Best Turkish Restaurants in North London: From Enfield to Muswell Hill
The best Turkish restaurants north London has to offer aren’t all on Green Lanes. Head further out and you’ll find charcoal grills on the Hertford Road, part of a long run of Turkish shops and restaurants that stretches up through Edmonton and Enfield Highway, lahmacun bakers in Tottenham, a canteen that cooks home-style dishes fresh each day, and relaxed all-day cafés in Crouch End and Muswell Hill.
This guide covers new and existing listings on Turkish Dish, the places locals rate highly, with what to order, opening hours and what to ask about halal and alcohol. If you’re new to the food, our guide to popular Turkish dishes explains the basics, and the city-wide picks are in the best Turkish restaurants in London.
Enfield: charcoal grills, home cooking and family meze
Cengo Ocakbaşı, Enfield
On Hertford Road, Cengo Ocakbaşı is built around its ocakbaşı, an open charcoal grill (the word means roughly ‘at the hearth’). Start with the cold meze: cacık (yoghurt with cucumber and garlic), ispanak tarator (spinach with garlic and yoghurt) and yaprak sarma (vine leaves stuffed with rice, pine kernels and dill). Hot starters include ciğer (grilled lamb’s liver) and sucuk, a spicy Turkish sausage, before the lamb and chicken grills, pide (boat-shaped Turkish flatbread) and sharing platters.
It’s open from 11am to midnight every day, with a dedicated vegetarian section and delivery through Uber Eats. The halal and alcohol policies aren’t published online, so ask if either matters.
Esnaf Lokantası, Enfield
An esnaf lokantası is a tradesmen’s restaurant, and Esnaf Lokantası on Green Street, just off Hertford Road, cooks exactly that kind of everyday food. Dishes are made fresh each day and served canteen-style from the counter: soup of the day with bread, slow-cooked meat dishes, chicken, vegetables, pilav (rice) and salad. If you can’t decide, the chef’s plate gives you a taste of several.
The food is halal and no alcohol is served. It opens from 7am to 10pm daily and has outdoor seating. The counter changes, so ask what is meat-free on the day.
Güneş, Enfield
On Southbury Road, Güneş is the Enfield branch of a small group with a sister restaurant in Walthamstow, serving Anatolian and Mediterranean cooking around the grill. Build a table of meze: kısır (bulgur salad with pomegranate and herbs), humus kavurma (hummus topped with pan-fried lamb), sigara böreği (crisp pastry rolls with feta) and imam bayıldı (fried aubergine with onion and tomato). Lentil soup and yoğurtlu paça (lamb soup with yoghurt) are made daily.
It’s open 11am to 11pm every day, with sharing platters, a kids’ section and many vegetarian and vegan dishes. Tables can be booked online; a 10% discretionary service charge is added, and halal status isn’t stated.
Palmers Green
TANDIR, Palmers Green
Further down Green Lanes, TANDIR is named after tandır, the traditional method of slow-cooking lamb for hours, and that lamb is the dish to order. There’s also pide and lahmacun (thin flatbread topped with spiced minced meat) with fresh salad, kelle paça çorbası (a traditional lamb soup), levrek (grilled sea bass) and vegan meze such as babaganoush and muhammara, a red pepper and walnut dip.
It’s also a good choice for a full Turkish breakfast for two with bottomless tea, served from 9am. Opening is 9am to 10pm (from noon on Tuesdays), with high chairs for families. Palmers Green station is about ten minutes’ walk away.
Tottenham and West Green
Öz Erciyes, Tottenham
A couple of minutes from Bruce Grove station, Öz Erciyes is a family-run, good-value local built around a big charcoal grill. Begin with hummus and cacık, share a lahmacun, served here in large pieces for the table, then order kuzu şiş (lamb cubes) and tavuk şiş (chicken skewers). Mixed kebab plates and platters make ordering for a group easy.
It opens 9am to 11pm daily and is on Deliveroo. There’s a single wine on the menu, so it’s more a place for ayran (a salted yoghurt drink) and Turkish tea. Halal status isn’t published.
Gaziantep Lahmacun & Pide, Tottenham
On Philip Lane, Gaziantep Lahmacun & Pide is named after the south-eastern Turkish city famous for both. The menu is short: crisp lahmacun in regular and acılı (extra-spicy) versions, and large pide topped with kuşbaşı (diced lamb) or karışık (mixed toppings). The dough is made fresh on site, and prices are among the lowest in the area.
It’s a small room, open 11:30am to 9pm daily, so plan an early dinner. Halal and alcohol policies aren’t published. For more, see the best lahmacun and pide in London.
27 Lahmacun, Tottenham
27 is the number-plate code for Gaziantep, and 27 Lahmacun on The Roundway, near Lordship Lane, cooks accordingly: Antep lahmacun, fındık lahmacun (four small rounds), Kilis tava (minced lamb and beef baked with tomato and peppers) and katmer, flaky pastry filled with pistachio. There’s also mantı, small meat dumplings with garlicky yoghurt and spiced butter.
It opens at 8:30am with menemen (eggs scrambled with tomato and peppers) and runs until 10pm. Vegetarians can choose vegetarian tava, pide or gözleme (thin folded flatbread). Delivery is on Deliveroo; ask about halal.
Umut Ocakbaşı, West Green
On West Green Road, a short walk east of Green Lanes, Umut Ocakbaşı is a classic grill house with simple décor and the charcoal grill as its focal point. The usual order is ciğer to start, then a shared karışık ızgara (mixed grill) with Adana kebap (spiced minced lamb on a skewer), lamb and chicken şiş and soğan salatası, the grilled onion salad that is the classic ocakbaşı side.
It’s open noon to 11pm daily, with delivery on Just Eat; ask about halal and alcohol. On the same road, Durak Tantuni is also in our directory.
Crouch End and Muswell Hill
Sumak, Crouch End
Family-run Sumak on Tottenham Lane, between Crouch End Broadway and Hornsey, goes well beyond the usual kebabs. Look for Arnavut ciğeri (Albanian-style pan-fried liver), mücver (courgette and feta fritters), içli köfte (bulgur shells stuffed with spiced meat and nuts), kulbastı (thin-cut grilled chicken or lamb) and İskender, kebab served on bread with yoghurt.
The menu states the food is 100% halal certified, and there’s a wine list. A two-course weekday set lunch costs £15.95 (noon to 4pm), when Turkish breakfast is also served. It’s open from noon until 11pm (midnight on Fridays and Saturdays), with a kids’ menu, vegan dishes and online booking.
Cilicia, Muswell Hill
Named after the ancient region of southern Anatolia, Cilicia on Muswell Hill Broadway is a family-owned Turkish and Mediterranean café-restaurant. By day it serves big breakfasts all day, including a vegetarian full English built around grilled halloumi. In the evening, try the Cilician skewer (lightly spiced minced lamb with peppers), the Lamb Gordion Knot (grilled lamb on bread cubes with yoghurt and butter) or kleftico, slow-cooked lamb shank.
Wine and cocktails are served, halal status isn’t stated, and there are vegetarian and vegan options. It opens at 11am on weekdays and 10am at weekends; book through the website.
Green Lanes and Turnpike Lane
Green Lanes is north London’s best-known Turkish high street, and our Green Lanes food guide covers it in depth, from Hala and Gökyüzü to Köfteci Metin. Two newer listings sit at the Harringay and Turnpike Lane end.
Enfes Ocakbaşı, Harringay
On the Harringay Ladder stretch, Enfes Ocakbaşı is a bright, canteen-style grill that suits big groups and late nights. Meals usually start with warm flatbread, cacık, ezme (a spicy tomato and pepper dip) and grilled onion salad. Then order the house speciality ciğer, bıldırcın (whole grilled quail) or Ali Nazik, grilled lamb on smoky aubergine and yoghurt.
It’s open 11am to midnight, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, with online booking and a takeaway menu. Ask about halal and alcohol. Our guide to the best ocakbaşı in London has more grills.
Diyarbakır Taş Fırın, Turnpike Lane
Right beside Turnpike Lane station, Diyarbakır Taş Fırın is a small stone-oven (taş fırın) bakery-restaurant, separate from the larger Diyarbakır Kitchen on Green Lanes. Watch gözleme and pide being made, order lahmacun, or try tantuni, the Mersin-style wrap of finely chopped chicken or beef with onion, among the cheapest hot meals in the area. It’s open 10am to 11pm every day; halal and alcohol policies aren’t published.
How to plan a visit to Turkish restaurants in north London
- Check closing times. Enfes Ocakbaşı and Cengo Ocakbaşı serve until midnight or later, but Gaziantep Lahmacun & Pide closes at 9pm.
- Ask about halal and alcohol. Only a few places publish this clearly, so ask when you book or order.
- Book for groups. Sumak, Cilicia, Güneş and Enfes take bookings online.
- Use the Overground. The Weaver line serves Bruce Grove, Southbury and Turkey Street; Muswell Hill has no Tube, so take a bus from Highgate or Finsbury Park.
Frequently asked questions about Turkish restaurants in north London
Where is the best Turkish food in north London?
Green Lanes in Harringay is the best-known strip, but Tottenham High Road, Philip Lane, the Hertford Road in Enfield and Palmers Green are worth the trip. For grills, try Enfes Ocakbaşı or Cengo Ocakbaşı; for lahmacun, Gaziantep Lahmacun & Pide or 27 Lahmacun; for slow-cooked lamb, TANDIR.
Which of these restaurants are halal?
Sumak states on its menu that its food is 100% halal certified, and Esnaf Lokantası is halal with no alcohol served. Most of the other places in this guide don’t publish their halal status, so it’s best to ask the staff when you book or before you order, especially for grilled meat.
Where can I get a Turkish breakfast in north London?
27 Lahmacun opens at 8:30am with menemen and sucuklu yumurta (eggs fried with sucuk), TANDIR serves a breakfast for two with bottomless tea from 9am, and Sumak serves Turkish breakfast from noon to 4pm. Cilicia does big breakfasts all day. See our Turkish breakfast guide for more.
From a lokanta lunch in Enfield to a late plate of quail on Green Lanes, Turkish restaurants in north London cover every kind of meal. Find more of London’s best Turkish places in the Turkish Dish directory, or browse the Harringay and Green Lanes area page.
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