Turkish

Every part of town has one, a restaurant site that nobody seems to be able to make work until someone comes along with something singular enough to break the curse. But it can be done. In our own neck of the woods, Islington, the fabulous Tofu Vegan successfully turned a restaurant blackspot into a thriving business.

In the West End, one such restaurant doom spot would definitely be 8-9 Market Place. Since we've been doing Hot Dinners, we've seen a slew of restaurants come and go. The most recent, Carmel, didn't even make it to the one-year anniversary.

So there's a lot

They have four Cafe Beams across London, but now the brothers behind Beam, Ozgur and Sidar Akyuz, are getting ready to open something new. Nora will be a modern Turkish restaurant in Canary Wharf. 

In charge of the kitchen here is Daniel Alt. He used to be Executive Head Chef at The Barbary, so that should be a good sign of what to expect here. Daniel and his team

Set firmly in the Mayfair triangle, new Turkish opening Chargal is hoping to woo Londoners in with three storeys of mezze, refined Turkish dining and a late-night club in the basement. It's taken over the spot vacated by Jeru on Berkeley Street and comes from restaurateur Serdar Demir, who's also behind The Mantl in Knightsbridge.

Here at Chargal, he's hoping that whether you're after a more casual

Selin Kiazim (previously behind Oklava) returns to the London restaurant scene with a large Turkish restaurant right in the heart of the City. We went down for a first look at Leydi.

For over 150 years, the Istanbul sweet and dessert giant Hafiz Mustafa has been a place of pilgrimage for sweet-toothed Turks (and tourists). Now the giant, which has stores all over Turkey and in Dubai is heading to London. They're opening a massive shop in a prime spot opposite Harrods.

Not only will the shop sell their famous baklava and rock candy, but there will also be room to sit in and

We already knew that the new Ennismore hotel, Hyde London City, was planning a new restaurant for when it opened, opposite the Old Bailey. Now we're able to reveal what was pretty much an open secret, that Selin Kiazim, the chef behind Oklava and Kyseri, is going to

24/5/24 - updated with the opening date

Are we in the midst of a new trend? With Oma just opened in Borough Market, another Turkish/Greek restaurant is incoming. After opening The Counter in Notting Hill in a relatively low-key manner in 2022, Turkish

News comes today of big changes afoot at Mangal 2, where chef Sertaç Dirik has announced that he's leaving the restaurant, apparently with plans to open his own place.  

It's a story that seems like The Bear come to life and will be almost eerily familiar to anyone who's been bingeing

His first London restaurant, Zela, lasted barely two years, closing its doors for good during the pandemic. But Ronaldo's not going to let that experience dim his enthusiasm for the London scene. So the footballer is already making plans to get back into the restaurant game.

He's joining forces with Turkish restaurateur Burak Ozdemir with plans to open a London restaurant towards the end of the year. 

Also known as

She's worked with Soho House's Nick Jones and Yotam Ottolenghi, now Turkish chef Esra Muslu is getting ready to open her first solo London venture.

Zahter is being described as a 'love letter' to Esra's Turkey. The whole thing sounds like they've imported everything from tiles to table linen from the chef's homeland. The three-floor restaurant in Carnaby takes over that large corner site as you turn from Newburgh Street

London gets the first UK outpost of this popular Dubai chain which promises an authentic Turkish experience. 

The restaurant formerly known as Kyseri is now Oklava Bakery + Wine - and we think Fitzrovia residents and workers are going to find this new incarnation to their taste.

Baraka is an all-day restaurant cooking Anatolian cuisine in their stone oven or as open-flame Mangal cooking. Expect mezza, tagine, kebabs and their own baklava. Plus a handy terrace. 

The Mantl is offering up a modern take on Turkish cuisine in the heart of Knightsbridge.

Yeni sees a top Turkish chef open in the heart of Soho. We head down to take a look.