Turkish Restaurants in Dalston and Stoke Newington: A Local Guide
Turkish restaurants in Dalston and Stoke Newington have shaped how a lot of Londoners eat out: smoky charcoal grills, thin lahmacun eaten at a counter, and long tables of meze shared with friends. The stretch of Kingsland High Street, Stoke Newington Road and Stoke Newington High Street that links the two neighbourhoods is lined with grill houses, pide bakeries and cafés, many open past midnight.
This guide covers the places listed on Turkish Dish, the ones locals keep going back to, with what to order, whether to bring a bottle and when to book. If you’re new to Turkish food, our guide to popular Turkish dishes explains the basics, and there’s a wider round-up in the best Turkish restaurants in London.
Charcoal grills: Dalston’s ocakbaşı restaurants
An ocakbaşı (roughly ‘at the hearth’) is a restaurant built around an open charcoal grill. For a London-wide list, see our guide to the best ocakbaşı in London.
Mangal 1 Ocakbaşı, Dalston
On Arcola Street, just off Stoke Newington Road, Mangal 1 is one of the original grill houses that put this corner of Hackney on London’s food map. Founded by Istanbul-born Ali Dirik, it keeps things simple: a big charcoal mangal (grill) by the door and around two dozen kebabs. Order çöp şiş (small cubes of lamb on skewers), tavuk beyti (minced chicken kebab wrapped in lavash flatbread), köfte and lamb chops, or go for the mixed grill platter to share.
There’s no alcohol licence, so bring your own beer or wine; off-licences on Stoke Newington Road are close by. The room is small and smoky, takes walk-ins and is open from noon until midnight (1am on Fridays and Saturdays). Halal status isn’t published, so ask staff.
Cirrik 19 Numara Bos, Dalston
At 34 Stoke Newington Road, Cirrik is a contemporary, family-run ocakbaşı where diners sit around the charcoal grill and the chefs cook to order. Share the mixed grill platter, add tavuk kanat (chicken wings) and chicken shish, and start with liver, hummus and sigara böreği, thin rolled pastries fried until crisp. There’s also çupra ızgara (grilled sea bream) and plenty of vegetarian and vegan dishes.
It’s licensed, with natural wines, cocktails and a drinks happy hour, and a weekday lunch deal. It’s open daily from noon until 11pm (11.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays); call ahead at weekends. Halal status isn’t stated.
Adana Ocakbaşı, Dalston
A few doors from Mersin Tantuni at 17 Stoke Newington Road, Adana Ocakbaşı is named after the southern Turkish city famous for its kebab: hand-minced lamb with red pepper, cooked on a wide skewer. Meals come with complimentary salad, grilled onion, cacık (yoghurt with cucumber and garlic) and bread. The menu also has Antep lahmacun and kuşbaşılı pide (pide topped with cubes of lamb), plus Adana burma tatlısı, a rolled, syrup-soaked pastry, to finish.
There’s a bar with rakı (the anise-flavoured Turkish spirit) and beer, plus outdoor seating. It opens from 11am until midnight, and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. Halal status isn’t stated.
Testi, Stoke Newington
On Stoke Newington High Street, Testi is a family-run ocakbaşı that opened in 2000 and won Best Kebab Restaurant in North and West London at the 2019 British Kebab Awards. The house signature is the lokum kebab, charcoal-grilled lamb middle-neck fillet. Add sarma beyti (minced kebab wrapped in lavash with tomato sauce and yoghurt), hummus kavurma (lamb sautéed with paprika and butter, served on hummus) and atom, spicy roasted peppers on strained garlic yoghurt.
It’s licensed, with rakı and cocktails, and the menu labels vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free dishes. Tables for two to twenty can be booked online. It’s closed on Mondays and open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. Halal status isn’t stated on its website.
Lahmacun, tantuni and Turkish street food
Mangal Turkish Pizza, Dalston
Mangal Turkish Pizza on Stoke Newington Road is built around its oven rather than a grill. Come for lahmacun, a thin, crisp flatbread spread with minced meat, tomato, peppers and spices: roll it up with salad and lemon and drink a cold ayran (salted yoghurt drink) alongside. Pide, the boat-shaped Turkish flatbread, comes out of the same oven with a choice of toppings.
With only a few tables and a busy takeaway counter, it suits a quick lunch or a late snack. It’s listed as fully halal and serves no alcohol. It opens at 8am every day and stays open until midnight, or 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. No booking needed.
Mersin Tantuni, Dalston
Next to EartH Hackney at 11 Stoke Newington Road, Mersin Tantuni is named after the coastal city where tantuni comes from. Tantuni is finely chopped meat cooked on a wide, shallow griddle with a little water and spices, then wrapped tightly in thin lavaş bread with tomato, onion and parsley. Order the lamb tantuni, also served with a yoghurt sauce, and finish with künefe (shredded pastry with melted cheese and syrup).
It’s small, cosy and women-owned, with outdoor seating, friendly prices and plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. It’s open daily from noon to midnight. Halal and alcohol status aren’t stated.
The Midyeci, Dalston
At the Haggerston end of Kingsland Road, The Midyeci describes itself as London’s first shop dedicated to midye dolma: mussels stuffed with spiced rice, sold from street carts along Turkey’s coast. Have them plain, spicy or with prawns, with curry and tarator (a garlicky nut sauce) on the side. Then add balık ekmek, grilled mackerel in bread with lettuce and onion, or the mussel burger.
It started as a takeaway and now has a sit-down dining room and bar serving beer, wine and cocktails, plus ayran and şalgam (a tangy fermented black-carrot drink), and it delivers across London. Hours differ between sources (its website lists Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 10.30pm), so check before you go. Halal status isn’t published.
Brunch, family meals and big groups
Stone Cave, Dalston
Stone Cave on Kingsland High Street has been serving Dalston since 2002 and takes its name from the room: stone-effect booths and coloured lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Brunch runs from 10am daily, with menemen (soft-scrambled eggs with tomatoes and peppers), sucuk (spicy beef sausage) toasties and baklava waffles. In the evening, order hot and cold meze such as ıspanaklı börek (spinach and feta pastries) and kalamar (fried calamari), then a mixed kebab from the charcoal grill.
The bar serves cocktails, beer and wine, there’s live music and a kids’ menu, and a private section takes up to 50 guests. Book online, especially for weekend brunch. Halal status isn’t published, so ask staff. For more morning ideas, see our guide to Turkish breakfast in London.
Aziziye Restaurant, Stoke Newington
Aziziye Restaurant sits at 117-119 Stoke Newington Road, beneath the mosque of the same name, in a building that opened in 1913 as the Apollo Picture House. The restaurant has been serving the area for more than 35 years and has its own butcher on site. Start with yoğurtlu kızartma (fried vegetables with garlic yoghurt), then pick the karışık ızgara (mixed grill), a güveç (lamb and vegetables baked in a clay pot) or İskender (kebab over bread with tomato sauce, yoghurt and butter).
The food is halal and no alcohol is served. There are private family rooms and booths, some with traditional floor seating, so book through its website if you want one. It’s open daily from 11am to 11pm.
A short walk west: Newington Green
The Newington Green end of Green Lanes has its own cluster of Turkish restaurants (see all Newington Green listings):
- Kozan Grill: a neighbourhood ocakbaşı for Adana and mixed kebabs, tagged halal on delivery apps.
- Beyti Ocakbaşı: a long, traditional grill menu behind a takeaway frontage, with wine and rakı.
- Üstün Lahmacun & Pide Salonu: a tiny, cash-only shop baking lahmacun and pide to order in a wood-burning oven.
- Sarıyer Balık: a family-run seafood restaurant and meyhane (rakı tavern), open evenings only.
Abla Dalston and Yeni Çukurova: two more to try
Abla Dalston, a few doors up Kingsland High Street, is a lively grill and meze restaurant with a bar, known for big sharing platters and grilled sea bass; it opens from 11am to midnight every day. A short walk west at Newington Green, Yeni Çukurova Kebab House on Green Lanes is a small, friendly kebab house serving charcoal-grilled Adana and shish until midnight.
How to plan your visit to Turkish restaurants in Dalston
- Bring your own: Mangal 1 has no alcohol licence, so pick up drinks on Stoke Newington Road first. Mangal Turkish Pizza and Aziziye serve no alcohol either.
- Booking: Testi, Stone Cave and Aziziye take online bookings. Testi is closed on Mondays. The smaller grills and bakeries are mostly walk-in.
- Late nights: Adana Ocakbaşı and Mangal Turkish Pizza stay open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Getting there: Dalston Kingsland and Dalston Junction Overground stations are a few minutes’ walk from most places here; buses 67, 76, 149 and 243 run along Stoke Newington Road.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Turkish restaurant in Dalston?
It depends on what you’re after. For a classic charcoal grill, Mangal 1 and Cirrik both cook over open charcoal. For lahmacun, go to Mangal Turkish Pizza; for midye dolma, The Midyeci; and for brunch or a big group, Stone Cave.
Which Turkish restaurants in Dalston are BYOB?
Mangal 1 Ocakbaşı has no alcohol licence, so diners bring their own beer or wine, and off-licences on Stoke Newington Road are a short walk away. Corkage isn’t mentioned in our sources, so ask when you arrive. Most of the other grills nearby are licensed and serve rakı, beer and wine.
Is the Turkish food in Dalston halal?
Some of it is. Mangal Turkish Pizza is listed as fully halal, and Aziziye Restaurant is halal with its own butcher on site; neither serves alcohol. Kozan Grill is tagged halal on delivery apps. Many others, including Mangal 1, Testi and Stone Cave, don’t publish their halal status, so ask staff.
Dalston and Stoke Newington are only one part of London’s Turkish food map. Browse every listing in the area on our Dalston & Stoke Newington page, carry on north with our Green Lanes food guide, or browse the full Turkish Dish directory of London’s best Turkish restaurants.
