle of broadway market. I've been guilty of…read morewalking past this place on multiple occasions, but always have wanted to drop in. Stopped by on a quiet Monday night an although our party of 2 made up 80% of the people in there, we were warmly greeted and welcomed to a lovely seat. The atmosphere was really nice, authentic greek and the staff were more than kind to us both. The menu is very greek and includes all the normal humous, falafel, tahini and tabolueh dishes you'd expect to find. We started with a selection of small plates and all were very nice and tasty. The falafel was perfect, crumbly and really good addition to a very excellent sized portion of humous. I'd also recommend getting involved with the calamari, it was more than fresh and perfectly fried with crisp and delicious batter. On to the mains and ended up sharing a pork platter and portion of vege moussaka. Both piping hot when they arrived and HUGE portions too. Moussaka was amazing, a good bite oozing with flavour and the roasted pork wasn't far behind. With the portion of humous still seeing us through, the nice side of bulgar wheat and pita bread was easily polished off. We left very full and to be honest, for the amount of food, service and setting, it was more than value for the money. For two people you could easily settle for a few starter plates then share a meat platter. Excellent menu. More than recommend jumping in here, and one of the best greek spots in the area. Hash tag find...

Broadway Market is a regular haunt of mine in the Summer. I pop into the little restaurants that…read moredot this street before going to London Fields to sit in the Sun. London Fields is one of the few parks in London which offers the facility to have a bbq, but it can be a mission planning and bringing along the equipment and food. Big groups get this down to a T, as they have transportation, bring industrial bbq's and food which has been seasoned and prepped from the night before. I am yet to plan something like this as it would be excellent with some jerk chicken and corn on the cob, yum. Valentina and I chose Lal Restaurant for some mediteranean food. For starters I went for the garlic mushrooms and she had the cold meze of houmous, taramasalata, tzatziki and bulgur rice. For mains we opted for the simple shish. I had chicken, Valentina had mixed grill with chicken, lamb and adana kebab, both served with salad and bulgur. As it was such a warm day, I had a Mimosa with Blanc de Blanc Brut and fresh orange juice. Valentina stayed alcohol free. The food is okay. There are so many places like this, you can find better and worse around London. What is in this restaurant's favour, is its proximity to London Fields. Loads of passing trade, hungry folk and choice. When we are next in the area, we probably won't return, not because it was a bad experience, but because there is so much choice along the market. We do however suggest if you are not up for Thai, Italian, etc, try this it because its inexpensive and straightforward.

A great little Middle Eastern cafe. Rather small but the staff a very friendly, helpful and make…read moreyou feel like you're just having a spot (or should I say pot) of tea at a mates. It's owner is a lovely man whose brother owns the kebab van/hut which lives permanently on the pavement just outside. How wonderfully convenient! The food is reasonable, traditional and if the regular Middle Eastern patrons are anything to go by, authentic too. It can be a bit male focused and by that I mean it can often be packed with men. I assume owing to the fact that two bros run the shows. Meh, boys will be boys, birds of a feather and all that jazz!

Shawarma is well located, yet somewhat tucked away, yet very well located at the conspicuous…read moreconfluence of Great Eastern and Bishopsgate. It's an easy choice at the intersection, especially when you need a (really) quick meal. After a yelp event in Shoreditch, we went in for a bite and were somewhat disappointed with the insipid and dry shawarma plate, which seemed like a good idea in concept --- meat and vegetables. I'm not going to write it off completely as yet, after all, they did get one thing right - the location. Instead, I'll drop in again for another plate to make sure it was not just a bad day for Shawarma. I did get my favorite Ayran (turkish yogurt based drink) though, so that was a positive!

This is the first time I want into a joint because of the way it looked!. The blue color theme…read moretransported me to the Mediterranean! As the name implies, it's a Greek joint with the Souvlaki or the meat skewers as the main attraction. It's a small joint with tasteful interiors. Simple menu and looked quite refreshing. You order at the till and you are given a receipt with a number. You collect the food when your number is called. Most of the people take away the food but I ate in. There is no difference in packaging if you eat in or not I fact they didn't even ask me if I wished to takeaway. There are only 4-6 seats (stools) mostly occupied by customers waiting for their food. The ordering process was ok but I didn't really find any of the staff friendly. The food came quickly but the portion sizes were not great. Having said that the prices are bit on the lower side for the location. I ordered a chicken wrap and a Halloumi side. The Chicken wrap cost £4.90 and a meal is £5.90. Meal gets you a drink and a chips or salad side. The Halloumi side was £2.20. The food itself was not very exciting, there were only 2-3 tiny pieces of chicken with hardly any seasoning, the pita was tiny and the Tzatziki, which ideally should have been the star of the show, was like the ones we get over the counter. What I missed most was heat factor, a bit more pepper might have done the trick. The Halloumi was very tasty but it would have been worth the £2.20 if some salad was thrown in. Over-all disappointed with the fare but gets extra star for the tasteful branding and premises.

I'm another one who was drawn in by the branding and exterior. The minimal interior and white and…read moreblue colour scheme is appealing, and it's very clean. But the food wasn't a disappointment. I went for the chicken souvlaki. Much like a fancy chicken shish kebab in a lovely thick warm wrap, with fresh salad and tzatziki. Not quite as good as gyros I've had but not bad at all. I'll try the lamb next. The regular size is pretty filling, and I saw another diner with the 'mega' souvlaki which certainly was big! For the price and the area this is a pretty good warm lunch option. There is minimal seating, and it's a little annoying that it's mostly taken up by people waiting for their food, leaving people wanting to eat in standing. Not the restaurants fault. Staff weren't particularly friendly, but not rude or anything, just got on with their jobs.

One of, if not the, best kosher shwarma place in London…read more The meat is always succulently cooked, the Iraqi pitta/lafa baked in their tanoor right in front of your eyes. And to top it off, cheaper for a take-away ("snack") than most of their competitors. My restaurant of choice for a quick, yummy, shwarma.

Will my birthday meals never stop? This time it's the turn of Kosher eatery in land of the Kosher…read moreeateries Samis in Hendon. Alas the eponymous Sami wasn't here today. When I used to come here as a kid with my dad to get takeaway, he would ask me what I wanted in my laffe (Lebanese flat bread), I'd be indecisive and shrug noncommittally. Sami would then say "I'll make it nice for you'. Our impression of this has since transmorphed into a cross between the Greek landlord and Papa Lazarou character on League of Gentlemen. Eat at Samis and they will 'make it nnnaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiii-ice' for you too. The menu here is a mix of the Iraqi, the Israeli and the plain Jewish. Expect tabouleh, humous, schwarma, schnitzels, and potato latkes. Not forgetting their foray into Indian food, reputedly good - although I personally wouldn't try this as I am not limited to just Kosher restaurants. Dad ordered the chicken soup with chicken filled kreplach (dumplings) - I sneaked a taste and it was completely excellent (better than the Wolseley's). My aubergine salad was good although very sweet. I couldn't resist ordering my favourite from the menu, the Iraqi - big flat bread with a variety of different salads and snacks they can fill it with. I chose to stuff it with the chicken shish - yum yum. Although perhaps if you eat in like we did, it might be less of a rapid dining experience if you take the non-wrapped up chicken shish instead. I left completely satisfied but smelt of grill and cooking. Like most Kosher restaurants, Samis is quite expensive, however it is definitely worth getting food here. Even though the staff are friendly and efficient, the restaurant is pretty basic café type affair, so I do prefer the food as takeaway - it is also cheaper too.

That little red "people love us on Yelp" sticker is a rare sighting in the UK so when I spied it on…read morethis bustling little Turkish place I couldn't shake it from my head: Must Eat There. After walking for some time on nearby Brick Lane and getting hit up by every barker in front of every Indian eatery the family left the decision in my hands. Thank you, family. I marched them right back to Tas Firin. In truth, Tas Firin would've caught my eye even without the red sticker but the sticker did up my interest factor. The place is small and crowded with people and has plate glass windows on two sides, announcing itself to passers-by. Steamy smoke billows from the grill being actively worked at the core of the restaurant. Your clothes will smell (luscious) when you leave. Tas Firin has no doorfront barker trying to entice passers-by and needs none. Dinner began with a cold mezze platter (£8) of "maybe-we-should-rethink-the-rest-of-our-order" proportions. Four hungry diners seriously sated themselves with the goodness of this plate. But wait. We only thought we were full. Being a cheese whore I couldn't resist ordering up a second starter for the table. If possible, it was even more luscious than the first: Halloumi (£4.50), a traditional Cyprus cheese, served grilled and warm. Let's debate right now whether there's anything more satisfying than this combination of starters. I win. People who wish to not to have to loosen their belt a notch should stop right here. Pay, and walk out joyously satisfied. That wasn't us. We went on to have: * Spinach pide with feta cheese (£7) - Essentially a Turkish pizza, this dish was rich and salty and... who am I kidding? Way too much food. Another party at my table ordered another pide (Lamb Pide with Egg) and both of us barely made it through 2 slices apiece. You thought I'd say one, right? Excellent stuff, but maybe share with the table? * The Chicken Tava (£9) takes 30 minutes, is worth the wait, and again, could be shared amongst many. It's a bubbling hot stew made with tomatoes, onions, and green & red peppers and it's a steal for the amount of goodness it delivers. * A Mixed Kebab platter (£11.50) was the single most expensive thing ordered but it delivered like the rest of our selections. 2 chicken kebabs, 1 lamb kebab, and 1 minced, grilled lamb kebab accompanied by rice and warm, fresh pita. Simple and perfect. Two beautifully colorful salads accompanied the entrees. It was a shame that I could barely look at them let alone eat them. Same for the other accompaniment of grilled onion in a special, thin purple sauce. All of it so good but I was already beyond full. The perfect meal at the most reasonable prices (and possibly my favorite meal from my entire London vacation) was closed out with a honey-drizzled plate of 4 baklava, compliments of the house. Couldn't let those go to waste. Urp. Our waiter was extremely gracious about bagging up all of our leftovers and throwing in, without our asking, plenty more fresh pita. My son planted the bag of deliciousness at the foot of an occupied sleeping bag in the doorway of a Chelsea storefront late that evening. I'm betting this meal brightened someone else's day in addition to ours.

I like this place for its simple presentation, no frills service and the porky chef who makes…read moreamusing facial gestures whilst tossing meaty skewers on his giant Turkish grill (the meaning of Tas Firin). You've got a slightly bizarre photo of a family relative above the door frame and a space-consuming tiki hut. For starters, the halloumi was rubbery and although not fresh, tasty nonetheless. The lamb livers were pretty good although again lacking that 'straight from the market' texture. The chicken and lamb shish were more than edible, coming with rice and an inspiring salad of lettuce (which I like) and beetroot (that I don't). With more local competition, this restaurant would shoot down the list but dominated by curry houses, it certainly gets my 'great value' votefor now!