Zara

When this homely neighbourhood café-restaurant gets things right, a lovely time is guaranteed. Little has changed here over the years and that's how locals seem to like it. Simple traditional furniture sits in a terracotta-tiled, white-walled room. Occasionally we've been disappointed by the cooking and service, but our most recent visit saw staff and kitchen in fine fettle.

We're still salivating over the tavuk ískender, one of 12 dishes available from the grill (16 if you include the fish options). Delectable pockets of smoky chicken, rich tomato sauce and creamy seasoned yoghurt interspersed with nuggets of chewy pitta bread made each mouthful a textural, flavour-packed delight. Also terrific was the mixed grill featuring lamb and chicken shish, köfte and lamb chop, chargrilled to perfection and served with loose-grained rice and crisp salad.

Traditional Anatolian dishes are available too: meatballs baked with vegetables, for example, or chicken tava, sautéed with mushrooms and vegetables and served in a herby cream sauce. Share one of the mixed meze plates if you can't decide where to start.

The Turkish wines aren't numerous but worth choosing - this time, çankaya, made with indigenous Turkish grapes emir and narince, flowed very nicely indeed.