Tipped

Good food, bad service

September 28, 2008

Stepping into this restaurant is like taking a mini trip to Turkey. It has a great buzzing atmosphere, turkish music on full blast and it has a very uplifting vibe. The food is top notch, reasonably priced, absolutely delicious and you get lots of it too. There were 8 of us, and after having the amazing veggie meze for starter not a single one of us could finish our main. The only thing that let this place down was the service, we waited for almost 20min from when we got seated til we got menus and got to order drinks. The waiters didnt pay us any attention all night and everything just took a bit too long. I would still recommend to come here tho cos the food is to die for!

Great Turkish Vibe

March 05, 2008

I went to Gallipoli Bazaar for a friends birthday and we had a great time. As some of the others have noted, there are three separate Gallipoli locations on Upper Street, but I am talking about the main restaurant one, not the cafes.
The space is a bit narrow but absolutely crammed with atmosphere and whimsical features. Although we were a big group and thus at a long table (which they were happy to increase the size of when more friends arrived), I admired the two-person 'tables' that seemed more like massive serving trays with legs. Very neat looking.
Since we were a big group we opted for the set meal which was an absolute torrent of small dishes - a large variety of veggie (hummus, beans, potatoes, salad) and non-veg (really yummy lamb skewers, a tasty chicken dish) flavours. The food came quickly, and it just kept coming! By the time it stopped arriving, every last square inch of our table was covered with one bowl or another full of tasty Turkish goodness.
The servers were helpful, although possibly could have been a bit more attentive. Still, they had a fun time with our group it was clear, and even played a song for the birthday girl, who promptly stood up and improvised a little belly dance. It was a real fun night, and I could imagine myself ducking in to one of the more informal cafes sometime for a quick lunch as well.

Keywords: Turkish, Good for Groups, Vegetarian dishes

Splendidly Chaotic Restaurant

September 22, 2007

If, like me, you sometimes get fed up of staid Michelin-wannabes full of beautiful people and would really just like good food in a great atmosphere then this excellent Turkish restaurant on Upper St, Islington is the place to go. Make sure you have a reservation as it does get quite full but once you're in, wow! It's all great food and belly dancers in there! The tables are placed in a random fashion and it seems anything is a dinner-table in this joint! Your proximity to neighbouring diners and general laughter and noise make the place seem chaotic and disorderly but this is all part of the charm as, in reality, the staff are professional, friendly, and know exactly what they're doing. This means a decent waiting time for your food to arrive and excellent Turkish and North African cuisine when it does arrive. Naturally, the steadfast favourite - the lamb tagine - is made of succulent chunks of tender lamb and their fish is so moist it renders you incapable of doing anything else save close your eyes and murmur "Hmmm..." in that voice (you know the one I mean).

There are 3 Gallipolis on Upper Street but the one I mean is the middle one with a purple front, I believe. They are all owned by the same person and are all excellent but I think the other two are smaller and more like cafes than restaurants.

Try this for a fantastic night out at a reasonable price. You will be most pleasantly surprised!

Keywords: Turkish, cous-cous, tagine, spicy, restaurant

Service with an umbrella......

August 01, 2007

I ate here with a group of friends one 'summers' evening. As it was warm we asked to sit outside and the staff brought extra tables out to accommodate us. The majority of us ordered the mixed vegetarian meze which at under £9 was amazing and great value. The service was fantastic and when the English weather almost had us running for cover one of the waiters held an umbrella over our table until we had finished eating!!
There is a lively authentic Turkish atmosphere and I would reccommend this place to anyone.

Keywords: Turkish