London kebab shop rated higher than the Ritz on Tripadvisor
Meze Mangal is currently rated higher the the Ritz restuarant: PA
Never mind taking high tea at the Ritz, one of London's most famous five-star hotels - a kebab shop in the capital is beating it in the restaurant ratings stakes on Tripadvisor.
Meze Mangal Restaurant in South London is ranked seventh out of 1000 London restaurants, with only the gourmet delights at Michelin-starred haunts beating it, including the likes of: Gordon Ramsay's Petrus and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Brett Graham's The Ledbury, and Michel Roux's La Gavroche.
The restaurant is a family-run business owned by brothers Sahin Gok, 43, and Ahmet, 45, who came to London in the 1980s from Turkey, at first working in a Wimpy in Kingston-upon-Thames.
They opened their own kebab takeaway in Ladywell, and opened at their current premises in Lewisham Way, St John's, in 2000.
So what's the magic formula? Sahin says it's all about fresh food and service with a smile.
He told the Evening Standard: "When we opened there was nowhere like us in the area. Turkish food had a very bad reputation - doner kebabs dripping with oil - and we wanted to change that and show people what Turkish cooking is like.
"We had tablecloths, nice silverware and wine glasses on the tables. Everything to get away from that takeaway image.
"Our prices are very reasonable and the food is always very fresh and we make everything ourselves - including our bread.
"The big difference is that we smile. I love this job. If you don't love it, it doesn't matter how good you are. I sit and chat with the customers, and they always stay for two or three hours. There's no time limit.
"The food can take you only so far."
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