Mangal II

Terrible service. It took more than 40 minutes for average food. I wouldn't recommend.

After a bad experience at the nearby Viva, we decided to explore this restaurant, with the grill in the back catching our attention. Notice, if you are sensitive to smoke, don't go near. THey have a charcoal barbeque in the back and when cooking lamb (which is most of the mains) it gets quite smokey all over the place. That said, one of the best middle eastern restaurantes I've been to. We ordered 2 starters each which were so plentiful that we didn't order any mains! Service can be slowish at times, but it's worth the wait. Lively enviroment, and quite a show to see the grill guys take care of your food. Definetely worth a try!

I have always gone to Cirrik down the road but wanted to try out this one for a comparison. It fell short. The starters were small and not worth the money. Bread had not been slathered in meat juice like they do at Cirrik. Then the main course - there are no extras. At Cirrik you get two onion dishes and salad. This was just very basic and my partner got served up the wrong dish. It was also quite pricey. Service was slow and by the time condiments reached us we had finished our meal. I think they could work on a few things. Not awful but no where near as good as Cirrik.

Just come back from a truly appalling meal at the Mangal 2 [the one with Gilbert & George, you know...that one]. Long'ish wait to be seated, loud and uncomfortable lighting, crushed to capacity to get as many in as possible - awful. Our starters were bland, the main courses took ages to arive, my wife's arrived 10 minutes after ours [the Mangal special?], it was cold and sloppy. our two plates of chips didn't even turn up. Ignorant waiters who simply couldn't give a toss just so long as there restaurant is heaving with Dalstonites eager to get a glimpse of G&G. A terrible meal - we will never return and we wanted to warn those queuing not to bother. Avoid like the plague......................

Well, I'm a regular here and for good reason. The meat is always succulent, flavoursome and in very generous portions. The staff are often friendly and attentive, though admittedly during the weekends it does become heavily packed. I have tried many other local places and Mangal 2 seems to have the right consistency going. I strongly recommend the reasonable Set Meal which has a bit of everything.

Over rated, overpriced. You can find the same grilled meat at any nearby restaurant with lower prices. Vegetarian main dishes are not even edible, full of salt and oil. Very unfriendly waiters. Dalston has cheaper and better Turkish/Kurdish restaurants just around.

Overpriced, over rated. Do you see Turkish people eating there? No. Do not touch the vegetarian options. Try the other Turkish and Kurdish restaurants in Dalston for more authentic food, friendly staff and lower prices.

"But it's easy to see why G&G never cook at home. The menu is long enough to offer different choices every night of the week" Except G&G eat the same dish every night for 3 months and then change.

Just returned from a great night at Mangal 2.. Had a short wait to get in, it was really busy, but it was worth the wait. Love the waiters and the family feel, and the food is Turkish at its finest. The meat was cooked perfectly, recommended for meat lovers like myself. Saw Peaches Geldof in there as well, what a result.

You don't know about Turkish food until you've been to Mangal II. If you're a noob like me, ask the waiters for a selection of their best dishes and they will rustle something up. The service is the best thing about this place. The food suited my Englishness, but there were also many Turkish customers when I visited who seemed happy munching away. Great night out at Mangal II..highly recommended