If someone suggested Turkish food in Covent Garden, you’d be forgiven for assuming that your companion was craving a kebab in all of its dubious late night, pre or post-drink glory.
However, without a doner in sight, tucked in amongst the usual chain offerings of the tourist-filled Theatreland is Ali Ocakbaşı.
Designed stylishly with bare-bricked walls, Anatolian floor tiling and the oh-so on trend oversized filament bulbs; the restaurant is a far cry from a standard London ‘kebab house’. This is definitely not a bad thing.
By modelling themselves on the family ocakbaşıs of Turkey, but with a touch of London service (all staff are immaculately presented in white shirts, black aprons and red ties), Ali Ocakbaşı have managed to carve out a niche amidst the vast offerings of the west end.
With a fairly extensive wine list and an impressive selection of raki and beers, you’ll easily find something to suit the array of dishes on offer.
Fresh dips and vibrant mezze
With a massive selection of mezze on offer, my companion and I asked our friendly and professional server Mehmed his recommendations – as we were keen to try something beyond the usual safe hummus option.
Presented wonderfully at the tableside for immediate selection – we opted for Abagannus (Baba Ganoush), Köpoğlu (a mix of fried potato and aubergine cubes), Kuru Cacik (seasoned yogurt with cucumber) hummus (of course!) and, at the recommendation of Mehmed - Çiğ köfte, a tartare style dish made from lamb mince served with lettuce cups and lemon. My companion made short work of it, having "not tried anything quite like it before!"
We also opted for a salad to accompany all of the more ‘dip-based’ mezze with the Gavurdağı Salatası - a vibrant tomato, walnut and pomegranate salad with enough acidity to help cut through the oils and fats of the mezze course.
All of the dishes were clearly fresh and bursting with flavour. The hummus was some of the best I’ve ever had.
All of the mezze dishes came served with homemade lavash bread, served hot (and puffy) fresh from the oven - which my plus one devoured.
But being a Coeliac, the staff were more than happy to recommend their gluten free flatbread to me so I didn’t miss out on all of the dipping!
Thankfully, the rest of the menu is also marked up clearly for different allergens. So as long as you follow the key (gluten being ‘A’ threw me off a bit) you’ll know exactly what’s safe.
Expecting to move straight to mains, we quickly started perusing the grilled options that Ocakbaşı are famed for. However, my companion managed to sneak in a Semsek pastry from the hot starters section.
A hot, cheese filled pastry of its size might be worth sharing if you’re curious to try one AFTER the cold mezze course, but not being able to, I’ll have to take my companions word for it that it was gorgeous with the dish somehow remaining light and the acidity of the oil cutting through the saltiness of the cheese inside.
Flame-grilled mains
For mains from the grill, whilst I went with a happy staple of the Piliç Sis (chicken thigh fillet), my partner, struggling to choose from the range, opted for the Karisik Tabak – a selection of minced lamb, grilled beef loin and grilled chicken.
With all grill dishes, the meat (or vegetables if you opt for a vegetarian option) are the star of the main, the set side that comes with them is a light bulgur rice and a small salad, more than enough for accompanying the gorgeous skewers.
With a full view of the kitchen from most seats in the restaurant, you can see your meal being prepared on the massive charcoal grill and smell every tantalising, smoky scent as different grills are whisked past you into the bustling restaurant.
Thankfully – after a *ahem* rather large amount of food, our attentive server reappeared to offer up traditional Turkish tea, coffee or digestif.
I was happy sipping on my tea and my companion opted for a glass of raki, which was brought to the table by the manager, who even offered an accompanying shot of turnip juice to sip with the spirit – don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it!
Whilst sipping away on our drinks, we decided enough time had passed to attempt dessert. I went for the Kabak Tatlisi – a sweet, comforting pumpkin-based dessert with ice cream and walnuts, my companion was steered towards the Katmer – a dessert that has to be seen to be fully explained – by Mehmed.
Prepared at the tableside, Katmer takes a thin, sweet flaky pastry laden with pistachios and artfully folds vanilla ice cream into the hot pastry to create a simultaneously hot and cold dessert that is akin to a more exciting baklava - very indulgent!
Eating out in London
About the restaurant
Address: 16 Irving St, London WC2H 7AU
Want to book a table? 020 7839 4020
Website:Click here
