If you thought Turkish cuisine was just shish kebabs and baklavas, think again and head for Iznik, which has been serving the best Turkish cuisine in north London since 1989.

The Venue
Iznik is named after the region in Turkey famous for its ceramic tiles, which appear as the main decoration of this charming place situated beyond Highbury and Islington tube and up the hill towards Highbury Barn. The rest of the warm and colourful decor is provided by masses of lamps and candles of all kinds that hang from the ceiling or are dotted around the room. You could be forgiven for believing you had wandered into a Turkish lighting emporium. It’s a very attractive room where you feel immediately and comfortably at home.

The Atmosphere
The ambience is so much a part of the experience here that you could cut it with a knife. On Fridays Iznik is more or less full to the brim with diners enjoying their food and drink with a mad passion. It is obviously a place beloved by locals and that includes Arsenal supporters who would rather have an authentic Turkish meal than a run of the mill Ruby from the nearest Indian take-away.

The Food
Everything is prepared on the premises using the best and freshest ingredients available. For starters there’s a long list of both hot and cold dishes. To get a good idea about the food try a selection in one of the mixed platters, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, with six dishes in each: peynirli borek, crisp little filo pastry parcels filled with feta cheese; patates koftesi, Turkish-style potato croquettes; dolma, a succulent mix of pine, raisins, nuts and rice stuffed into vine leaves; hummus, chickpea paste; cacik, a cucumber salad with garlic and mint in yoghurt, and mucver, tasty fritters of courgette and feta - and that was just in the vegetarian platter. In the meat platter the borek has minced lamb instead of the feta. These are the sorts of delicious dishes you could go on eating for the entire evening, so they would make eminently good choices for a large party booking (for Christmas, perhaps, instead of roast turkey?).

The rest of the menu divides into mains, vegetarian and fish. Vegetarians are particularly well-catered for, and the fish side includes kardes (sauteed king prawns), cipura (grilled Gilthead bream) and levrek bugulama (braised sea bass). Try the Anatolian kebab, a beautiful knuckle of lamb baked in tomato sauce with pasta. Cooked for hours, the tenderest of meat just falls off the bone and the sauce is intensely rich. Other main courses include yoghurtlu kebab, marinated cubes of lamb in a sauce of tomato and mild chilli with yoghurt and pitta bread, a revelatory dish that combines all the flavours of the meat, tomato and yoghurt into one exceedingly good combination.

For dessert it was kayisi tatlisi, organic apricots fried in crème fraiche and stuffed with almonds with pistachios and cream, and Asure, a compote of fruits and cereals, sultanas, nuts, apricots, figs, apples, pears and pomegranates, which brings new meaning to fruit salad.

The Drink
Efes is the brand of Turkish beer served here and it is a nicely light lager drink, a good chaser before a bottle of Buzbag, the excellent house red wine that’s under a tenner. There are other wines from around the rest of the old and the new world. You can also try Raki, the Turkish spirit, and you shouldn’t leave before downing a cup of thick Turkish coffee.

The Last Word
For some of the best Turkish cuisine you’ll find in London, Iznik is the place. A three-course meal with a glass of wine could cost you less than £20.00.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (3) image gallery (6)