Ottolenghi

287 Upper St
London 

N1 2TZ

Embarassingly, A and I had been given a gift certificate to use at Ottolenghi as part of a wedding gift. Fast forward over two years later, and we finally used it with A's mom. Despite not going until 3.30pm in an attempt to avoid the queues, there was still a queue. This place is ridiculously popular! While you're standing in the queue, you can look at all the bright and vibrant salads that are piled up high on plates and start thinking about what you want. Alas, our late timing meant that by the time we ordered, the restaurant had run out of one of the salads that we really wanted. Still, we managed to try almost every type of salad left, and some very good seared tuna as well. Ottolenghi is not cheap, but the variety of ingredients, some of which are difficult to source, that are in every dish, make it a deal when you think about how much you would have to spend at the grocery store just to recreate one of the salads. I tried to remake a rice salad at home (recipe to come soon) which was nice, but nowhere near as complex as what we had. Plus, the white room full of chattering, happy people is a nice place to have a meal, so on the whole, I would recommend it. Not sure how you beat the queues though - only you can decide if the wait is worth it.

Mangal Ocakbasi

10 Arcola Street

London

E8 2DJ

Mangal Ocakbasi is located across the street from the Arcola Theatre, where A and I had tickets to see The Line, so it made sense to have dinner there beforehand. When you walk in you're greeted by the sight of a huge charcoal grill, manned by a couple of guys who are moving spits of different kinds of meat to make sure they are all cooked perfectly. Fresh bread was brought to the table immediately and we tore into warm, doughy slices. We ordered lahmacun to start, which is described as Turkish pizza. This came out quickly - four slices of incredibly thin, crispy dough topped with a savory mix of minced lamb, onions and peppers. There was a nice bit of spicy kick to this as well and it was really delicious. I'm declaring it the best 2 quid starter I've ever had. Next up was one mixed kebab to share - there were grilled pieces of lamb, lamb chops, some kind of rolled up lamb thing, minced lamb with spices, and chicken wing. This was all accompanied by an incredibly fresh salad with rocket, carrots, red cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and some vegetable that might have been jicama? Pity that A and I both hate raw onion, maybe next time we can ask them to leave it out. We were absolutely stuffed after finishing this and it was only made better by the shockingly low bill of 14 quid and the friendly, quick service. They allow you to BYOB with no corkage fee. We will definitely be back!

Gallipoli Cafe Bistro

102 Upper Street
London

N1 1QN

I haven't seen E in almost two years - she's a friend from Austin but she's been living in Berlin recently and then let me know she was in London for a few days, so we met up for lunch at Gallipoli Cafe Bistro. There's another one just a few doors down the street called Gallipoli Again, and I think there's one called Gallipoli Bazaar close by as well? Anyway, the lunch special was a good deal - 7.95 for 2 courses - so we both chose the red lentil soup and the seafood paella. The lentil soup was really nice - a little lemony and perfect for an autumn day. It was served with a generous basket of Turkish bread. Then the seafood paella came out and it was huge! I counted at least three big prawns, four mussels, and about four substantial chunks of various kinds of fish (I spotted tuna, salmon and swordfish). Lots of nice bits of vegetables in there as well, and the rice was deliciously flavored. There was also a side salad of rocket and cucumber that went really well with the savory paella. Service was friendly and there was a nice atmosphere inside - not too lively but not too quiet either. I'd definitely go back.

Sedir

4 Theberton Street,
London, N1 0QX

Had dinner here on a Saturday night since they had a table outside for four and it was a nice evening. Mezes to start: falafel with hummus, dolma and a grilled eggplant dish - all tasty but not spectacular. Some pretty standard sesame-sprinkled bread accompanied the starters. Then for mains, we chose an eggplant dish, swordfish & prawns, swordfish steak, and mixed kebab (grilled chicken, lamb kofta, lamb chops and plain lamb). Everyone seemed to enjoy their food though apparently the prawns were a bit disappointing in size/amount. House red was drinkable. Wouldn't go out of my way to eat there again, but if we were in the neighborhood and felt like Turkish food and wanted to eat outside, I'd consider it.