I lived on Burgoyne Road in Harringay (a local area in the London borough of Haringey) for a year back in the late 90s so it was nice to go back in 2017 and experience a bit of déjà vu.
Along with Dalston (see my post on Mangal Ocakbasi), the area has a large Turkish community and you’ll find some great restaurants along the main road.
My London Google map is here.
Gökyüzü is one of the most famous ones. In 2017 they won the British Kebab Awards for best kebab restaurant in north and west London…
Gökyüzü (Intermediate B+), 26-27 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, Harringay, www.gokyuzurestaurant.co.uk
I came here with my friends Tom, Karen, Jishan and Lucy so we could share a bit of a spread. We began with a mixed mezze. From 11 o’clock; Soslu Patlican (fried aubergines with tomato sauce), Haydari (strained yogurt with garlic, dill and feta cheese), Kisir (bulgur wheat with tomato sauce, herbs, fresh mint, dill and spring onions) and of course Hummus (pureed chick peas with tahine, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic). All great.
After this we also had some Lahmacun which is described as very thin traditional Turkish pizza covered with seasoned minced lamb and onions, fresh tomatoes, parsley and red peppers. Lish!
I find it very hard to say no to some marinated and charcoal grilled lamb chops, especially with some beautiful Turkish rice which I crave on a regular basis. All buttons pressed here.
Antepliler (Intermediate B), 45-46 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, Harringay, www.antepliler.com
This is another Turkish kebab restaurant just a few doors down from Gokyuzu which no doubt also does decent kebabs but they also have a dessert room which was recommended to Tom.
We came to try the Kunefe; a kind of stringy cheese dessert topped with grated pistachios, which you can have with or without clotted cream. We opted for the cream which made it feel very indulgent but all the other customers went without. It was very enjoyable (B+), especially with a glass of strong Turkish tea.
These Turkish restaurants on Green Lanes in Harringay are definitely worth the trip if you’re looking for a good place to feed a group.