Testi Restaurant

Amazing Turkish restaurant in Stoke Newington! The grilled sea bass was outstanding, perfectly charred, aromatic, and very tender. The mixed grilled meat was also delicious and went really well with rice. Portions are generous, and every main comes with salad and freshly grilled bread. Everything is cooked over charcoal, giving the food a wonderful smoky flavour, but the restaurant has good ventilation so there’s no lingering smell. Friendly service and a great place for family gatherings or dinner with friends. Highly recommended!

Authentic Turkish gem in Stoke Newington! The 25-year-old charcoal grill fills every bite with incredible smoky flavor. We loved the massive Mixed Grill Platter – the lamb ribs were perfectly charred and juicy. A true taste of Ocakbaşı tradition. Highly recommended!

One of the best Turkish meals I’ve had in London — completely changed my view of Turkish cuisine! A friend brought me to this spot in North London, and wow… they really know what to order. We got the Cold Meze and the Testi Lokum Kebab, and both dishes were incredible. I still don’t fully know what Lamb Middle Neck Fillet is, but it was unbelievably tender — genuinely melt-in-your-mouth. You can also see the chefs grilling the meat right at the front, which makes the whole experience even better. And I have to give a special shout-out to their bread. Two girls who rarely touch carbs absolutely demolished it. It’s slightly like naan, brushed with some kind of special seasoning… absolutely irresistible.

Absolutely loved our meal here. We ordered the Testi Lokum Kebab and the Grilled Salmon, and both dishes were outstanding in their own way. The Lokum Kebab was the highlight — perfectly charcoal-grilled, incredibly tender, and full of that rich smoky flavour. We also tried a couple of mocktails, and they were surprisingly good — refreshing, well-balanced, and not overly sweet, which is rare to find.

STICKY situation. I visited this place on a recommendation since its recent revamp, however I was disappointed with the level of service. The underside of our table was covered in some sort of sticky liquid, exacts of which I couldn't figure out, but it ended up staining my girlfriends trousers. It was supposed to be a relaxing night out with her, but turned into a dry cleaning bill. The solution offered to us was to either table swap, or a wipe it down... nothing more. It's almost as if they didn't want to take ownership or apologies for what happened due to embarrassment; but I think this is just me trying to justify their lack of customer service. When questioned for how and when we wanted our food and drinks to come out, none of it was brought out at correct times, or in the correct order, and not as much as an apology was made after I paid for the food and left. The bench seat had salt, crumbs and even a cigarette-burn/hole on the fabric of the seat/bench. The place was moderately busy, but there's no excuse for poor hygiene/cleanliness. Luckily, the chef was cooking over an open charcoal grill for the most part, so we didn't have any overwhelming concerns around food hygiene. In fact, if it wasn't for the above - I'd say that the food was average given its price range and location. Oiled bread = delicious. Hummus = average/decent. Iskender kebab (chicken or lamb) = average/decent. Rice = not worth a penny/left over quality. Chips = below average/takeaway standard. Grilled Onion = impossible to mess up/decent. Salad = looked tired, tasted decent. I paid £65 for this... don't believe the hype.

As soon as we walked in, we were drawn to the style of the place. The walls were decorated with clay pots, and the bright, warm colours made it feel like a tiny Middle Eastern museum. The soft lighting was cosy and perfect for relaxing and chatting with friends. We ordered Chicken Sarma Beyti, Lamb Chops, and Grilled Sea Bass. The chicken was tender inside a slightly crispy wrap, especially good with the yoghurt and tomato sauce. The lamb chops were cooked just right — not dry, not too strong, with a nice smoky taste. The sea bass felt light and fresh, with crispy skin and soft meat, and a bit of lemon made it even better. Together, the three dishes were rich but balanced. The service was also amazing. The staff were friendly, patient with recommendations. It really felt like one of those evenings when good friends and good food make everything better, the winter time in London didn’t feel so hard.

I had a very good first experience with my takeaway on Saturday. Good presentation and great taste. My order was Adana and chips instead of rice. For some reason It actually came with both. Probably a mistake.

I’ve had Turkish food before (from the shop next corner to the fine dining ones), but this place genuinely surprised me. They have the magic making even the simplest things like the bread and salad with innovate while well balanced taste and seasoning. A very nice place for dating or hanging out with your friends. Their signature food TESTI LOKUM KEBAB is a no brainer go to dish and I recommend every one to try out. They deserve to be known by more people!!!

Stopped by for a Turkish and baklava. Also had feta salad. All were fresh and excellent. Will definitely be by again to try others

I won't make a pun about the name, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that they serve lamb testicles here (I haven't been brave enough to try these yet) It's probably best not to think about it really. Anyway, I love this restaurant with its bright and randomly ornamented interior, it's very homely and if you can take your eyes off the Ocakbasi grill there is always something to look at. The staff here are incredibly friendly and always happy to make a recommendation although I tend to stick to the lamb kebab with rice. All dishes come with a huge amount of Turkish bread and dips, my favourite are the onions marinaded in pomegranate. This is a fantastic restaurant for groups as it's very large, friendly and reasonably priced.

It's kinda difficult to swallow your food when you are greeted by raw lambs testicles as you walk in the door. As far as Turkish places go in this area, this one is possibly the most famous, for its house dish and it's name. I have to admit that I was not that impressed. the food was tasty, the price cheap and the service better than just good but there was something for me that just didn't fit. i was sat by a drafty door, I'm not a fan of drafty doors. the tables are a little cramped but apart from that it really was okay. I can imagine if you came here with a big group of people it would be wonderful. Really buzzy and friendly. But as a date place, it's wan't for me. then again it could have just been the testicles on display!

A Turkish friend introduced me to her regular. The atmosphere was lively but that could have been the 30 person banquet next to us. Self described as "Anatolian cuisine, Ocakbasi restaurant, Lahmacun & Pide Salon" probably misses the point that they serve kebabs. Good ones at that. There's something to be said about having the food grilled in front of the restaurant. It somehow feels intimate. It's easy to overlook the simplicity and freshness of the dishes but it would be a mistake to. Good simple quality dining at its best. Wine list was a bit toppy for the food offering. Would definitely go back again.

I really enjoyed eating here. Excellent food. Not the easiest location to get to - but I was meeting friends so I didn't really care. Even if you are really hungry chances are you won't finish everything. Delicious!

LOVE this place, a genuinely friendly neighbourhood restaurant with attentive service and incredible, incredible food -the portions are so generous that we regularly take 30% of our dinner home and have it for breakfast the next day. Decor is trad Turkish without being overpoweringly kitsch. A giant, up-close-and-personal grill is the central feature and you can watch the full suite of Turkish specials being prepared before you. Well-seasoned and carefully grilled lamb, chicken, kofte and shish all arrive with plenty of moisture intact, but the salads (all complimentary with main courses) really make Testi. We haven't found the equal of their sweet, hot sumac onion side dish elsewhere in Stoke Newington's Turkish corridor. The name of the place means "jug" not testicle, but for those fainthearts above who haven't tried Testi's near-namesake dish, the lambs "thesticles" are firm, rich and musky, like creamier grilled kidneys. You owe it to yourself to try them. (And what's with the whining about draughts up there? The grill keeps the place lovely and warm in winter, plus you could always request another table). We've eaten all over N16 over the past two decades and this is our favourite Turkish place - we're there pretty much every week. The slogan on their post-prandial moist towelettes reads THANKYOU FOR CHOSING US and we will be chosing Testi long into the future.

Testi is an incredible, reasonably priced Turkish restaurant in Stoke Newington. In this a very Turkish part of north London, it's impressive that one Ocakbasi (barbeque) restaurant stands out among the rest of kebab shops et al. The menu is comprised of items one might find in a Anatolian (Asian part of Turkey) home that is if the kitchen is well-stocked and the home cook is utterly brilliant. Service is prompt and friendly, and dishes are well-presented with great sides such as delicious charred onions in pomegranate juice. Seating is comfortable, and the spacious dining room is a relaxing setting. This is a very nice place to dine with friends if you find yourself in the area. Delish!

One of the best Turkish restaurants in this area. The interior is nice and cosy unlike many of the other brightly lit places nearby, the Turkish Wine at £12 a bootle 'Villa Deluca' is superb, the bread that comes to your table is fresh and hot, and only order a small starter to share like Humus as the mains all come with 2 salads. Was in last night on boxing day and they gave us fresh baclava to finish washed down with a glass of Turkish tea. Staff are always friendly and this gets my top vote for Turkish in this area.

Been to Testi twice - the first time was excellent, the second was good but not great. As mentioned previously, it appears there has been a change in management. Unfortunately the change has affected some small but important details. For example: Staff now wear silly uniforms. Yoghurtu (sp?) now appears to be off the menu. Menu watered down with some bog standard dishes. Service was really bad (mainly from one particular waiter) - waited a long time for food and seemed to keep forgetting our various orders That said, the lambs testicles are incredibly good, it has a great atmosphere, and the Turkish beer is excellent. Food is all cooked on the open grill which is great Would still recommend this to a friend but not with as much enthusiasm as before

Very nice Turkish restaurant. We went there with friends and it was a nice evening. The open grill is impressive and provide a really tasty cuisine.

In agreement with the generally glowing reviews that this place gets. The food is great, fresh, tasty grilled meats, skilfully prepared salad accompaniments, fresh baked bread. Comfortable seating and table layout, less shoved together than many other restaurants in the area. This is probably the best type of food to eat in Dalston or Stoke Newington as there are plenty of restaurants of a similar genre competing for the pound in your pocket. Testi certainly does things well. Try the Turkish red wine, very good. I did once eat a special dish here after asking the waiter for a recommendation. As I crunched through the rather rubbery, small-diced meat of the kebab I did finally make the connection between the name of the restaurant and what a ram has hanging down out back. Not being one to waste food, and of a strong constitution, I persevered but would not choose to eat this particular dish again :-)

Had the mixed grill which had a selection of meats on bed of rice. Extra accompaniments included a refreshing tangy mixed salad and onions done two ways, one with herbs and spices and the other grilled and marinated in a sweet vinegar (a great dip for the bread). The Turkish bread was lightly oiled and heated on the grill just enough so the texture was still soft. The bread was extremely moreish. Meat included chicken wings, chicken shish, lamb shish, lamb kofte and lamb chop, all of which was seasoned and grilled to perfection. Rice was soft and moist. An excellent place for delicious, authentic Turkish cuisine.

I enjoyed my meal very much here. I had the chicken beyti, another chicken dish (maybe the iskender kebab?), and musaka. The chicken beyti were pieces of chicken wrapped in bread with a garlic sauce in the middle. The other chicken dish was chicken on top of bread with tomato sauce and yogurt. The musaka was a little different from the musaka I've had in the past, but it was very good and I liked the cheese on top. Everything was delicious and we had great service. My friend wanted soup and they didn't have any, but they made her a special bowl. I'd love to come back and try more dishes when in London.

Great Ocakbasi cooking. Absolutely in the top tier of north/ east london Turkish restaurants. A superb one for fans of MEAT. Pretty decent rustic vibe/ atmos also.

Mmmmm. Yup, the name doesn't disappoint - as suggested you too could be greeted with testicles on a plate, you lucky thing. The unfortunate lamb's bits were passed around the large table of birthday diners to chew and deliberate on. Good thing the rest of the animal was probably in some other customer's kofte kebab and he didn't need them anymore. The consensus of the braver amongst us (not me) was that it was 'quite good', which roughly translates as 'quite good... for animal rude bits'. I'm impressed that they managed to cater for a huge table of twenty people arranged at what seemed to be very short notice. Perhaps it was the sudden mass of people but it did mean that the service was rather shabby. I had to ask a number of times for water. One of our group had to wait ten minutes after we have received our dishes to get his. Luckily there was more than enough delicious bread, salads and (as christened by the birthday boy) 'onions of joy' to occupy himself with. Additionally I asked for mint tea - only to be told they had no hot water. I was happy to wait for the ten minutes whilst they heated it up, but I had dropped off the radar by that point and no tea ever manifested itself. On the way out I asked the way to the nearest tube, and one lovely member of staff offered me a lift to Bethnal Green. Really friendly, however the innate stranger danger fear kicked off and I made my own long lonely way back. The chicken shashlik was pleasant - a generous portion of moist cubed grilled chicken breast served with rice. I think they also serve offal. Yum. Rumour has it that this place also does a mean grilled unicorn too. I would need to assess the service again with a smaller group to see if they do better. However I would recommend this place as a good value eatery, plus they have this awesome eunuch sheep that goes round table to table singing real high for tips.

Had my birthday here and it was amazing!!! The food was lovely and the atmosphere was really friendly and welcoming. The service was even better we didn't have to wait too long for the food, everything was in good timing. I loved the fruit platter was beautiful designed very different and very tasty.

Excelent food, excelent service and very good value for money! Will definitely go back!

I think Testi is fine, but just that. Given there are so many Turkish restaurants around the area I didn't feel particularly compelled to go back. The food was tasty, but tables felt very cramped and we were slightly rushed with our food. It wasn't a very leisurely dining experience.

This place is awesome - we eat there at least once a week and have had many group meals there. The food is always cooked perfectly and is of the highest quality - the mixed grill is amazing and they have a great selection of starters and large mains

I kid you not, this was brilliant. Great service, great food, and nice and healthy. What more can you ask for? We'll be back

I used to love this place and visit often. Unfortunately since testi changed ownership/ management or something, the food has changed too and not for the better. The new bright orange uniforms should have been spell checked as well.

My boyfriend and I are college students on a budget, but when we walked by the restaurant we couldn't resist. You can see the shish-kebabs being freshly cooked and it had a very cozy atmosphere. Luckily when we looked at the menu we found out that the take-out menu was cheaper than the eat-in menu. Up to £2 per dish cheaper! So being the savvy people we are, we decided to order our food to-go. The food was delicious and there was PLENTY for both of us to eat. Warning: if you don't like onions you won't like their salads. Each dish came with 3 salads. But the main dishes were delicious!

There is a lot of turkish restaurants in Stokey and this is the nicest! The food is great, the staff are friendly. Would deffinatly reccomend. Parking is difficult around this area so use public transport if possible

when i first saw this resturant, my first thought was what a odd name, maybe TESTI, means something different in turkish. ok im thick, anyhow having tried most of the turkish restuarants in the area , had to give it a try,And it was really great, the waiter explained that they did sell lambs testi, hence the name i guess,but i was not that bold,even though id had a few beers, i settled for the kofte, which was nice and spicy,and the salad was fresh, all in all this is a outstanding place,and very fairly priced,