Yeni

Our first night in London we were wandering about Soho looking for a place to dine. We stumbled across Yeni and had a world class meal!! We knew nothing about the restaurant prior to dining there so were not expecting such a gastronomic delight. Everything was incredible—the cuisine was amazing, service was impeccable, and the vibe was upbeat and fun. Loved it and can’t recommend it highly enough! Lorri M. Hanalei, Hawaii

I CAN STILL TASTE IT … Our last meal in London was one of the best.  What a perfect choice Yeni was. And we found it completely by accident. Wandering the Soho streets on our last afternoon we spied the wide open window & happy guests.  Curious, we took a quick peak at a menu decided to be adventurous. So glad we did. Yeni is the inspiration of chef-owner Civan Er showcasing modern Turkish cuisine using open fire cooking & the finest ingredients. The menu is designed for sharing & that is exactly how we like it so we chose dishes that were not familiar but intriguing.  Every single dish was delicious, the flavours complex & unusual & as we thought a dish couldn’t get better than the previous … it did! Tava bread two ways - spicy carrot and walnut tarator (think tahini) & 2nd with smoked butter. Mad skills in making something as simple as smoked butter so delicious you want to smear it all over is something … Mammole artichoke, fava beans, chili, coriander, mint, sesame - such a perfect way to serve artichoke and the spread was so fresh. Eating it with full leaves of mint was perfect. Orkney Scallops, spicy almond muhammara, salty fingers, burnt butter. Scallops fired perfectly & a wonderful spread somewhat like hummus & the cutest little green fingers also called sea jellybeans!! Yeni Manti dried aubergine, double fermented yoghurt - this was the most beautiful dish I’ve ever had put in front of me & the flavours were so perfectly balanced making for a rich, but not too rich sauce & the perfect Turkish eggplant dumplings. Nigel enjoyed a green apple ginger tonic & east London gin & I had a lovely Turkish rosé. Later we discovered that Yeni is in the Michelin Guide! “Anatolian-inspired cooking from experienced chef-owner Civan Er, who made his name at acclaimed sister restaurant Yeni Lokanta in his home city of Istanbul. Daily changing menu of vibrant, gutsy, flavoursome sharing plates; techniques are rooted in tradition, with dishes cooked over oak in the Josper oven.” Any description should emphasis wonderful, delicious, healthy & intoxicating food with gracious service. I know we will be back!

The aubergine Manti are worth the trip alone, you will not find anything like it elsewhere (tried looking for similar online recipes and it does not exist)-truly one of a kind dish. Everything else was great as well. Great vegetarian options. We also tried the carrot tarator, braised beetroot and bulgur fritters salad. Not a beetroot fan but this dish was good. Bulgar fritters were not what I expected (it's more of a tabbouleh salad with bulgar fritter croutons) but still good.

A lovely evening, perfect for a date night or catch up with friends. We sat upstairs by the window, which was ideal and less noisy than downstairs. We started with the adana cocktails (if you like a spicy mezcal, I do recommend), and enjoyed a raki each with dinner (on a hot day, two ice, 1/2 water). The price point was reasonable for the quality, although if you're familiar with Turkish cuisine, some will be less stand-out than others. Stand-outs were the beetroot with sour cherries & hazelnut, excellently balanced & quite unique, thoroughly recommend. The iriskit-fermented lamb was also delicious and paired fabulously with the bulgar fritter salad. Definitely get extra tava bread to mop up the juices with the beef, which was delicious. The börek was also divine, simple but a crowd pleaser. Somewhat underwhelming was the smoked aubergine from the grill, and the fried kelle was ok but presentation felt like leftover reheated spring rolls. I would also not recommend the wine. Service is great. Service charge is not included do ensure to tip. Overall, a solid restaurant with fantastic service, good atmosphere, and good food.

An absolute blast of a dining experience. Service was exemplary. The food was entirely novel down to the oils used. Definitely go for the 9 course taster. Chef was up for a picture at the culmation of the meal. A total culinary experience of exceptional flavours and a welcoming atmosphere, go here and eat here and thank me later.