Turkish Restaurants in Bloomsbury, King’s Cross and Near the British Museum
Turkish restaurants in Bloomsbury are worth knowing about if you are spending a day at the British Museum, studying at one of the area’s universities or killing time before a train at King’s Cross. Within a few streets of Russell Square you can sit down to a long meze dinner, eat a Turkish breakfast with fresh simit, or grab a filled gözleme for lunch.
This guide covers three places in Bloomsbury itself, a wood-fired restaurant in King’s Cross and a weekday lunch spot on Leather Lane, a walk east towards Clerkenwell. All five are places people rate highly. Browse the Bloomsbury and Holborn listings for the full area.
Turkish restaurants in Bloomsbury and Russell Square
Antalya, Southampton Row, Holborn
A few minutes from Russell Square and the British Museum, Antalya is a long-running Turkish and Mediterranean restaurant whose recent refurbishment kept its ornate gilding, murals and mosaics. Start with içli köfte, crushed-wheat shells filled with lamb mince, walnuts and herbs and fried until crisp, or the karışık meze sampler, which brings hummus, tabule, cacık (yoghurt with cucumber and garlic), kısır (a spiced bulgur salad), calamari, börek and falafel. For mains, order lamb İskender, sliced lamb on crisp bread cubes with tomato sauce, butter and yoghurt, or islim kebap, diced lamb wrapped in aubergine and baked with tomatoes and peppers.
The food is listed as halal on OpenTable, and wine, beer, cocktails, rakı and alcohol-free cocktails are served. Vegan and vegetarian dishes are marked on the menu. There are set menus and a lunch club, a private room for up to 36 and space for about 130 if you hire the whole restaurant. A discretionary 12% service charge is added. Book online for weekend evenings. Russell Square station is about three minutes’ walk.
Fig & Walnut Kitchen, Marchmont Street
Run by husband and wife Ismail and Fatma, who also run other food businesses nearby, Fig & Walnut Kitchen at 75-77 Marchmont Street is open from breakfast until 11pm every day. Mornings start at 8am with a Turkish breakfast of homemade simit, a sesame-crusted bread ring, with preserves and feta. Later on, the signatures are sarma beyti (minced kebab wrapped in lavash flatbread and sliced), ali nazik (smoky aubergine and yoghurt topped with grilled meat) and İskender, döner over bread with tomato sauce, yoghurt and butter.
The hot meze platter of calamari, hellim (halloumi), sucuk (spicy beef sausage) and falafel is good for sharing, and the lahmacun comes topped with zahtar from a Turkish family producer. Two dining areas are linked by a cocktail bar, with pavement tables outside. It is child-friendly, has room for larger groups and offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Walk-ins are welcome, but book on its website for weekend brunch. Russell Square is about four minutes away.
Pitted Olive Cafe Restaurant, Leigh Street
On Leigh Street, about five minutes’ walk from King’s Cross St Pancras, Pitted Olive is a homely Turkish and Mediterranean café for breakfast and lunch. It is best known for gözleme, thin hand-rolled flatbread folded around fillings and cooked on a griddle, and for börek, filled flaky pastries. In the morning, order menemen (eggs softly scrambled with tomatoes and peppers) or serpme kahvaltı, a Turkish breakfast spread to share. At lunch there are home-style mains such as musakka and biber dolması (stuffed peppers), served with dips, vegetables and sides.
The tiled back dining room has a skylight and hanging plants. Lunchtimes are busy, so groups should come outside the midday rush. There is plenty for vegetarians, Turkish tea and coffee, and takeaway. It opens Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm and is closed on Sundays. There is no booking; just walk in.
King’s Cross
FIRIN, York Way
About ten minutes’ walk from King’s Cross St Pancras, FIRIN takes its name from the Turkish word for oven, and almost everything on the menu comes out of its wood-fired one. The cooking draws on southern Turkey. Order pide, boat-shaped flatbread with cheese or Develi-style spiced minced meat, or lahmacun rolled with salad and lemon. Tandır kebab is slow-cooked lamb that falls apart under a fork, and there is oven-baked sea bass, clay-pot stews and babaganoush. Finish with baklava or sütlaç, Turkish rice pudding.
The bright dining room has an open kitchen and high chairs, and there is plenty for vegetarians and vegans. It has a bar, and halal status is not stated. It opens from noon to 10:30pm Monday to Saturday and to 10pm on Sunday. Booking is recommended for dinner, and it works well for a casual meal before a train.
Worth the walk: Leather Lane
TURAN, Leather Lane, Clerkenwell
If you are heading east towards Holborn or Hatton Garden on a weekday, TURAN Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine at 93 Leather Lane is a small, family-run spot among the street-food stalls and offices. It keeps office hours, open from lunchtime to 7pm Monday to Friday and closed at weekends. Order tavuk şiş (chicken shish) or kuzu pirzola (lamb chops), both plated with rice and salad, or a köfte box of grilled lamb meatballs to take away.
Eat in and the meal comes with warm bread and dips. Rice is included with the grill plates, which keeps lunch simple and good value. It is wheelchair accessible and walk-in only. Halal and alcohol details are not stated, so ask. Chancery Lane station is about five minutes away.
Tips for tourists and students
- Sunday plans: Pitted Olive closes on Sundays and TURAN at weekends, while Antalya, Fig & Walnut Kitchen and FIRIN are open.
- On a budget: a gözleme or börek at Pitted Olive, or a köfte box from TURAN, makes a cheap, filling lunch. Check for service charges at sit-down restaurants; Antalya adds 12%.
- Before a train: Pitted Olive is five minutes from St Pancras, and FIRIN is about ten.
- Groups and celebrations: Antalya has a private room for up to 36, and Fig & Walnut Kitchen has space for larger groups.
- Breakfast: Fig & Walnut Kitchen opens at 8am daily. See our guide to Turkish breakfast in London for more.
- Not sure what to order? Our guide to popular Turkish dishes explains the menu.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Turkish restaurant near the British Museum?
Yes. Antalya on Southampton Row is a few minutes from Russell Square and the museum, and serves meze, grills and set menus daily. Fig & Walnut Kitchen on Marchmont Street, around four minutes from Russell Square station, is open from 8am to 11pm for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Where can I get a Turkish breakfast in Bloomsbury?
Fig & Walnut Kitchen serves a Turkish breakfast with homemade simit from 8am every day. Pitted Olive on Leigh Street offers menemen and a serpme kahvaltı breakfast spread from 9am, Monday to Saturday. For more options across the city, see our Turkish breakfast guide.
Are there halal Turkish restaurants in Bloomsbury and King’s Cross?
Antalya lists its food as halal on OpenTable. The other Turkish restaurants in Bloomsbury and King’s Cross covered here do not publish their halal status, so ask staff when you order. Bear in mind that several of them, including Antalya, also serve alcohol.
From a museum-day lunch to dinner before a train, these Turkish restaurants in Bloomsbury, King’s Cross and Clerkenwell 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.
