Best Turkish restaurants in central London and the West End
The best Turkish restaurants in central London cover a lot more ground than the kebab house stereotype. Within a short walk of Oxford Circus you can eat wood-fired pide in Soho, sit down to an Anatolian small-plates dinner in Fitzrovia, finish a Mayfair evening in a cocktail lounge, or start the day with börek and Turkish tea before work.
This guide takes in Soho, Fitzrovia, Marylebone, Mayfair, Holborn, Victoria and Pimlico, plus one neighbourhood favourite up the road in Holloway. Every place is one diners rate highly, and each name links to its full listing with hours, menus and directions. For the streets around the British Museum, see our Bloomsbury and King’s Cross guide.
Soho and Fitzrovia
KİD, Frith Street, Soho
Opened in September 2026 by chef Sertaç Dirik and restaurateur David Carter, KİD cooks Turkish food over a wood oven and charcoal using British seasonal produce. Order tombik pide (a round, puffy bread), muhammara (roasted pepper and walnut dip), içli köfte (bulgur shells filled with aged beef) and lamb pirzola (chops) with grape molasses. Lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday; book through SevenRooms.
Zahter, Foubert’s Place, Soho
Just off Carnaby Street, Zahter cooks south-eastern Turkish food over charcoal and in a wood-fired oven, with plenty for vegetarians. Try the stuffed artichoke, Ali Nazik (smoked aubergine purée topped with grilled meat) and wood-fired prawns, then pistachio baklava with kaymak (clotted cream). Open daily from 11:30am; it suits a date or a celebration.
Yeni, Beak Street, Soho
Yeni brings open-fire cooking and a fine-dining touch to familiar Turkish flavours, served as sharing plates or a tasting menu that changes regularly. Look out for mantı (small Turkish dumplings), the açma basket of soft bread rolls and dishes inspired by sarma, stuffed vine leaves. It’s closed on Mondays and may break between lunch and dinner on weekdays, so check times and book ahead.
Lokal, Market Place, Fitzrovia
Three minutes from Oxford Circus, Lokal opened in May 2026 with a cocktail bar and a semi-private dining room. The Anatolian-inspired small plates are for sharing: sarma, paçanga böreği (crisp pastry filled with cured beef and cheese), lamb tandır (slow-cooked lamb) and kadayıf, a shredded-pastry dessert. Open noon to 11pm daily; book for groups and weekends.
Efes Restaurant & Bar, Maple Street, Fitzrovia
Near the BT Tower, Efes is named after the first London restaurant its founder Kazim opened in 1974, and he still cooks. Expect classic grill-house food: a cold meze platter, beyti (minced lamb wrapped in lavash flatbread with cheese), Kuzu İskender (döner over bread with tomato sauce and yoghurt) and kaburga, grilled lamb ribs. Open noon to midnight daily, with cocktails and online booking.
Levent Börek Fitzrovia, Goodge Street
For breakfast near Goodge Street, Levent Börek bakes Adana-style börek, flaky filled pastry, in squares with cheese, spinach, potato or pastırma (cured beef). The breakfast spreads bring menemen (eggs scrambled with tomatoes and peppers), honey and kaymak, and there’s çılbır (poached eggs on garlic yoghurt) and gözleme, a griddled stuffed flatbread. Finish with kazandibi, a caramelised milk pudding. Open 8am to 7pm daily.
Kibele, Great Portland Street
Opposite Great Portland Street station, Kibele is a smart restaurant and bar with live music, especially at weekends, and private rooms for parties. Order the mantı with garlic yoghurt and chilli butter, the mixed grill or lamb cutlets, and Turkish ice cream to finish. It’s open from noon daily, until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays; booking is recommended for groups.
Istanbul Café & Bistro, Great Portland Street
Set in the Great Portland Street station building, Istanbul Café runs from 8am to 11pm every day. Mornings mean Turkish breakfast and menemen, lunch brings a two-course set menu, and the evening menu adds meze, lamb şiş (skewers) and fresh fish. It’s handy before a show at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.
Marylebone and Mayfair
Grand Bazaar, James Street, Marylebone
By St Christopher’s Place, Grand Bazaar is hung with lanterns and has 75 seats outside on the pedestrianised street. Breakfast runs until 4pm, including serpme kahvaltı, a shared spread of eggs, cheeses, sucuk (spicy sausage) and simit (sesame bread rings). Later, order Kayseri-style mantı or kuşbaşılı pide, boat-shaped bread topped with diced lamb. Open from 10am daily.
Ishtar, Crawford Street, Marylebone
Ishtar is an elegant, halal restaurant mixing Ottoman-inspired dishes with classic grills and meze, about seven minutes from Baker Street. Share a meze platter, then go for beyti, the mixed grill or slow-cooked lamb shank. There’s often live music at weekends, and booking is advised for Friday and Saturday nights, when it stays open until midnight.
Mehmet Efendi 1953, Edgware Road
On the corner of Kendal Street, five minutes from Marble Arch, Mehmet Efendi is a Turkish patisserie and café whose family learned baklava-making in Gaziantep. Order pistachio baklava, trileçe (a light sponge soaked in milk and topped with caramel) and Turkish coffee, or come early for a full Turkish breakfast. It opens at 8am and stays open until 1am, or 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, with indoor, outdoor and rooftop seating.
Chargal, Berkeley Street, Mayfair
Opened in December 2025 by Serdar Demir of The Mantl, Chargal spreads over three floors and cooks over oak charcoal. The headline is wagyu İskender, alongside sucuk glazed with hot honey, a meze of cacık (yoghurt with cucumber) and cranberry kısır (bulgur salad), and pistachio lamb cutlets. The basement Coal Lounge serves cocktails. Dinner only, Tuesday to Saturday; book ahead.
Holborn
Pide & Co, Kingsway, Holborn
Opened in April 2025 by Turkey’s Zeren Group, Pide & Co makes Kayseri-style pide in ovens brought from Turkey. Order pastırmalı pide (with cured beef and cheese), a classic lahmacun (thin, crisp flatbread with spiced minced lamb) or kuru fasulye, a white bean stew, and finish with künefe, hot shredded pastry with melted cheese. It’s fully halal and alcohol-free, and closed on Sundays. More in our lahmacun and pide guide.
Antalya, Southampton Row, Holborn
A few minutes from Russell Square, Antalya is a long-running dining room with gilding, murals and mosaics. Start with a karışık meze (mixed meze sampler), then islim kebap, diced lamb wrapped in aubergine and baked with tomatoes and peppers. It lists its food as halal on OpenTable, serves wine and rakı, and has a private room for up to 36.
Victoria and Pimlico
Cyprus Mangal, Warwick Way, Pimlico
Open since 2005 and a Good Food Award winner in 2020, Cyprus Mangal is seven minutes’ walk from Victoria station. The house mixed grill brings köfte, lamb chop, rib, şiş, chicken wing and quail; alternatives include hellim (charcoal-grilled Cypriot cheese) and kleftiko, oven-roasted lamb knuckle. A four-course tasting menu (£34.95 a head, minimum two) suits first-timers. Open from noon daily; phone for groups of more than 12.
SMOQUE Victoria, Wilton Road
A short walk from the Apollo Victoria, SMOQUE is a modern restaurant and cocktail bar with an open kitchen built around a charcoal grill. Go for the mixed grill platter, chicken Adana (a spiced minced skewer), lamb ribs or Ali Nazik, or the coal-fired sea bass, which is gluten-free. There’s a full bar and a private room, and the dress code is smart casual. Open from noon, until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays; book on OpenTable before a show.
Lovemacun, Wilton Road, Victoria
Three minutes from Victoria station, Lovemacun is built around the macun, a thin flatbread baked to order and wrapped around marinated lamb, chicken or falafel. There’s also lahmacun, sucuklu yumurtalı pide (pide with Turkish sausage and egg) and mercimek çorbası, red lentil soup. SquareMeal lists the food as halal, and it’s open from noon to 11pm daily.
Further north: Holloway
LahmaCino Holloway, Holloway Road
The family behind LahmaCino opened its first lahmacun restaurant in London in 1992. Lahmacun is still the speciality here, rolled up with salad and lemon, alongside pide, falafel, menemen and a Turkish kahvaltı (breakfast) of cheeses, olives, eggs and bread. It’s a casual corner café with seats inside and out, open 8am to 10pm daily, about seven minutes’ walk from Upper Holloway station.
How to plan your visit
- Book the newer places. Chargal, KİD, Yeni and Lokal fill up, especially at weekends. At Lovemacun and LahmaCino most people simply turn up.
- Watch the closing days. KİD, Pide & Co and Chargal are closed on Sundays, Yeni is closed on Mondays, and Chargal serves dinner only.
- Breakfast: Istanbul Café, Levent Börek, Mehmet Efendi and LahmaCino open at 8am, and Grand Bazaar serves breakfast until 4pm. See our Turkish breakfast guide for more.
- Late: Mehmet Efendi stays open until 1am or later, and Kibele until 1am at weekends.
- Not sure what to order? Our guide to popular Turkish dishes explains the menu.
Frequently asked questions about Turkish restaurants in central London
What is the best Turkish restaurant in Soho?
It depends on the occasion. KİD on Frith Street and Yeni on Beak Street both cook modern Turkish food over fire and suit a special dinner. Zahter, just off Carnaby Street, is strong on south-eastern Turkish meze and wood-fired dishes, with plenty for vegetarians.
Are there halal Turkish restaurants in central London?
Yes. Pide & Co in Holborn is fully halal and alcohol-free. Ishtar in Marylebone is halal, Antalya lists its food as halal on OpenTable, and SquareMeal lists Lovemacun in Victoria as halal. Several of these also serve alcohol, so ask staff when booking if that matters to you.
Which Turkish restaurants are near Victoria station?
Lovemacun and SMOQUE Victoria are both on Wilton Road, three to four minutes from the station, and suit a quick bite or a pre-theatre dinner before the Apollo Victoria. Cyprus Mangal on Warwick Way in Pimlico is about seven minutes’ walk away and takes bookings for larger groups.
A quick lahmacun near Victoria or a long Mayfair dinner: these Turkish restaurants in central London cover the whole day. Find more of London’s best Turkish places in the Turkish Dish directory, or read our guide to the best Turkish restaurants in London.
