mixed cold meze at Gem restaurant
Much as I love living near Angel, I must admit that the local restaurant scene often disappoints. So imagine my surprise when, two weeks ago, we re-visited Gem and enjoyed the food immensely? I like it so much that I went back again last night, and now I think it’s the perfect place to go when you can’t be bothered to cook. After all, it’s cheap, it’s filling, the food’s pretty tasty, and you never need to book in advance.
Years ago, Jon and I had been to Gem before, and my overall impression during that visit was of eating in a dark cave. As I recall, the place’s decor used to consist of dark wood with lots of hulking farm implements suspended from the ceiling. Oh, and there used to be what appeared to be a large stone firepit in the back. In short, the place was kind of scary.
mixed breads at Gem
But Gem’s all different now. The farm implements are still hanging around, but they seem cheery and rustic, rather than huge and scary. And the food – particularly the meze – are great. I’ve opted for Menu B both times recently, which includes bread, 7 cold and 3 hot meze, any main course from the menu, and a dessert. It’s a ton of food for GBP 11.95, and frankly, I’ve been overwhelmed both times I’ve ordered it and had to take some food home. (You’d think I’d learn).
First, the breads. They’re hot and delicious. I love the puffed up bread, which reminds me of poori, except not fried, so I felt virtuous and healthy tearing off pieces for all the various yogurt-based dips. And underneath the puffed-up bread are slices of pillowy (sadly, this is what I call it) “Turkish bread.”
mucver
Fried goodies were standouts. Mucver, which are vegetable fritters with a slight cheesy tang, could have used a bit more vegetable, but otherwise, they’re hot and crispy, making them the perfect comfort food on a cold winter’s night.
muska boregi (fried feta cheese)
Muska boregi, feta cheese inside a crisp, fried pastry shell. What’s not to love?
beyti
After all that delicious and filling meze, the main courses were superfluous. That said, my main course of beyti (which I couldn’t really distinguish from the “kofte” I’ve had at other Turkish grills) was moist and meaty, and I was glad to take the leftovers home with me.
Next time, I’ll order “Menu C,” think, because it’s “just” 7 cold and 6 hot meze. I’m hoping it’ll be the right amount of food. Not that it’s so awful having leftovers for home.
Gem, 265 Upper Street, N1 2UQ; 020 7359 0405; closest tube station: Angel
That’s definitely a bargain for all that food! What dessert did you get?
Thanks for the review; haven’t been to Gem in ages. Will definately try it again. Do they still have that rather doleful woman in the window rolling out gozleme (sort of a savory crepe)? FYI: Mucvar are made from courgettes and are one of those dishes that people either make well — freshly prepared, light and scrumptious — or horribly rubbery and cold. Always a good bellwhether for a Turkish/Kurdish restaurant!
Yum! Live very nearby so will be checking Gem out, thanks. I am sure the answer’s yes, but have you tried Thai Corner Cafe off Highbury Corner – it rarely disappoints.
Great tip for Islington dining – I love Turkish food as well all those dips and mezze are always great.
Mike — using the “how good is their mucver” test, Gem does alright. I would’ve loved more courgettes in their mucver, but it was hot, fresh and otherwise delish.
Back Seat Gourmand – I haven’t made it to Thai Corner Cafe, but good to know. Most times when I pass Highbury Corner, I’m jogging to Highbury Field, so I must admit I don’t know the restaurants in that area very well.
Gourmet Chick – after years of settling for mediocre Turkish in the ‘hood (e.g., Pasha, the many Gallipolis), I’d say Gem is the best Turkish/Kurdish on Upper Street. It’s no Mangal Ocakbasi or Green Lanes, but it’s tasty, so I’ll be curious to hear what you think of it.
I always stuff myself silly at Turkish places before the main courses even come out. It’s so handy having one so close to home. Can you see any discernible Kurdish differences?
Great question and one I wondered myself when I saw that Gem categorizes itself as Kurdish/Turkish. Nothing on the menu seemed different from what I’ve seen at Turkish restaurants, except for some of the names used. Lots of lamb, rice, fried goodies . . . . And when I was growing up, I had a friend who is Persian, and a lot of the food I at their house would later seem familiar in Turkish restaurants. So basically this is a really long way of saying “no, I can’t identify any Kurdish differences” from Turkish dishes at Gem.
Wow everything in Gem seems so delicious! And prices are very low! I think that when I’ll go to London I will not forget to have a meal there
Hiya, made it to Gem the other night. Definately an improvement on the previous incarnation decor-wise. Food was of reasonable quality for “Turkish” cuisine, given the area. Not sure what makes it Kurdish – other than the owner, who is. The menu was English/Turkish (Kurdish is an Indo-European language, not at all related to Turkish). Pretty standard Turkish fare. Main drawback IMHO was that the ocakbasi (grill) was gas-fired, not charcoal.
Glad you enjoyed. I finally ate at the Greenhouse, by the way. It was very good, though I’d still give a slight edge to Hibiscus for creativity. I’ll post about Greenhouse tomorrow.
I look forward to your review as I havent been to Greenhouse in a year or so. I would argue that Greenhouse gets the combination of textures and flavours beter than Hibicus, but maybe this is too philosophical a discussion. Do they still give you plenty of freebees or has that been cut back in the age of austerity?
tHAT IS NOT BEYTI! THAT IS ADANA OR URFA
I AM TURKISH BTW.
BEYTI LOOKS LIKE THIS: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://turkishmuse.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54fc1f49d88330120a6a3e1be970c-800wi&imgrefurl=http://www.turkishmuse.com/2009/11/good-eats-beyti-sarma.html&usg=__oOm9Um0rtb3tt6TMgPpqm4M01Og=&h=535&w=800&sz=100&hl=en&start=24&sig2=dMKnCDTrjca3AT6ttDwRlA&zoom=1&tbnid=ZZs6WeIzbcDRMM:&tbnh=144&tbnw=192&ei=6yjuTafXA8eY8QPl9bihCQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3DBEYTI%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D785%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=491&page=2&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:24&tx=53&ty=55&biw=1440&bih=785