Maedah Grill

Fuat Kabalci was a fur and leather wholesaler until he decided, a couple of years ago, that imports were strangling his business, and that it was time to bail out. So he opened a Turkish restaurant. From selling skin to grilling flesh: not such a big leap. Nor did he move the business far geographically, converting the ground-floor space beneath his old offices into a huge, open-plan venue with attractive tiled floors, wooden walls and chunky, stylish dark-wood and glass furniture that makes the place feel much more upmarket than your average, bare-bones Turkish grill. The location is similarly atypical. Fieldgate Street is in the heart of London's Bangladeshi quarter, in the shadow of the East London Mosque. But Kabalci wasn't just being lazy in staying here: he considered the location at length, and decided that there was a niche to be filled. And he seems to have been right: already the restaurant is filling up at both lunch and dinner. At the centre of the operation is the huge ocakbasi (charcoal grill). High-quality meat is used, and diligently cooked, and the results easily rival many of the capital's more established Turkish restaurants. Pirzola was a plate of tender and juicy baby lamb chops, delicately spiced and seasoned, and served with a lovely pilav rice and fresh salad. The large floor space has afforded the luxury of building not only an ocakbasi but also a huge clay kiln for baking breads and pide (Turkish pizzas). Lahmacun (fired flatbread covered with spiced, minced lamb) was exemplary. A mezze of vegetarian starters (houmous, cacik, etc) was also good, although its roasted vegetables were drowned in oil. Arnavut cigeri - cubes of lamb's liver - were tasty, if a little over-fried. There's no alcohol, nor are you allowed to bring your own - hardly surprising given the location. But that doesn't seem to be putting anyone off - and if it deters you, you'll be missing out.

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/10695.html