Restaurants

Antepliler was absurdly busy on the evening we visited. By the door, people queued for takeaways, while potential diners were asked to wait in the pâtisserie next door (‘antepliler’ means pâtisserie). This says something about the restaurant’s reputation on a strip so crammed with alternatives; it stands out on Green Lanes as a restaurant rather than a café, and one with a more adventurous menu than some of the competition. It specialises in food from Gaziantep in the Kurdish east of Turkey (that city is also home to a leading football team, which explains the signed strip on the wall). But departures from the usual Turkish fare available in London are subtle rather than radical. A main dish of soğan kebab (grilled minced lamb) gained extra piquancy by being cooked with shallots. Urfa were long kebabs made from finely minced lamb, like a less spicy version of adana. As well as the pâtisserie and the restaurant, Antepliler now has a new juice bar a couple of doors down.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008