Cyprus Mangal

went here in 2008. a large amount of food at a very economic price.
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Sunny - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 15, 2010

Was it worth it? Absolutely - even in the midst of the worst economic meltdown in living memory.

Having been a local Pimlico boy several years ago, I knew of the legendary Cyprus Mangal and the wonders of it's kitchen. Walking up Wilton Road as far away as Sainsburys, you can literally smell the magic, albeit if the wind is blowing in the right direction! Being a foodie, it was very much out of character for me to find myself hesitating outside the supermarket and deciding against my better judgement to indulge in my passion of cooking, but rather succumb to yet another quick fix of kebab heaven. I know the first step to recovery is acknowledging when you have an addiction - I can now admit that it became a habit.

So recently having painted the town red in the West End and now living in Fulham, even I was surprised when I found myself asking the taxi driver to take me to Pimlico. Make no mistake, I was fully in charge of my faculties despite a skinful of cheap plonk and budget cocktails. Despite the place being packed to the rafters, the maitre d' warmly welcomed me like an old friend (he used to be the guy who manned the grill). I think he was happy to see an old regular but I was still taken aback that he recognised me, perhaps unsurprisingly I'm a lot lighter these days!

Intoxicated by the overpowering grill I opted for the mixed kebab (grilled meat rather than the doner which is also quite excellent) and a pot of their tarama (taramosalata). To be honest the tarama is nothing to write home about, artificially pink and not a great deal of flavour. However, who cares about the precursor when the main event is still wrapped in paper and dripping unctuous meat and garlic sauce. The texture of the meats (lamb, chicken and kofte) are cooked to perfection, the deep smokiness of the grill is a taste sensation. My suspicions were confirmed when I went to Turkey last year, of all of the grilled meats I had out there, none came close to the flavour/texture combo I had grown accustomed on my own front door. I demolished the beast (it is huge) but there's no doubt that having finished it - I could have had more. I'm having visions of the stretchy Joey Tribbiani trousers from Friends.

Top tip - the sausage starter is awesome - the big negative is for four irritatingly small slices of it, you pay £3.50ish. It is good but not that good, but I really am picking at bones!!!

So the answer to the question is - there really is no place like home - even if it cost me an extra £25 in taxi fares - it was worth it!!!
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Ollie Burns
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, February 20, 2009

One of my favourite restaurants in London. Amazing cuisine, fabulous service and a real local restaurant atmosphere makes any evening a joy. They recently added more seating downstairs so cpacity has doubled - but there are still queues out the door most night.

All the dishes are freshly prepared. Fresh meat cooked to order, simple accomanying salads and rice, with real authentic Turkish flavours.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 12, 2009