LDNReview
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Gökyüzü Restaurant
Included In
1999 was a big year for the UK. Not because Fatboy Slim released Praise You, or because the Millennium Dome went up, and definitely not because of the Y2K ‘bug’. No, the reason 1999 was a big year is because it was the year that Gökyüzü opened in Harringay.
Gökyüzü is a Turkish restaurant on Green Lanes that’s become a London stalwart in just a couple of decades. Mention this place’s name to someone and you’ll probably get an ‘oh yes, oh yes’ in agreement. The kind of reaction that’s combined with a slow nod, as well as a sudden fantasy about wrapping yourself in warm flatbread with only a plate of delicious, garlicky, cacik for company. Basically, what we’re saying is, people care about Gökyüzü, and that’s because it’s really bloody good.
What’s good about Gökyüzü is everything at once, rather than individual aspects. The space - a multicoloured, pleather-filled, made-dot-com extravaganza - is enormous. But although it looks a little showroom-y on first glance, nothing is for show here. Everything is geared towards feeding you brilliant grilled meat and vegetables, amongst other things. In fact, from the moment your arse hovers above a seat, warm flatbread, dressed salad, and dip is put down in front of you. It means you’re doing that nod and munching within thirty seconds of being here. It’s ingenious.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Less genius is filling up on complimentary bread and salad before ordering from the menu proper - we’re talking from experience here. Take it from us, you don’t want to miss out on the meat (if you eat it). Familiar favourites like doner and chicken shish are delicious and just over £10 with rice and salad for a ‘small’. Strong emphasis on the finger quotation marks there. In fact, it’s pretty much impossible to leave here without being fed extremely well. Take the manti (lamb ravioli), it’s lovely and moreish, and you’ll end up thinking about ordering the starter portion when you’re planning an evening in with iPlayer next week. That’s another thing worth mentioning too: Gökyüzü is one of the finest pick-up or take away options in London, and it’s open from 8 till 1am. If your night doesn’t end (or your day doesn’t start) with a lahmacun, are you even from north London?
It’s nigh on impossible to list everything we like about Gökyüzü. We’ve been coming here, on and off, for years and years, so any list would end up being as long and tall as a doner kebab wearing high heels. We’ve come for big group birthday celebrations. Romantic meze evenings. Even for solo drop-ins with a çöp shish and one working headphone. You should too. This isn’t so much a restaurant for a specific type of person, than it is for the city as whole. A lot of things have happened in the UK in recent times, and Gökyüzü is amongst the best.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Bread, Cacik, Salad
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Hot Meze Platter
Mixed Doner
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Chicken Wings
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Çöp Shish
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Sarma Kuzu Beyti
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch