Lokal, W1

Your local Turkish

There aren’t all that many London restaurants doing what Lokal does, but there probably should be. And by that, I don’t mean anything especially unorthodox — simply Turkish food, a little upscale.

Dalston’s Mangal II is the obvious reference point, but the “Dalston” does a lot of heavy lifting at that place. Its menu is non-traditional, its wines natural, its vibe archly minimalist. It’s great, but it’s specific.

Lokal, which opened at the start of this month, is a little more of a people-pleaser. From the team behind nearby Faros and Fred Bakery, Lokal’s central location — just around the corner from Oxford Circus — gives away the fact that it’s not likely to do too much to push the boat out, but that’s clearly a knowing choice. This is modern Turkish, but it doesn’t want to be too modern about it: there are still cavernous terracotta pots lining the terrace, orange tiles chequering the floor inside, and leather banquette seats below the framed photos of Turkish scenes that wrap the walls. The name doesn’t feel like an accident: this is your little local Turkish spot, only with some money behind it and a W1 post code.

You see the W1 of it all in the cocktail list, which pairs mezcal with Turkish tea, or vodka with pistachios. I was quite taken by my Ephesus, a mixture of vodka, elderflower St-Germain, and sorrel — the result is a foamy, pond water-green concoction that’s beautifully herbal, the sorrel apparently applied with a reckless abandon that works out wonderfully. There are classic cocktails too, wines that start at £38 and include a good number of Turkish options, and a dedicated list of raki — by the glass or bottle.

The rest of the menu feels familiar enough: there are housemade dips, each served with pide; a spread of hot and cold mezze; and a selection of mangal grills for the mains. Nothing here is designed to surprise.

That said, there is some playfulness to the mezze that you won’t find in the more straightforward grills, and this is largely where the execution impresses most too. Atom, a garlic and chilli-infused yoghurt dip, is here given a London touch with a pool of radioactive looking wild garlic oil, as pungent as it is vibrant. We don’t waste a drop.

Paçanga börek wrap cured beef, kaşar cheese, and peppers in fine layers of pastry, then are thrown in the fryer until they resemble savoury take on a certain fast food apple pie. They’re inevitably dense, but remarkably don’t feel greasy, and a sharp, vinegared note cuts right through the layers of fat. Smoked aubergine looks smart, rolled into neat piles, but scarcely tastes smoked at all; baby artichokes braised in olive oil are simple, satisfying, but just a little nondescript. Best of them all is our biggest gamble: grilled octopus. So often tough and overcooked, the single, snaking tentacle that arrives is instead immaculately tender, kissed by the grill just enough to barely blacken its edges and soften its flesh. Ordering octopus is one of the ways I’ve learnt to test a kitchen; Lokal passed with flying colours.

I’m not sure I saw evidence of that same skill in the menu’s other grilled dishes though. A trio of lamb chops were meaty, and well-seasoned, but browned rather than blackened. A beef saslik skewer was much better, but I don’t think it’ll really be troubling any of the best grills along Green Lanes. Dessert was a mixed bag too: the sütlaç rice pudding was subtly spiced but oddly soupy in texture; a fig pudding was better, helped along by the jammy fruit on top.

In fairness to Lokal, peaking with the mezze is just one more way it brings the typical Turkish restaurant experience to Oxford Circus. And that’s what works about it. It’s not out here trying to reinvent the country’s cuisine, and while it does surface a few lesser known regional dishes, there’s no singular focus on a specific neck of the woods. It’s just Turkish food, but zhuzhed up a little, in a room that feels fit for a celebration, with a few complicated cocktails for good measure. That shouldn’t feel remarkable, but so far in London, it strangely is.

My meal was paid for by Lokal, but the restaurant had no editorial involvement in the review.