Turkish food on Stoke Newington High Street
Stoke Newington High Street and Church Street in N16 hold nineteen Turkish restaurants along a mile, from the 1990s ocakbaşı houses at the Dalston end to the newer meze rooms on Church Street. The borough has the best hygiene record for Turkish restaurants in the country.
How to walk it
Start at Stoke Newington station and walk south down the High Street toward Dalston: this is the older, grill-heavy end, with the ocakbaşı houses that made the area's name, the Kurdish grills and the late-night trade. Turn back and walk up to Church Street for the newer, pricier restaurants and the cafés. The whole walk is under a mile.
What to eat where
Mixed grill and lamb chops at the old ocakbaşı houses on the High Street, where the charcoal pits are decades old; meze and a glass of rakı on Church Street; breakfast at one of the kahvaltı cafés on a weekend morning, early.
What makes N16 different
It was the first Turkish restaurant strip in London and the standard-setter for the ocakbaşı format; the families who opened here in the 1980s and 1990s trained the cooks who spread the model across the country. Ratings are high, hygiene is strong, and the customers know their food.
Stops along the way
High Street, Dalston end
The original ocakbaşı houses; charcoal pits and counter seats.
High Street, middle
Kurdish grills, bakeries, late-night doner.
Church Street
Newer meze rooms and cafés; weekend breakfast.