I've waxed long and lyrical over my love for kebabs (not the mystery meat kind) and so I was more than happy to oblige when posh kebaberie Chifafa on Clerkenwell Road got in touch and asked me to give theirs a try. The Clerkenwell / Farringdon area is awash with amazing food choices, but its testament to Chifafa's offering that they were completely rammed at a weekday lunchtime when I went. Its a teeny little place with the option to take away, or eat in perching at a table o

I recently required a casual, not too £££ Soho lunch destination for a quick work meeting. Oh and it needed to be toddler friendly - not as simple as you'd think. I suggested three places to my date for the day: Balls & Co, Smack Lobster, and Suvlaki. I'd not been to any of them, so there was an element of guess work at play and I must admit when I was trying to hoik a 17kg child and buggy combo up the steps of Suvlaki alone, I had my doubts. I wish I could remember what Suvl

Gyros: one of Greece's most inspired exports. Not to be confused with any old kebab - as the Americans tend to call most spit roast meat and pita combos 'GIRO' (it's 'gearOSS'), this is essentially a pita of grilled skewered meat, chips and salad with a garlic yoghurt dressing - they're on every street corner in Greece and the islands and I simply cannot resist its call. On a recent Friday night in I'd been planning a big old cote de beouf, but realised I didn't want it; I wa

So, after my beloved Likya lost its kebab crown to neighbouring Durum Ocakbasi at the British Kebab Awards 2015, I put my own feelings aside and wandered down to see what all the fuss was about. It always smells great walking past and there are plenty of bums on seats every lunchtime and evening, so my hopes were high. My immediate thought on entering was that there was none of the in-your-face smoke and heat like at Likya as you walk past the ocakbasi (charcoal grill) to the

The Sunday Times Style magazine called it a few weeks ago, naming the kebab as the must have food of 2015 (BYE burgers); Alan Yau has jumped on the bandwagon with Babaji Pide, and Just Eat say their Turkish takeaway orders have increased by 70% since 2013. It's official: 2015 is the year of the kebab. Kebabs get a lot of stick, but I'm not talking dodgy mystery meat sticks only fit for consumption after eight pints. A properly seasoned and marinated good quality shoulder of l

I've ummed and ahhed over writing up this post as my accompanying photography is even poorer than usual, but ultimately I decided I couldn't keep Likya to myself. Living in North London, we are pretty spoilt for choice with Turkish restaurants, but this is my favourite of them all. Likya uses a traditional open charcoal grill (Ocakbasi) and serves a very wide selection of incredibly delicious grilled meats - and to a lesser extent, fish - both in its restaurant and as a take