Iznik

Food was sensational, mainly the ingredients seemed to be fresh.

I diddent know what to expect from turkish restaurant, but a friend local to islington has been a patron for years- local gem he said. He was right.

Spicy Turkish sausage was great and the hummus was the best id tasted, when i asked they told me its all made fresh onsite, and it makes a real difference.

After a while and a few cheeky glasses, food and a few laughs everything is alright with the world, i forgot a busy london street were outside. Well done.

if your thinking of trying something new I would recommend going, I was happily surprised. You remember good places like this when you find them. Its all I talk about when people ask me "how was your trip".

nice place!
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david mills
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, April 12, 2013

Used to use this restaurant years ago and loved the fresh food, buzzy atmosphere. Passing that way recently we popped in. What a turnaround. Food was overpriced, bland, service non existent, no friendliness, parts of order not given to us and then put on the bill. Asked for water which never came and to cap it all no toilet paper in the ladies!
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claire
1 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, February 16, 2013

“Brilliant gem of a restaurant!”

Located on the quieter end of Islington's Highbury Park Road, Iznik was a gem of a find. The decor was inviting, the atmosphere friendly & the food was simply delicious, from start to finish! We had starters of fried calamari & chicken livers, both fresh & more-ish, followed by beautifully cooked & well seasoned sea bass lying on a bed of saute potatoes & vegetables (easily the best I've had in a long time) & an equally tasty mixed grill. Dessert was typically sweet (polenta cake & pistachio pastry with ice cream) but nonetheless delicious. We were also given freshly cooked complimentary breads & a very warm service throughout. If you want some excellent quality Turkish cuisine at exceptionally good value, this is the place for you! 3 courses available at just £15. An absolute bargain. Highly recommended.
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London Foodie
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, June 07, 2012

I dinned here on Tuesday evening with three friend as we were visiting my friend who lives locally to the Restaurant and we had a Taste Card which we could use and I have to be honest my friend was not happy to go here as she had had a few bad experiences here but I persuaded her to give it another try and I'm sorry I did.

It was 6.30pm and no one else in there. We were not greeted with a smile or a hallo, just pointed to a table when told that we had booked. We then ordered a bottle of wine and again not offered to taste it before she just plunked it on the table.

We then ordered a mixed meze of starters and two main courses, one being a mixed grill which is usually more than one person can eat and a salad which we were going to share as we were not starving. Well the next thing was it all arrived together and when we question this she said it was because we order cold starters and she couldn't see the problem in bringing it all together, we just looked at each other and decided not to react untill I saw the size and quality of the mixed grill which is then whenI had to say somehting. It was a few piece of shrivelled up meats and I asked is this a normal portion which she said it was and thats when I told her I thought this was very disappointing, she just shrugged her shoulders and walked away, it was then I realized we hadn't even smelt any kababs cooking before this was served which made me think was this just warmed up. We would have normally had another bottle of wine but decided we did not want to give them any more of our money so we asked for the bill and we called the owner over and told him we we unhappy with the service we got and that we wanted the service charge taken of the bill, he then went into a rage and told us to get out of his restaurant and that he did not need people like us in his restaurant, that we were mean. We didn't know whether to laugh or cry so we paid and left. It was like one of Gordon Ramsays nightmares.
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Eileen
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 31, 2012

I came here the other night with 8 friends and what can i say, as soon as i walked in i was greeted with a smiley face which kind of gave me a good feeling as some places i go to being welcomed is non existent.

We was promptly sat down and boy this is a really interesting place with so much stuff to look at. We sat by the massive framed pink Turkish wedding dress or at least thats what my friend told me it was.

Anyway we was served by a really friendly girl who got the short straw as she was the one that had to look after the difficult lot i was with. I ordered borek cheese pastry (amazing as it was crispy on the outside and not greasy), hummous with some bread, Turkish sausage (first time i tasted it but was fantastic) and for the main a mixed grill (this would have been perfect with a bit of chilli and garlic sauce).

I ordered two drinks while i was there and to be honest i never mention drinks in reviews as a drink is a drink, however there was something seriously special about the drinks i ordered. First i ordered what was listed in the menu as "lemon squash" not sure why its called this and to be totally honest this doesn't do the juice any justice, it actually under values the drink as it was as close to my mums lemonade which is the best ever. It was just right, perfectly sweetened and just the perfect mix of lemon juice and water. Definetly give it a try when you come here and Iznik - Please change the name of this juice to fresh lemonade (trust me). Secondly i ordered apple juice. Wow i know its just apple juice but officially the best freshly squeezed apple juice i've ever tasted in a restaurant.

What can i say: this place looked great and felt really cosy, the best thing was the service as they easily handled a group of 8 people whilst the restaurant was busy on a Saturday night which i know is not an easy thing to do.

Definitely worth a try.
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Fernando Salvador
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, March 26, 2012

I went here on Saturday night, in a group of 12 (which we booked on sat afternoon, no hassle, via Time Out / Top Table). Some of us got the 2 courses for £13 deal, or 3 courses for £16, which worked out at great value. Me and my girlfriend did the "couples deal" which included 3 courses, plus wine (and not bog standard house wine either), for £44 - fantastic value. The only sting in the tail price-wise was the £5 for a pint of draft lager, so beware of that!

But I have to say, with the deals etc, we got really great value for money, service was kind, friendly and cheerful (they happily accommodated a 6th month old baby) and the food was really good across the board. Fresh, tasty and well-presented. I had a lamb shank and it was pretty spot-on. Only criticism is that some dishes could have benefited from a portion of vegetables or something, but these aren't offered as side dishes, so do yourself a favour and share a salad with your main dish.

Atmosphere and vibe was very laid-back and this was clearly a well-loved local restaurant, with people from 17 to 70 dining.

Overall, a big recommend, and a relaxing alternative to the more manic Upper Street!
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Joe D
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Sunday, July 24, 2011

A beautiful restaurant that served us wonderful food in a beautiful setting.

Me and the friend I shared a saturday night meal with can't understand how there can be some people who didn't enjoy the food or atmosphere of this cute and cosy family run place. The floor manager, Arif, and the rest of the staff were a treat! We were looked after exceptionally well and the food was perfection; my friend asked the kitchen to prepare something that wasn't even on the menu and they sorted it no qualms what-so-ever, and my lamb was gorgeous.

To top it off they are one of the few places that are in the Taste London scheme that accept the card on a Saturday night so we ate and drank like queens on a seriously tiny budget.

I hope people who have yet to sample Iznik's food do not take some of the reviews on this site seriously at all! Apart from this one of course...
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- View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, June 27, 2011

Oh dear. I went to this restaurant a couple of times a while back and thought the food was outstanding, although slightly expensive (but you did not begrudge paying for what was clearly very fresh and well cooked food). I went back last week and the ownership/management has clearly changed, and sadly it isn't nearly so good. The food did not taste as fresh and there did not seem to as many options on the menu. The waiter we had was quite intrusive - in my opinion, you should not notice the waiting staff but this one was quite lumbering and deliberate. But of course the prices have not gone down - only now the place seems incredibly overpriced for what it is and I won't be going back. I don't think they are in the Taste London scheme anymore either. All in all a most disappointing experience, be warned anyone who has gone in the past and are expecting the same quality of food and experience.
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Catherine
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, May 18, 2011

We went on a Tuesday evening. Place was almost empty. The cheapest wine was an astonishing £24.50 a bottle. I think it would have cost them £2.50 to buy from the local Lidl's - so not a bad mark up.

Food was incredibly over priced - humus - £5 for a small saucer and 4 falafal for £7!

Main courses were also over priced - average price was around £16. My pile of veggies in a brown 'gravy' was nasty and came with the smallest amount of plain boiled rice I've ever seen! The salad Iznik turned out to be chopped up plums, apples and tomatoes in a pile with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top. It was as horrible as it sounds. We would never have ordered it if the menu had listed the ingredients as my husband is allergic to apples and plums!

Needless to say we didn't order puddings or coffees and went home to have apple pie courtesy of Mr Waitrose which was very nice!

Not a place I would recommend. Shame really as it used to be so good - presume it has changed hands.
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Sue Smith
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Friday, April 15, 2011

Where to begin. We had frequented this restaurant for over two years during the lunch time service and found it to be great food in the local area and really reasonably priced. Based on this we decided to go for dinner and were bitterly disappointed. The starters were over priced and substandard. We shared a main due to the ridiculous overpicing on the menu something that we didn't expect based on our previous experience. The main was, to say the least, bland. It was priced at £15 and as restaurant managers ourselves we would estimate that it was worth approximately £1. The chicken was a breast sliced in half accompanied by a small mound of plain rice. That was complimented by a piece of dred fruit. Having pointed out the lack of inspiration in our meal we were faced with the response of "that is your opinion, this chicken is always like this". Frankly the service was well below the standard I would expect in Burger King and I can unequivocally say that the food and the service has disuaded me from ever going back to what has the potential to be a great Turkish restaurant. If only it weren't for the lack of regard for the customer, this place would have potential.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, March 30, 2011