Turkish food on Kingsland Road, Dalston
Kingsland Road from Dalston Junction south toward Shoreditch is the late-night end of Hackney's Turkish trade: ocakbaşı grills that run past midnight, doner counters, a kokoreç specialist, and the Turkish supermarkets that feed all of them.
How to walk it
Start at Dalston Kingsland station and walk south. The first stretch around Dalston Junction has the densest run of grills and kebab houses; further south the street thins and the restaurants get more polished as Shoreditch approaches. Ridley Road market, off to the east, has the butchers and greengrocers.
What to eat where
A mixed grill after midnight at one of the ocakbaşı houses near the Junction, where the charcoal is still lit at one in the morning; kokoreç in a half loaf if you eat offal; lentil soup from a kebab house at the end of a night out. Breakfast is less of a feature here than on the High Street to the north.
What to know
This is the late-night strip: several places serve until two or three at weekends and the trade is a mix of Turkish families, club-goers and taxi drivers. Hygiene ratings are strong. The supermarkets on Kingsland Road and Ridley Road are among the best-stocked Turkish grocers in London.
Stops along the way
Dalston Junction
Late-night ocakbaşı grills and kebab houses; charcoal until the small hours.
Ridley Road
Butchers, greengrocers and Turkish supermarkets.
Toward Shoreditch
Newer grills and meze rooms serving the office and club trade.