Anatolia, 7th June

Yep, we’ve been to yet another Turkish ocakbasi, this time one of the ones on Mare Street. We just cannot get enough of our grilled meats! I hadn’t eaten much all day and was very ready for the veritable feast laid before us in the form of the mixed grill for two. We had quail, beyti kebab, cis kebab, lamb ribs, chicken wings and chicken kebab all laid over buttery rice which had pieces of chicken and lamb doner mixed in it! We also had a couple of bits of offal which weren’t advertised but I managed to avoid them.

This huge platter came with a basket of warm, soft and chewy bread, and a plate of salad with onions, tomatoes and cucumber next to red cabbage and grated carrot. I would like to say there was far too much to eat, but we made a pretty good stab at getting through it all.

As always, I compare any new Turkish place to my favourite – Cirrik. And it compared favourably. I have to say, nowhere has managed to rival the wonderful (and free!) oniony salads that Cirrik offer you, doused in pomegranate sauce. And I also thought the bread at Cirrik was better – the stuff at Anatolia went hard as it cooled, and they didn’t have a piece underneath the meat to soak up all the juices.

But when it came to the actual meat on offer, and the price for that meat, Anatolia was a mighty contender. All of the meat was liberally seasoned and absolutely delicious. I couldn’t fault it. I would say that maybe, the flecks of extra meat in the rice were rather unnecessary, but as Stephen put it, nice to have all the same.

And this was all only £25! With three drinks our bill only came to £35! A bargain, and tasty. Being marginally closer than Cirrik and not much in it in terms of food, it could earn itself our repeat custom.

After this we had a few pints in the Cock Tavern, which I liked even more the second time, as I hadn't noticed the vast array of ciders it has! We cosied up in a corner and drank until closing time.