Dalston, Turkish Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Mangal 2 has reinvented itself during the pandemic” with Ferhat and Sertaç Dirik (the sons of the founder), “transforming it from its previous incarnation as just another of one of the (good!) pile-’em-high Turkish restaurants on the Dalston/Stoke Newington strip into a totally new venue: still Turkish, but more small plates now than giant platters”. All reports agree it’s a successful switch, “standing on a solid par with the other good small-plates-and-wine joints around Hackney, while still doing something quite different”. “The noisy room is a little Spartan, but the exciting and interesting food transports you” – “the Turkish influence is not that obvious” but the menu delivers “good ingredients very well cooked” (although “the wine list is a bit too natural, with no other conventional options)”.