The best Turkish kebab shops in London (2026 guide)
Twelve kebab shops and grills across London, from a Knightsbridge townhouse serving İskender from the family that made it famous to late-night döner counters on Green Lanes and Upper Street.
Last updated November 2026
London has been eating döner since the 1960s, and Wikipedia records the city’s first döner shop opening in 1966. Six decades on, the best Turkish kebab in London can mean very different things: a hand-carved lamb döner from a spit stacked that morning, an Adana skewer straight off the charcoal, a Berlin-style döner in toasted bread, or a modern flatbread from a Soho kitchen. This guide covers all of them.
Every place below is on our kebab and döner list, and every one is rated highly by the people who eat there. If you want a sit-down charcoal grill rather than a kebab shop, see the best ocakbaşı grills in London.
Quick picks
- Best İskender: Kebapçı İskender, Knightsbridge
- Best classic döner: Antepliler Döner, Green Lanes
- Best charcoal kebabs: Mangal 1 Ocakbaşı, Dalston
- Best Berlin-style döner: Checkpoint Berlin Döner, Soho
- Best after midnight: Ottoman Empire Kebab, Islington
Turkish Dish recommends
How we chose
We looked for places where kebab is the point, not an afterthought, and that are rated highly by their customers. Details come from menus, the places’ own websites and our directory pages. Nobody pays to be included.
What makes a good Turkish kebab?
- The döner is made in-house. A good shop stacks its own spit from sliced meat rather than buying a pressed cone. Ask, and most good places will tell you proudly.
- It is cut to order. Thin slices carved as you watch, crisp at the edges.
- The grill uses charcoal. For şiş and Adana kebabs, charcoal gives a smoky char that gas can’t match.
- The bread is fresh. Warm pide, lavaş for dürüm, or a roll toasted against the spit.
- The salad is sharp. Onions with sumac and parsley, pickled chillies and a proper chilli sauce cut through the richness.
The best Turkish kebab shops in London
Central London
1. Kebapçı İskender, Knightsbridge
In short: The London branch of the Bursa family behind the original İskender kebab, on Beauchamp Place.
Why it’s here: The İskenderoğlu family trace the dish back to 1867, and this townhouse opened in autumn 2026. The menu is deliberately short: essentially one dish, thin lamb döner over chopped pide with tomato sauce, grilled peppers and yoghurt, finished at the table with hot melted butter.
Have this: İskender, the chargrilled aubergine and kemalpaşa, a syrup-soaked dessert from Bursa. Try şıra (grape must), which Turks drink with döner.
Good to know: Read about the dish in our İskender kebab recipe before you go.
2. Le Bab, Soho
In short: A modern kebab restaurant on the top floor of Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street.
Why it’s here: It opened in 2016 after its founders ran street-food stalls, and it reworks the kebab with restaurant technique. It isn’t a traditional kebab house, and that’s the point.
Have this: Chicken shish in flatbread, the long-running paneer kebab or the lamb with harissa labneh, plus a side of halloumi.
Good to know: There is a second branch, Le Bab Covent Garden, on Mercer Walk.
3. Checkpoint Berlin Döner, Soho
In short: A small Berlin-style döner counter at 87 Dean Street.
Why it’s here: Turkish-German döner grew up in Berlin, and this is the London version: döner stuffed into toasted bread with salad and sauce, plus the vegetable-loaded Gemüse kebap.
Have this: The Gemüse kebap, or a dürüm if you want it wrapped.
Good to know: Mostly takeaway, with a couple of standing counters outside. Handy after the theatre.
4. Lokanta 82, Brick Lane
In short: A casual döner and mangal (charcoal grill) counter at 53 Brick Lane.
Why it’s here: The menu covers the kebab-house classics: classic and chicken döner, şiş, spicy Adana and Halep kebab in tomato sauce, as wraps, boxes or platters.
Have this: Halep kebabı, served in a rich tomato sauce over bread.
Good to know: Open later at weekends, so it works for a bite while exploring Brick Lane.
5. Duman Doner, Elephant & Castle
In short: A döner and Turkish BBQ counter inside Mercato Metropolitano.
Why it’s here: Döner from the spit in wraps or over salad, with meat the business says comes from British farms. Everyone in a group can pick from different stalls, and the market bars serve Turkish wine and beer.
Have this: A döner dürüm.
Good to know: No table booking: you order at the counter and eat at the shared tables.
Central London kebab picks
North London
6. Antepliler Döner, Harringay
In short: The döner shop of the Gaziantep-rooted Antepliler family on Grand Parade, Green Lanes.
Why it’s here: Homemade döner, a mix of beef and lamb, cut from the spit in front of you and served in bread, on a plate or as İskender. It’s open until midnight, with a dining room at the back for groups.
Have this: Et döner on a plate, then künefe from the family’s dessert café next door.
7. Hassos Döner, Harringay
In short: A family-run döner shop at 423 Green Lanes.
Why it’s here: A casual, family-friendly kebab shop open from noon until 11pm every day, with set menus that suit a family dinner.
Have this: Et döner or a döner dürüm.
Good to know: Green Lanes is London’s busiest Turkish street, so see our Green Lanes food guide too.
8. Mangal 1 Ocakbaşı, Dalston
In short: One of the original ocakbaşı grills that put Dalston on London’s food map.
Why it’s here: A big charcoal mangal by the entrance, around two dozen kebabs and a no-frills dining room. It’s bring-your-own, which keeps the bill low.
Have this: Çöp şiş (small lamb cubes), tavuk beyti wrapped in lavaş and a mixed grill to share.
Good to know: For more nearby, read our Dalston and Stoke Newington guide.
9. Ottoman Empire Kebab, Islington
In short: A family-run kebab shop at 89 Upper Street, near Angel.
Why it’s here: It makes its own kebabs and keeps very late hours: until 2am most nights and 4am on Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant states its food is halal.
Have this: The kebabs it makes in-house; we haven’t seen a full menu, so ask what’s on.
Good to know: More late options in our late-night Turkish food guide.
10. E. Mono, Kentish Town
In short: A long-standing kebab house a few steps from Kentish Town station.
Why it’s here: The name comes from an old shop sign the owners found during the refit and kept. The restaurant says it was the first to use free-range chicken for its kebabs, and portions are large.
Have this: Kuzu şiş or the karışık (mixed) kebab.
Good to know: The room has spread into the shop next door, so there’s more space than it looks.
11. Etçi Közde Döner, Enfield
In short: A döner and grill restaurant at 314–316 High Street, Ponders End.
Why it’s here: The name says it: közde means cooked over embers, so charcoal and good meat are the point. Döner and charcoal kebabs are the core of the menu.
Have this: Et döner. We haven’t seen a full menu, so ask what else is on the grill.
Good to know: Open noon to 11pm every day.
North London kebab picks
South London
12. Pasha Mangal, Balham
In short: A Turkish BBQ restaurant a minute from Balham station.
Why it’s here: It was named Best Regional Kebab Restaurant at the 2023 British Kebab Awards. Lamb and chicken şiş come off the charcoal with rice, salad, red cabbage and pickled chillies, and döner is carved at the front counter.
Have this: Tavuk şiş, with houmous and baba ganoush to start.
South London kebab pick
Döner, şiş, Adana or İskender? A quick guide
- Döner: meat stacked on a vertical spit and sliced thin. Make it at home with our oven döner recipe.
- Şiş: cubes of marinated lamb or chicken on a skewer. Our tavuk şiş recipe covers the chicken version.
- Adana: hand-minced, spiced lamb pressed onto a wide skewer. See the Adana kebab recipe.
- İskender: döner over pide with tomato sauce, yoghurt and butter, from Bursa.
- Dürüm: any of the above rolled in thin lavaş bread.
- Beyti: minced kebab wrapped in lavaş, sliced and served with yoghurt and tomato sauce.
Not sure how döner differs from shawarma and gyros? We explain it in döner vs shawarma vs gyros.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best Turkish kebab in London?
It depends what you want. For İskender, go to Kebapçı İskender in Knightsbridge. For a classic döner, Green Lanes in Harringay has the most choice, including Antepliler Döner and Hassos Döner. For charcoal kebabs, Mangal 1 in Dalston is a London institution.
Which London street has the most Turkish kebab shops?
Green Lanes through Harringay has the biggest cluster, followed by Stoke Newington Road and Kingsland Road in Dalston. Browse Harringay and Green Lanes or Dalston and Stoke Newington on the map.
Are Turkish kebab shops in London halal?
Many are, but not all, so it’s worth asking. Where a restaurant states that its food is halal, our listing says so, and we keep a separate guide to halal Turkish restaurants in London.
Want more? Browse all 81 kebab and döner places in London, or read the best Turkish restaurants in London. To plan your route, use the TfL Journey Planner.
