Tas Firin Ocakbasi - top quality Turkish Kebabs

Quite unusually I stumbled into this place without doing any of the usual googling and blog checking online that I normally do before I go and eat somewhere new. Myself and my girlfriend were actually on route to Gourmet San Sichuan restaurant on the Bethnal Green Road (highly recommended) but were disappointed when we found out it was closed for lunch. Walking back towards Shoreditch we saw this small restaurant on the corner of Bethnal Green Road and Turin St. What made me go in was the sight of the chef sitting in front of an open charcoal grill, slowly grilling juicy kebabs. This place had to be good. And it was.

The menu is pretty simple, centring around traditional Turkish kebabs and Pide (a pizza like dish). I love the fact you can see the chef grilling the kebabs right in front of you and making the homemade breads in the background.

We started with humous and Turkish flat bread. The bread here is much better than the usual accompanying pitta. It is thicker and softer and soaks up the houmus better. We also had roasted onions in turnip juice which was good with pickled vinegariness and a moorish charred flavour.

I wanted to try all the kebabs (im greedy like that) so I opted for the mixed kekab. This was a selection of chicken shish (juicy), lamb shish (nicely spiced and seasoned) and a minced lamb kebab (meaty and delicious). It was served with rice and some more of the home made bread.

My girlfriend had a minced chicken kebab served with lashings of yogurt. There was a good amount of spice in the chicken so the yogurt didn’t wash away its flavour but instead added a contrasting acidity and tang.

Our guest ordered one of the pide’s cooked in the wood fired oven. I didn’t try this but disappointingly he said that it lacked seasoning. It did look a bit dry to me. I would suggest sticking to the kebabs.

Our meal came with a good selection of salads, diced tomatoes, shredded carrot and cabbage. I washed the meal down with a hot and salty turnip juice and and Efes beer.

Tas Firin serves fantastic kebabs with friendly and efficient service. Skip the local kebab van and venture down the Bethnal green road. A fresh juicy and char grilled treat awaits you.

Monster Munch Rating: 85%