Great food, incompetent staff My friend and I ate here a few nights ago. I got a variety of the meze as my main and she got a lamb kebab. The interior is quite spacious but have no idea what a previous reviewer was talking about regarding a cool interior; the AC wasn't working when we were there and it was humid and I had to ask for a door to be opened! Anyway I got the kisir, the imam biyaldi and we shared the cacik. The first was so tasty even my meat-eating friend was impressed. The portion is quite substantial as well. The aubergine in the imam biyaldi was tender and juicy and the combination of sauces and onions, tomatoes and peppers lent it a rich flavour. Again a large portion. Ditto for the shared cacik. The pita bread that accompanied the meal though was tasteless. I took leftovers home. My friend praised her lamb as well. We also enjoyed the Turkish port after. But my God why can't it figure out service?! I asked twice for our meals to b wrapped up and then twice more for a check and each time it was more important for the waiter to clear an empty table next to us (where there were plenty of empty tables and no customers waiting), and make another?! He then got to seating a group that came in and handed out menus. At that point I was so peeved - and more than 20 minutes had passed- I got up to go to the cashier. Thank gosh service wasn't included in the bill because I would have deducted it. I might come back here just for takeaway but not to sit in again. Shame it doesn't deliver. read more

Mixed review. I ate here a few days ago with my family. After being well attended to by the owner and having the best siskebab of my life, it all ended on a sour note. Saving half my meal in a takeaway box, we left the table and I looked back from a few meters to see the table cleaner swoop in in a few seconds. I didn't see that my wife had left the box, then obscured by the cleaner. The correct action by the cleaner would have been to turn around and say to me, "sir, you forgot your box". Sorry that I can never return and revisit those uncomfortable feelings! read more

I have been a loyal customer to this restaurant for many years! With each visit I find that it's gets better and better! The service, the restaurant, the layout, the atmosphere, the quality and the portion of food is beyond amazing! A lot of people I know are quite weary of dining locally, but you can't beat the quality of his place! You will have to arrive with a very empty stomach unless you want to leave with your leftovers. Meze Mangal take pride in feeding their guests! read more

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You know those restaurants where you have to choose quality over price or price over quality??? Well NOT @ Meze Mangal !!! Due to its high quality of freshly prepared Turkish food and an amazing value for money people are ready to spend half an hour to even an hour queuing for a table :) Been there - done that! What strikes you though is that you won't be just left in a queue looking at other people eat their delicious food! The owner ( who also actively takes part in serving and greeting himself) was thoughtful enough to treat us with free 'waiting' starters to which we were also able to order a drink/ wine whilst waiting. The place is especially amazing in cold season with its grill in the middle of the room and amazing views of 'grilled in front of your eyes' various types of fish and meat ( I can already smell it). This restaurant serves freshly baked bread with its mouth watering meze as one of the most popular starters there. You can have as much bread with your meze as you wish without having to pay extra. And it's right from the oven! Me and my fellow diners there find it addictive. Moreover, the portions served ( both for starters and mains) are huge and can be shared ( which most guests do there) so you can order one starter and one main for two people and no one will leave unsatisfied!! To my delight they have recently extended the restaurant but I'm sure people still queue all week round. Because it's worth it!! read more

Meze Mangal - Seabass @Meze Mangal - Turkish Near Me - London, XGL

Not sure what's going on here but this famous place with so many great reviews turns out to be really disappointing. In a word... BLAND It was only our first visit but not sure we'll be going again as it really tasted a whole notch below other Turkish restaurants and was no cheaper than the usual crowd. Literally every dish, tasted under seasoned and under spiced - the pide, the baklava, the lamb chops, the bread, yoghurt and the aubergine kebab. I don't know if this is the normal situation or if the kitchen tonight was having some sort of a strike against seasonings in general. Whatever we ordered, whether it should be salty, savoury, sweet or sour was just a mouthful of texture and no zing for the tastebuds. Sad face. read more

Ever since my better half decided to take his Dad here for dinner I have not heard the end of it. He's a simple lad who like his meat and Meze Mangal (not related to Joe Mangle) does not disappoint. I mean, I live in Dalston, which is like little Turkey so to impress me with fine Turkish dining takes a lot. This place was lovely, most of the menu is chunks of lamb prepared in various different ways but I am assured they are all tasty. We foolishly started with our body weight in dip. They serve a meze platter for 2 or 4 people and it's huge. A real choice of cold starters and one hot, after that we were slightly dreading the main meal coming, never a good way to start. But it arrived and I managed to make a small dent in my chicken and Joe in his lamb. Actually, most of it came home with us in a doggy bag, which they were more than happy to provide us with. Over all a wonderful meal, if a little meaty! read more

As others have already written - excellent Turkish food. I strongly advise you to go on an empty stomach and leave lots of time. The sharing starter platter is a meal in itself, even for two people (I am neither joking nor exaggerating) but the mains are good too. It is very unassuming, given the cheap laminate flooring, faded and peeling frontage and a shipping container outside that seems to have been there for years and shows no signs of leaving but do not be put off. read more

Its good alright but its not the best. I finally made my way to check out this popular Turkish restaurant. I ordered my usual favorites: mixed cold meze and Adana kofte. As for the grilled kofte, it was good but it was missing that kick and nice blend of seasoning and herbs. As for the mixed cold meze, it was massive portion! It was good especially the both the aubergine mezes. Both the yogurt however taste weaker than I prefer. This place is a proper restaurant. I think they just had it upgraded or renovated as everything looks neat, new and clean. Their store sign up all the way yet so my guess could be right. Though I only came here to pick up my take away order, the place exuded relax atmosphere. Like many Turkish restaurants, Meze Mangal's have their grill and bread making counter next to the dining area. It looks more modern and bigger than usual. Overall, its good but not the best. read more

The food is simple but delicious with a fantastic choice of meats and an amazing and varied selection of starters. The outside isn't much and when busy the service can lack in attentiveness but it's a brilliant local find. read more

Meze Mangal is an excellent, no-nonsense restaurant serving all the grills you'd expect along with lahmacun (Turkish pizzas) and vegetarian dishes. This place can get packed so either book or get there early. Like na020, I've been coming here for nearly 8 years now. The food (bread, kebabs etc) is always freshly prepared. The salad and veg sides can create very generous portions so beware of having 'eyes bigger than belly'. I don't recall ever having left here thining 'that was a dud meal' or that 'it cost too much', far from it. Get over the location and enjoy the food. Inside, though the decor isn't upmarket the welcome is always warm. You won't ever be disappointed by Meze Mangal. read more

Meze Mangal is a great place to go with your friends to share the amazing mezes and to eat decent turkish food. As others have said on Friday's and Saturday's it can be hard to get a table if you just rock up so booking is recommended. The turkish pizza's or great at £2 (half the price if you takeaway which I have done occasionally). The Pide pizza's are also really tasty. Great selection of tasty kebabs - just make sure you don't over-order as I've done if in the past - the portions are a good size but because of the variety of dishes this is all to easythen again you can takeaway your leftovers if you really want too.. read more

We've been looking for a replacement for a dalston Turkish place...ok maybe not a replacement but one closer to home. This will do quite nicely. We'll need to taste all their dishes as they are different and we'll need to work out our favs at this place but as we already have the kofte (minced lamb) and lamachun (Turkish pizza with mincemeat) on the fav list, it'll be fast work. The place has recently been renovated so everything looks all new & sparkly. It was a lot bigger than I expected but every table was being used on Saturday so it didn't feel like a hall. The service was friendly & quick. We will definitely be coming back...next time we'll try to get closer to the grill. read more

I think I'm going to have to give this place another try, because unfortunately despite hearing some very good feedback about Meze Mangal my experience was a very poor show all round. I went for a meal with my partner who ordered the mousakka. It was served to her still frozen in the middle, they had to return it twice to the oven before it was fully cooked... as for myself I ordered kebabed lamb and found the meat to taste very vinagery and found no great lasting impression was left at all. I didn't make a big fuss about it, despite the staff seeming completely unbothered about the frozen food. ...However, I feel I'm going to have to go back and try again with this place, and maybe I'll get a greater meal than on first try. I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything to upset the staff pre-meal on the previous attempt so I'm not quite sure why we were given such a poor experience when so many others have had such favourable meals. Here's hoping for next time... ------------- Note: My subsequent visit recently was much better than the previous experience. We had a great starter platter that would've almost done as a main. I'm still not a massive fan of the kebabs, though I suspect I'll soon be back for the pizzas that I've heard a few peolpe getting excited about. read more

One of the best Turkish restaurant's in south london, if not the best. Excellent service, very generous portions, reasonably priced, and original weekend entertainment. I'm now a regular. read more

Been there for the first time and both me and my date got Pide. Didn't particularly like the staff as they didn't offer me extra drink after my glass got empty and were not a big fan of us taking our time eating. I'd advise to reserve. We entered at 6.30PM but by 8PM when we were leaving, the restaurant was very full. The Pide (which is not a pizza! our waiter seemed to think it was) was good and the salad complemented it pretty well. Big portion, very affordable price (under £8). Will come back for other things at some point. read more

I think its one of the best Turkish restaurant's in south london, even more so now after its recent refurbishment. Excellent service, very generous portions, reasonably priced, and original weekend entertainment. read more

The best turkish restaurant i know. it's easy to drive past this place and either miss it, or look at it and think "um, i'll try some other place - it doesn't look to good" . . . i did that for years and regret it greatly. the food is very reasonable, the ingredients fresh each day and the quality excellent. unlike many places this is totally authentic. its a family business with a huge coal pit for kebabs and meats and a brick oven for breads and oven stews. the meze and dips are gorgeous, the food delicious. miss this place at your peril. i know of no better turkish restaurant. period. read more

One of our favorite local restaurants. The food is always incredibly fresh and tasty. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. The atmosphere in the restaurant is always buzzy (without being too loud). I have never ordered anything here I didn't like. Their humus is freakishly good. The portion sizes are generous and the price is right. Hard to go wrong. read more

Waited for ages, humous was tasteless. Lamb shish was pretty good. The portions are generous.

ok, it has been 4 years since i moved back to the States after living in New Cross Gate and i STILL crave Meze Mangal. you see it is not just the meat, or the BBQ or even the most amazing grilled green spicy peppers. It is simply the way people are when they enter that restruant in an odd part of London. the people, mostly regulars, are happy, drinks, smiling and enjoying the company of others. There is no rush and if you have time, they want to to stay and have a coffee or a mint tea while you relax. If i were to go back, i would order the family platter where you get a mix of all that they have, but it is not too expensive to prevent you from ordering one of the delishis dishes which you just tasted to share with others. Anyway, IF you are in the area, i would NOT this little 'hole-in-the-wall' Turkish restaurant and dont for get to get extra grilled spicy peppers! read more

Dined here last night and really enjoyed it. The vegetarian meze starter for two is massive and enough to fill two hungry people by itself. The lahmacun (Turkish pizza) is pretty tasty and very good value at £2.50. It's a cosy and accommodating restaurant. And, as other reviewers have mentioned, very popular too - you'd be wise to call ahead. Sitting with a view of either the traditional wood-fired oven or the grill adds a bit of 'epic' to the dining experience here. Prices are decent, service is appreciative and all-in-all this is an excellent choice for a quality meal. read more

Your review helps others learn about great local businesses. My boyfriend and I have been to this restaurant a few times in the last year with nice food and service, however after our experience last night we won't be going there anytime soon. They got my order wrong ( ok, mistakes happen) then they did again, the food arrived cold with no apology whatsoever, they really couldn't care less about anything, I apologised to them for my wrong order as I felt bad about sending it back again. If you want to pay £12 for a cold falafel and £14 for a cold chicken shish (no side) then I recommend.. A better recommendation would be to go to your local kebab shop for friendly, hot and reasonably priced food. Please don't review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you're connected in any way to the owner or employees. read more

Had dinner here after looking for somewhere on Yelp!. We ordered the Meze platter and was delicious although portion size wasn't that big as others Yelpers had stated. There freshly baked bread was amazingly fresh and hot and was constantly being topped up. The menu is varied and has something for everyone including the less adventurous eaters. read more

Best Turkish restaurant in the neighbourhood. Portions are large, so don't order too many dishes. They're open late too, so you can comfortably show up at 11PM and still get served. read more

I can really only re-iterate what all the other Qype reviewers have to say about this restaurant. I am not prone to exaggeration so you will have to believe me when I say Meze Mangal is fantastic. In fact, it's by far the best Turkish restaurant I have been to in London and surpasses many I've visited in Turkey. The food is tasty and freshly prepared, the service is warm and efficient and the prices exceptionally cheap. In fact, I'd even try to think up reasons to go to New Cross (and there really can't be that many!) so that I could pop in and stuff myself with borek, hot cheese, lahmacun and calamari. read more

One of my all time favourite restaurants. Have been eating here for about 15 years and it only gets better and better. Good refurb, food still fantastic and authentic. Soon to have garden as well. We often order over the phone and pick it up when we gave friends over. It's a must in SE4 south London. Great family run business. read more

From the shabby sign and shipping container outside you don't expect much but the food oh my days the food is wonderful. I advise booking in advance and wearing stretchy trousers. read more

The front decor is truly disgusting it looks like a cheap abandoned motel. That is the only major downside of the place. Inside you'll find some comfortable tables and delicious food. I am taking one star down for the ugly facade though. I'd never go inside if I did not have an appointment. read more

This is way more than just your local Turkish restaurant they cook all the food, bread, kebabs freshly to order, in the oven or on the open grill in the front. The warmth from the oven makes it a really snug and cosy atmosphere. They completely fill your plate with the most generous portions of meat, veg, salad and bread, all for about £6 or £7 We've been coming here for a few years, and it's always perfect. Best time to go is early evening it usually fills up about 9. read more

I love the food, the service and the atmosphere. We have not one bad thing to say - the food is delicious, plentiful, well presented and perfectly cooked. The service is friendly and not overpowering and sitting beside the oven as I am I feel toasty and warm. read more

I got I'll when I went there, but the food tasted good!

Definitely one of my favorite restaurant as I love lamb! Good seasoning and tender meat with nice textures. The price was surprisingly cheap. read more

I've enjoyed countless meals at Meze Mangal and am always delighted by our food. On the odd occasion where I just want a night in I'll order a take away instead and pick it up I love the fact that this is an option there as it saves me from eating horrible dirty kebabs! read more

Heard loads of reviews about this place and decided to give it a try. Its recently had a refurb and is bigger with a bar. It used to be BYO, but now sells alcohol. The place is large and posher than i thought with linen tablecloths and not a typical Turkish taverna. We ordered a couple of starters and two mains. The aubergine was very nice but the calamari was small and insipid. The accompanying salad was really an afterthought. Not so impressive. The mains arrived and were not as substantial as other diners claim. I've tasted much better lamb chops at the Lahore in Whitechapel at half the price and again the salad was a real let down. Grated carrot, grated red cabbage and some rather thickly cut cucumber does not a salad make. If this really is the best restaurant for miles around then this says more about the diners. The service was very good but the food was a real letdown. It worked out at £20 a head including drinks but for all the hype this is not out of the ordinary, just ordinary. I don't know what all the fuss is about. read more