Zengi

In this part of the town, everyone is a bit crazy about their lamb chops. We have tayabbs,
Lahore and all sorta grill places comepetinf for the best chops around . XD
The chops here is amazing, but the highlight of the place is actually their moutabal - if u like hummus, this is very similar to hummus but it's made with egg plants - super creamy... love it. The bread they use for this as a dip is amazing.

Found this place on trip advisor so my family and I decided to give it a try. It was few bus stops from our hotel. We got it, the server didn't seem welcoming AT ALL!!! We got in, she took us downstairs where there was more space. She came few minutes later to take our order and she was RUDE!!! very rude!! I tried do ask her a question about the appetizers and she was basically writing down as I am trying to read the menu but that wasn't my order!!! I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to order. So after I told her that I wasn't telling her my order, she basically scribbled the paper that she was already gone really hard and dropped it on the floor. Then I asked her about one of the appetizer and she didn't even egg knowledge that I was asking her a question, completely ignored that and that was very rude. She seemed to be in a rush so my brother asked her if she needed to be somewhere, she responds with "this is my mother's restaurant" ok!!! That clearly answers our question!! So she left and came back few minutes later with somehow a better attitude. We ended up ordering 3 appetizers, tabouleh, hummus, and cucumber with yogurt. And also ordered 2 dishes of the combination plate which is suppose to have kofta kabob, lamb and chicken.
They were out of kofta kabob so they added an extra skewer of lamb and the other plate with chicken. The chicken was sooooo goood, lamb was ok!!! I highly recommend the chicken. The 3 stars are for the food!! The service is 0! The Egyptian chef talked to us and he apologized about her behavior but he didn't have to!!

My husband and I were looking for somewhere to dine before our Jack the Ripper tour down the street. We first tried a pub, but their kitchen was closed at 6:30. Ok... We walked out of the pub and saw Zengi. I gave it a glance on Yelp. The reviews were positive. We checked out the menu, the prices were right. The door said Yelp and Trip Advisor and they were open so, voila!
It was funny because we were the only ones in there at 6:30 on a Sunday so at first I thought they were closed, but the food was great and the service was great so it worked out well for us.
I ordered mint tea and my husband had a cocktail called Arak. My mint tea was amazing. The husband enjoyed his, but the anise flavor overwhelmed him a bit.
Before dinner they brought us olives which is a nice gesture, though neither of us eat them, so they were wasted on us.
For dinner, my husband ordered lamb and Levantine fries. The lamb was very flavorful, but a bit overdone for me. The fries were also quite good. The standout was the sauces. With his lamb they brought out a garlic sauce and a chili sauce. They were outstanding! I had ordered falafel and I drenched my falafel in those sauces. The falafel were great, but they were out of this world with those sauces. I also had the hummus which was a gorgeous texture and consistency and the pita bread was nice and hot. The falafel and hummus were two appetizers or mezzas, but made plenty of a meal for me. I couldn't finish either, and at 5 pounds each the price was reasonable.
I'm so glad we stumbled across this place. It was an excellent meal.

Had lunch at Zengi today....unfortunately it was just average for us.

Ambiance is great. Beautiful restaurant and it's very clean.

Service is very friendly but there was only one waitress serving the whole restaurant so it was a bit hard to get her attention.

Food was also just okay:

-- Prawn shish was overcooked and rubbery. The prawns were tiny, the salad lackluster. The rice was bland as well.

-- Lamb shish was a hit with my 10-year-old and she has high standards when it comes to lamb! She ate most of it.

-- Chicken shish was a hit with the husband, until he found a hair attached to his chicken that didn't belong to him. The kitchen apologized and "remade" the dish but since it came out in 5 minutes I'm 99% sure they just removed the hair and re-served the same chicken.

We won't be returning here unfortunately. Too many amazing Lebanese / Turkish restaurants in London to give this another go.

Came in here randomly since it was close to where I was staying in London. I have to say it was pretty darn good. Food was delicious, staff was courteous and friendly. No complaints and nothing but positive things to say about this place.

If you're like me and think all food is better when dipped in something, well I have a place for you... Zengi has dips galore! Come with a friend and get a mezze sampler to start: 5 mezzes, hot or cold, for 16 quid. A dip addiction like mine can get a big pricey when ordering a la carte, so this is definitely the way to go.

I've eaten in, had takeaway, and this weekend sat outside like some watermelon shisha to wind down the work week. We ordered a mezze with hummus, moutabbal (also known to lay people like me as that eggplant dip that's not babaganoush), grilled haloumi, fottoush, and mudammas. Fanstastic. Like 5-star good.

I'm consistently impressed with this restaurant. The food is fresh and healthy and flavourful and the service is on point. Our friendly waitress happily poured my friend a new glass of wine when he thought his was old. A lovely man and apparent resident shisha expert (not sure if he's the owner) replenished our coals right away.

Mmmm I'm on the line between 4 and 5 stars but am going to round up. It's 4-star takeaway but 5-star service.

The Mezzas are yummy, and the Lamb chumps tasting amazingly crunchy from the outside, and juicy and well spiced from the inside.

The lebanese Ksara Wine is a joy, and the staff is a bit slow, but very friendly.

Perfect for a little get together of friends.

A restaurant to wind down, chill out with your friends/date and enjoy the food. The place is split over two floors (ground and downstairs), serving Turkish/middle eastern food, Efes beer and great atmosphere. The variety of tables give you a good choice whether you want to grab a quick meal and sit by the table or spend an evening on cushions Turkish style. They also have secluded ones under arches for 6 for intimate dinning.
Appart from the lovely staff the main character to look out for is the very cute chef who tends to run around and fill up your basked with freshly stone-baked bread or just drops a random side dish on your table (free of charge!)
I asked the chef to serve us a selection of hot and cold mezze and what a lovely feast that was. The bill came up to £30 for 4 beers and vast amount of food... what more can you ask for!

Ok restaurant. The service is good, the food is Ok and prices are not too high. Not exceptional.

Zengi
(Pics @ The London Foodie)

After reading rave reviews by Time Out a couple of weeks ago, Dr G and I decided to visit this newly opened Turkish/Iraq restaurant on Commercial Street, E1. I normally go to Green Lanes, particularly "Antepliler" for my fix of Turkish food, but we were curious to try a local BYO place with some interesting Iraq dishes on their menu.

The entrance is not the most attractive part of this new restaurant, and I firstly wondered where we would be sitting as there is little sitting area at that level. The basement is where Ali, the owner's son, brought us to, and we were pleased to find a warm and comfortable dining area there.

The décor is simple but elegant, with white, arched alcoves furnished with colourful cushions & hanging lanterns creating a relaxed and private ambience. I don't normally like eating at lower ground (unless it is Hakkasan) but was pleasantly surprised to find such a well furnished and cosy spot.

Ali was very attentive, and took great care and time explaining the various dishes on the menu to us. Soon after placing our order, he brought us a basket with freshly stone-baked bread which was hot and delicious.

The first of the three mezze dishes that we ordered to arrive was "Mutabel" @ £3.50, an aubergine based dip with yoghurt, garlic and tahini. Despite the somewhat unappetising look of the dish, it tasted good and had a creamy and nutty finish from the tahini.

The second mezze was "Soudah" @ £4, a plate of fried chicken livers with onions, chopped peppers and coriander. I could also taste cinnamon and cayenne pepper in the spicy sauce although not much else. Despite loving chicken livers, I felt that this dish was a bit disappointing, good but not outstanding, and a tad dry.

The "Mosul Kibbeh" @ £3.50, a traditional dish of northern Iraq was an interesting choice. I had eaten kibbeh many times before but never in this way. Similar to a flattened stuffed croquette, a thin layer of cracked wheat had been filled with spiced meat, almonds and sultanas and fried.

I really wanted to enjoy this dish but I was slightly underwhelmed by it - I felt that the fried cracked wheat "envelope" was hard and that there was not enough filling to justify all the chewing.

For main, I went for "Char-grilled Lamb Chops" @ £9.50 - this is my favourite dish at Antepliler, so I ordered this to find how Zengi's version would compare. Zengi's chops were delicious, well-seasoned, and perfectly cooked but unfortunately there was not enough meat on them. At £9.50 I felt that the quantity of meat was a bit stingy, a problem that I never encountered at Antepliler.

Serving them on a large white plate (when there is not enough food to cover it) did not help either - the accompaniments, salad and rice, were passable - the salad did not look as vibrant and fresh as it could have done but it tasted fine.

"Dr G's "Zengi Grill" @ £11.50 was a better choice. This consisted of pieces of lamb, kufta (or kofta) lamb shish kebab, and chicken tavouk (pieces). The meat was again well seasoned, very tender and perfectly cooked.

We were served two small sauces (one garlicky and creamy and another spicy tomato relish) which accompanied the meat well, really bringing out the lamb flavours. Ali also brought us some delicious pickles which had been made in the premises, and refilled our bread basket at no extra charge.

I noted in their menu a "Zengi Burger" @ £6.50 which unfortunately I was too full to try. According to the menu, it is made of grilled lamb burger, with sliced falafel and halloumi cheese topped with sweet pepper sauce and pickles in a stone baked sesame roll. It sounds very yummy, and I will most certainly come back for that.

Ali brought us our bill, and I noted that he accidentally overcharged us on the lamb chops but had forgotten to add the Mosul Kibbeh or the hot bread to the list of items. The total bill was therefore £32 for two excluding service.

I enjoyed my visit to Zengi and would like to return specially for their Turkish Burger and some of the other Iraq dishes I did not try this time. Ali was knowledgeable and passionate about his food which helped me to appreciate the menu and the food on offer.

Verdict - Despite the teething problems, in my opinion, Zengi offers good quality food at very reasonable prices. Being a BYO makes it an even more affordable option although portion sizes and quality of accompaniments should be looked at. Excellent service. Recommended.