Leziz

I visit Dalston for the fantastic food market with strong cCaribbean influences and ingredients that figure heavily in my home cooking. It also has dedicated afro-​Caribbean grooming stores for me to stock up on supplies. Dalston is also famous for its large collection of Turkish cafes. There are many. So you would ask the question, does it need one more?
Enter Le Ziz which has taken up home in the newly refurbished Dalston Square next to Dalston Junction. This little area has sprouted up new luxurious towering flats with balconies that challenge the urban generation of locals who have lived here, in somewhat more stark digs.
When you think of going to Dalston, wearing heels and a dress does not immediately spring to mind. It’s just not the location for it. It’s a casual fest with east london trendies donned in skinny jeans and beards (not the women though). You now have a place to get your glad rags on in Le ziz, the next level Turkish restaurant located in a stylish space.
Although it is arguably a contemporary take on Turkish food, it still has that family owned vibe with the owner/​host working his way around the tables, greeting, chatting and making you feel welcome.
As we sat, we were welcomed with complimentary olives, houmous and bread. For starters, Valentina had scallops on creamed mushroom, I opted for char-​grilled king prawn. For main course, I went for the vegetable kebab and Valentina had chicken and lamb shish. We had ordered some sides which were forgotten, but the recovery was swift and seamless. With the mains, come a helping of rice and salad, so maybe we should have missed out the sides altogether — as it was all very filling.
The food was fresh, we were right next to the kitchen, so you could see the grilling and cooking happening real-​time.
Le Ziz is a refreshing addition to Dalson. I like it. Make that overground trip to Dalston Junction and have a try.

I’m not sure I went to the same place as the other reviewers! When my usual Dalston Square fave, Café Route was packed, I opted for Le Ziz rather than a wait. I wish I hadn’t! The food was the same Turkish fare as the more established places on Kingsland, but badly executed and more expensive. The fish was chewy, the potatoes dried out and everything came lukewarm.
The atmosphere is largely non-​existent as the place was half empty. And the wannabe shabby chic furniture they brought in a while ago (I presume to attract fools like me) is but a pastiche of Route, which sits uncomfortably besides the wannabe upmarket elements left from the early days.
Service was OK, but no more. I definitely won’t be back!

A very nice modern restaurant in this relatively new development. The staff were friendly and welcoming and brought out some olives, bread and dip almost as soon as I settled into my seat.
I went for the Le Ziz special which contained salad, lamb, chicken, yoghurt, bread and rice. The salad and rice came on seperate plates and I wasn’t really sure of the proper way of combining all these elements. It was an extremely filling meal (I probably should have gone easier on the starter, with hindsight) before a night out in some local taverns. The lamb was particularly succulent.
Efes was Efes.

I’ve visited Leziz a few times now and never been disappointed. In an area with such an abundance of Turkish restaurants you’ve got to be doing something right to get people coming back.
The menu is really varied and they pretty much cater for everyone and they’ll even do you a pizza if you are particularly fussy! Prices are very reasonable and the dishes are spot on for taste. The King Prawn starter was one of the tastiest I’ve ever tried. The one bad point was the service wasn’t great on my last visit but based on how good it was on previous occasions I’m going to say that it was just a blip.
I’ve seen the signs for the weekend brunch and I just need to get myself out of bed early enough to try it!

Given the proximity of the finest Turkish restaurants in London a few minutes walk away from this place, Leziz holds its own with a comfortable atmosphere, great staff that go out of their way for you and in my opinion a quite reasonably priced menu. The lunch specials kills it with quite a wide range of starters and Mains although now it is only available on weekdays they might let you order from it on the weekends if it’s quiet. I have come here 5 times as I live nearby and have never been disappointed, I am amazed this restaurant isn’t full to the brim as it offers a great alternative to the standard Route brunch, enjoying great Turkish food in an extremely cosy environment which the Mangal’s don’t offer.

A welcome fresh, clean addition to the hoards of underwhelmingly and over priced average Turkish restaurants in Dalston. We popped along last night and shared a splendid mix of fresh warm breads, various dips (mixed meze style) and a mixed grill served with rice (lamb shish, chicken shish, chicken wings and lamb mixed kebab). Everything that was served at our table was well cooked, seasoned and presented. Our plates were cleared and washed down with a refreshing pint of Effes! The service was friendly and attentive, and to finish we were bought a complimentary digestive liquor. Never mind the Kingsland Rd — head to Le Ziz for the best Turkish in town.