Oklava

"Oklava is offering a £25 set menu which includes things like grilled hellim and black sea pide, for bookings between 8.45pm and 9pm." - rianne shlebak

"Over-ordering can be a problem at Oklava, a Shoreditch restaurant cooking modern Turkish food in a stylish setting. All things considered, their dining room is one of the nicest in London, but on a warm evening, grabbing a stool outside at the window counter is straight up one of the best places you can eat. Anywhere. And since much of the menu is absurdly good, having too much of it is what we call “a good problem.”" - oliver feldman, heidi lauth beasley

"Selin Kiazim’s first solo restaurant is a paean to the chef’s Turkish-Cypriot heritage. The small dining room and bar is organised around an open kitchen which uses a wood oven and tiered grill to prepare some of the most ambitious modern Turkish food in the city. Pide (flatbreads) — marinated octopus with ricotta; or a classic lamb lahmacun — are served with a crisp, piquant pomegranate-dressed red cabbage salad with pickles; the regularly-changing grilled meats might include glazed lamb breast or half chicken served with preserved lemon and greens. Despite being in the middle of Shoreditch, Oklava has the warm atmosphere of a discreet neighbourhood restaurant, with a few bar stools and window ledge tables outside for the warmer evenings." - Adam Coghlan, James Hansen

"You’ve got plans to meet friends for dinner, and you want to go somewhere fun and exciting, and perhaps something involving a kebab. But you’re tired of anything involving railway arches and Knightsbridge, and you don’t want to come back home smelling of an open fire. In that case, you want to be eating at Oklava, a restaurant that cooks modern Turkish food in a stylish setting that feels very Shoreditch. You’ll eat a killer roast cauliflower with chilli and pistachios, an incredible lamb sausage, and the best hellim (halloumi) of your life here. Over-ordering can be a problem as much of the menu is absurdly good, but that’s what we call “a good problem.” Book ahead as it’s very popular." - David Paw

"Oklava is a Turkish restaurant run by Selin Kiazim and Laura Christie in Shoreditch that had to furlough staff during the lockdown. The restaurant lost a significant portion of its staff and faces challenges in rehiring for the resumption of indoor dining." - Lisa Haseldine