Mangal 2 Ocakbasi

This place is normally fantastic with the grilled meats being the best I've tasted in the area, however I think for anything more than a table for two the service goes drastically downhill. I went here recently as a party of four. We looked at the set menu (mixed meze, mixed kebab, with desserts) but then decided that it would be cheaper if we all got individual mains and shared. The waiter responded by saying he'd do a set meal for two which would be enough for three. We agreed and ordered an additional Yogurtlu to complete the meal for four. The mized meze plate was, well... mixed. Some items were good (the humus there is great) but some appeared to be straight out of a tin (the stuffed vine leaves for example). Not enough bread was served to finish the meze and we had to ask for more. The waiter reproached us saying we were eating too much bread!

The mixed grill was served with salad and was excellent as was the yogurtlu kebab. When it came to dessert, they were out of both baklava and rice pudding which was disappointing. We each had Turkish coffee which the waiter attempted to take away before we had finished. The bill came to rather more than we expected since the waiter in fact charged us for three people eating the set menu rather than two as previously agreed.

It's such a shame because this is usually a fantastic restaurant, however I'll be trying the others in the area first before trying this place again.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Sunday, August 05, 2007

Cheap food and free art as well. This is Gilbert & George's canteen. I've been here six times, on random days, and they were in on five of them. They have the mixed grill, I think.
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mike
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 17, 2006

Went there on a Saturday night with a party of five (but had been before on a number of occasions). Since they take no bookings they made a real effort to get us seated. Service can be a bit slow because it was jam packed but it was surprisingly attentive at stages. It can get a bit hot near the grill but the atmosphere is buzzing even though the actual interior does not add much to it. The food is excellent value for money and all meat is chargrilled (although the chargrill taste can be a bit too strong for my liking on some dishes). The Turkish house white was unexpectedly drinkable. Try a mixed starter for your whole party all served on a huge plate. We had starters and mains and plenty of booze and got away with just over £20 p.p. excluding tip. Bargain even in this neighbourhood. Can only recommend it and will go again.
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Tim Sander
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 10, 2006

This restuarant was disappointing. The food did not taste as nice as other restaurants locally, and the atmosphere was aweful.

I literally got glared at by nearly everyone when I entered, not such a warm friendly welcome.

Also, the service was hurrendous. They were literally rushing us to finish our food. Since when do restaurants rush people to finish their food nowhere near closing time?

We didn't bother giving no tip, we sat there and waited for our change back, which they assumed it was tip.
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Lien Nguyen
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, February 16, 2006

Great food – large orders can sometimes take a while but its worth the wait – chopped salads are great and the BBQ quail is off the scale – it cant get much better than this can it ?.
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mal
Thursday, August 18, 2005