Antepliler

Wow, this place seems to divide opinion! I don't think service is their strong point but considering how busy they are at all times, I'm not sure what they could do about that - more staff would not be the answer! Better than Cirrik and Mangal in Dalston, I adore the bustling atmosphere, I've never had anything approaching a bad meal here, the quality of meat is superb, and funnily enough one of the things that stands out the most for me is the rice... seriously, it's a cracking dish on its own...

First time in a Turkish restaurant (25/11, before Spurs game). My best mate and I took the advice of the friendly waiter, ordered 2 starters to share followed by the lamb tava stew...which would feed 4 as tapas style dishes. Everything was excellent, only downside was 55 minute wait for stew, but believe me it's worth it. So my tip, order ahead or try the kebabs, but don't take the turnip(b?) juice.

This restaurant is simply amazing! Away from my (turkish) family and now living in the UK i sooo miss good turkish food, so my friend & I decided to go there last Thu.
It was not overcrowded, everybody was very friendly.
We had 1 sucuklu Pide, 1 Mercimek (red lentils) soup, 2 Lahmacun with side salad, 1 Ayran, 1 Coke and 2 Teas for only 17,80pounds.
In contrast to the restaurants we been to in London city, I can say that this play serves quality meals and it's not as expensive as in some pubs where you have to pay 14pounds for a fish&chips.
I certainly will go there on my next visit, which hopefully will be very soon!

What a fabulous place to eat. Hot food, well cooked with delicious sides to accompany it. I always leave completely satisfied, and if we cannot finish it all they pack it for us and we take it home. I don't visit london as often as I would like, but this restaurant I would make the 400 mile round-trip for...not kidding. Eat here, it is authenthic, great service too. (try the lamb with cheese and pistachios)

Vegetarians! Look out for the "Vege Plate" stashed away in the long list of mains: it's well worth visting just for this dish of mixed meze, rice, pastries, and other yummies. Vegans had better pass.

The food served here is superb, very tasty and good sized, reasonably priced portions. Try cig kofte, kaburga or the lahmacun, all excellent. The staff are extremely busy and don't have time to do much other than take orders and deliver your food to the table, well thats fine with me. There's a good lively atmosphere in here, lots of people chatting away happily, no fakery or pretence about the place. You do sometimes have to wait awhile for a table and the main course may take some time but thats because the place is popular and the food is freshly cooked.
One of my favourite London restaurants, in fact i'm going there tonight.
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Simply wonderful - just great. I never tire of this place. great food, great buzz, very children friendly. the service can come across as a bit cold but the food's so good you won't care

I regularly go to this restaurant with friends and family. We love it. The food is fresh, good, generous, and reasonably priced. The service is very friendly. Yes it is busy and vibrant. There are lots of families including many Turkish ones. The Lahmacun are really delicious. I can strongly reccomend and I really like my food!!

The reason why the staff probably had problems understanding you is that your command of English is terrible! I have no problems communicating with the staff? I have eaten in alot of Turkish places in London and moreover in Harringay, this one keeps me coming back. The food is homecooked, fresh, tasty and the menu boasts regional dishes which you wont find on any other Turkish restaurant menu. And I agree, it is the BEST lentil soup in London! You dont go there for 5 star service, you go there for the raw and authentic Mediterranean experience.

How ironic that many of the reviewers complaining about the staff's poor English skills appear to be battling with their very own spelling and grammatical challenges........

This restuarant is my favourite. The food is oustanding and it is so cheap too, if you love the whole Turkisk thing like I do then you will love Antepliler. Also the waiters are very helpful & polite. I travel over 30 miles to eat here on a regular basis.

I think some of you are a bit uptight to be honest, and have no other conversation other than to time how long these fresh meals are taking to prepare.. Chill out, its not McDonalds.

I live on Green lanes and i’ve been going there for about 5 years now and every time the food is fantastic.

So what if some of the guys there don't speak English to your standards and so what if it’s loud! Its Mediterranean get used to it. Also I strongly disagree with you about "dirty" it is not.
I am a cookery teacher, the food is authentic and the vibe is great, there is a queue nearly every night to get a table, so do the math.

xx

I do not quite get it why some people seems to not accept negative comments about this specific restaurant
there, of course would be negative comments as well as postive comments
people are free to declare their opinions whether they are negative or positive. The whole UK population or the whole London population do not have to like this place, some people may have experienced some bad incidents at this place
I was at this restaurant last night, we booked a table for 4 but there was no booking found, they did not even have a reservation manual book or computer system.
we had to wait 15 minutes outside the restaurant for a table to be free
we were finally got seated but there was no apology, we than started to wait to order our food, it took them 20 minutes to take our orders and further 35 minutes to serve our order
unbeliveable, i was speechless, they ruined our night and none of us enjoyed it at all
this restaurant should learn some proper manner, they do not know the meaning of the customer service
As the previous lady said I will too log a formal complaint about this place to the Trading Standard Service.
just a word of advice, stay away from this place

horrible service, terrible place. I won't go there again. the staffs got serious lack of English,
i spent 10 minutes to communicate with 2 waiters regarding with the wrong order they served to our table
they brought 2 turkish pide which we never ordered
we managed to get our kebab orders after 35 minutes but they were frozen colds.
the manager did not even say a simple sorry for all those hassles they gave us.
we left the restaurant straightaway, and will contact the trading standard service of haringey council tomorrow morning
stay away

Despite living in Dalston, around 100 yards from Mangal, right above Mangal 2, a stones throw from Somine and just along from Numara Bos Cirrik, this is undoubtedly my favourite Turkish restaurant in London (and i have been to a LOT). I have read some of the negative reviews and feel compelled to defend this restaurant from what i consider unfair criticism. I first visitied in 2008 with low expectations, having been a frequent visitor to Mangal, et al, but was blown away. The lentil soup is the best in London, so much more flavoursome and textured than any other i have tried. The cig kofte is amazing, the lahmacun also, probably due to the fact that demand is so high they are always piping hot and fresh. Salads and dressings are fresh and tasty, and dips too. Service is brisk, because its so busy! i wouldnt say rude, more efficient. The waiters dont seem to have time to stand around chatting up customers because the place is always (understandably) so busy. The kebabs are always soft, juicy and tender, the lamb is never overcooked or dry unlike a lot of other turkish restaurants. I can't say enough good things about this place, and I will continue to bypass many other East London favourites in order to visit Antepliler.

I can't help but wonder if the extremely damning reviews posted here are written by jealous rivals - the fact is that this is, by far, the busiest Turkish restaurant on Green Lanes and it fully deserves to be - it is clearly adored. I'm a regular here and I have not found a restaurant, Turkish or otherwise in North London, that can rival Antipliler in terms of value for money but make no mistake - the varied dishes are not cheaply prepared. The Cig (raw) Kofte is delicious, the Patlican Kizartma (fried auborgine) is delightful and the Kofte and shallots in pommegranite is magnificent! I can't recommend this place enough. Beware that it does not take bookings, but I have never waited more than 10 minutes and that'll give you time to pop next door to its sister cafe (also Antipliler) for sweetbreads - yum! Glad to see Time Out has upped is 3 stars to 4 recently... it griped me!!!

i really do not understand the negative comments, and its a shame that some of you have a bad experience from a place I would consider to be one of London's hidden restaurant gems. I would strongly suggest those that went and had a bad experience first time around to go again and really do go with an open mind. Remember this is not your atypical Turkish restaurant, that serves kebabs in a pitta bread type place, the food is sensational, the staff are not ignorant nor rude, perhaps the issue is language, as you are being served by Turkish waiters who are local to the food region in Turkey. This place is full each evening with satisfied and returning customers.

Well it has to be said, we have eaten many times now at the antepliler and we are thinking of a meal there tonight. Why do we like it? The service is ‘outstanding’ truly! All the staff from the Management to the waiting staff really work hard to ensure that every customer, not just us are greeted with a professional and warm approach. The food quality is always very high, so much to choose from the menu and the waiter when I asked him for a really hot meal, wow it was every inch what I wanted and asked for! The Restaurant in its-self is very smart, very clean and one of the best Restaurants we have ever visited. In fact this restaurant will be our first choice meal-out when we are local or home. I say that not lightly as I am very fussy and I am willing to pull any manager aside should my meal not be as I wished or hoped it to be. After all I am a customer, But and that a big but, I have never needed to do this here. All I can say is that if you have the chance to eat or the fortune to visit often, then you will ‘enjoy’ every moment, but please note it is very popular and busy! So you may have to book. Remember all the best places are, and my family and I feel this is one of the very best places to eat! Thanks very much to antepliler restaurant and all of their staff.

I certainly agree, the food was cold, the pide was too spicy, asked them if they can change it but was told that i got to wait for another 25 minutes.
asked for a diet coke but got a turkish beer, it took 15 minutes for waiter to change it with a long face.
won't go there again

terrible service, and awful food, waiters were quite rude and ignorant, food were smelling like 2 years old, tried to report it to the manager but manager was not able to undertstand us due to his lack of English,
i would advise you to choose some other places in haringey

My wife and I to this restaurant problably once a week and it's fantastic - it's noisy, there's lots going on, you sometimes have to wait a bit to get served, but if you want great tasting fresh food in an interesting place where you can bring your own alchohol, there's no better place.

Ignore all negative comments. great restaurant. always packed with locals - so no wonder the staff don't have time to smile sweetly all the time ! the food is always superb. If people don't like it then great for others who love it - like me and my family....

Definitely disagree - this restaurant is great, we eat here all the time. The food is fresh and delicious and well-priced. We've never been experience anything but very friendly service as well. It's a bit loud - but it's that kind of place!

I disagree, I have used this restaurant numerous times and found the food to be excellent, the service is always good although the staff are not talkative and don't smile much but thats ok. I would recommend this restaurant.

I agree, they are quite rude and the food were cold,
did not enjoy it at all

I would strongly advise you to stay away from this horrible place
u wait min 45 min for your order, do not bother to ask anything to staff as they are quite rude, u might get told off,
food were cold, bread were old, dishes and table were dirty, staff are very loud especially around the big stone oven.
stay away from this place