Mayfair has no shortage of great restaurants, but with the recent opening of Chargal it can now add three floors of delicious Turkish dining to its roster.
The Berkeley Street spot offers refined open fire cooking, seasonal mezze and premium cuts in an elegant dining space, with a menu inspired by the flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean, blending traditional techniques with a modern London approach.
We popped in recently to try the menu, on a busy, buzzing Wednesday evening. It's cosy and welcoming, with soft lighting and a warming colour palette, not to mention a view of the open kitchen. The first round of mezze included warm flatbreads served with Aegean olive oil, wild za'atar and date sea-salt butter, along with hummus and muhamara served with crudités. A red bream ceviche with pomegranate and lime dressing was fresh and zingy and the hot mezze included deliciously moreish manti - lamb dumplings with smoke yoghurt and aleppo chilli oil. The chargrilled octopus with herb dressing and smoke paprika, fantastically smokey, was a favourite, along with the chargrilled halluomi with hot honey.
Mains arrived hot of the grill, a wagyu iskender - served hot over a buttered pide wit tomatoe sauce and brown butter - and a herty meat platter - adana, Kuzu şiş, tavuk şiş and kaburga - a mixture of lamb, chicken and ribs. It was a mammoth plate (definitely a sharer) but juicy and delicious. With a trio of desserts, e chose the floss halva ice cream sundae; super sweet and a great finisher.
This is a spot for classic Turkish flavours in an elevated setting, and we loved every bite.
