Top 5 Turkish mangals

Angel Mangal Ocakbasi in N1

10 April 2012

Mangal is the Turkish term for an open charcoal fire for cooking food on (a kind of brazier), and little brother to the ocakbasi, which is a long trough full of glowing coals with an extraction canopy overhead.

Lovers of the heat can take the stools on one side while the grill chef labours away on the other, like a sushi bar only much sweatier. When it comes to restaurants, the terms 'mangal' and 'ocakbasi' have become interchangeable - they both signal grilled meat, and lots of it.

There are times when the combination of grilled meat straight from the skewer, good thick pide bread and low prices exerts a hypnotic pull. Add in some robust red wine and maybe a little salad and you have a feast fit for the greediest diner.

At these grill houses there is a great tradition of serving what the Americans rather coyly term 'variety meats' (everything from lamb's pizzle, to sweetbreads and other obscure bits and pieces). Sadly, you will probably need to order such delicacies well in advance, but there is usually the choice of liver and kidneys wherever you go.

Mangal Ocakbasi ****10 Arcola Street, E8 (020-7275 8981). Mon-Sun £30Mangal II may have its devotees, but Mangal I in Arcola Street is the original and genuine. From the outside it looks like a small takeaway, and although there are favourable press clippings pasted up outside, it is not until you venture in and past the glowing grill that you see the bustling dining room. The ultimate accolade is the queue of diners waiting for a seat. The bread here is good and the meat excellent: skewers of plump lamb chops dusted with a sumac-based spice blend and grilled until crispy outside and pink within. The other kebabs are also fine. Don't bother with starters - call up a few skewers, some salad, rice and bread and get stuck in.
Mangal II ***4 Stoke Newington Road, N16 (020-7254 7888). Mon-Sun £35Mangal II is linked to Mangal I, but aficionados of the former criticise II on the grounds that it has become more of a restaurant and less of a grill house. Certainly more is made of the starters. There are some stewy main-course options, and desserts get a mention, but the grilled meats are still pretty good. As well as the simple lamb options try the patlican kebab (minced lamb and aubergine), or the house special, the ezmeli kebab, which comes doused in Mangal's 'special sauce'.
Angel Mangal Ocakbasi ***
139 Upper Street, N1 (020-7359 7777). Mon-Sun £40

Best Mangal ***104 North End Road, W14 (020-7610 1050). Mon-Sun £40This modestly named eatery is a small and rather dark cave of a place, and once again the dining room at the rear is much larger than you would anticipate from the size of the takeaway section at the front. The grills are good here, particularly the quails. These tiny birds are a stern test for the skills of the grill man, as it is all too easy to end up with a charred offering, crisp without and crisp within. At Best Mangal the quail are juicy inside with an agreeably charred skin.

Lokma Ocakbasi ***

628 Finchley Road, NW11 (020-8731 6866). Mon-Sun £35

Prices estimate the cost of a meal for two with drinks

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