Mangal Turkish Restaurant — Restaurant in Charnwood

First visit, have always wanted to go thinking it was going to be a great Turkish restaurant as it looks ok from the outside . Booked for a celebration was very disappointed. Its more like a takeaway with a few tables downstairs. I was unaware they have upstairs seating s didnt read anywhere on there website and we had taken my parents we thought we would take out as they don't go out much. I called ti ask about parking sndxwas informed they had a carpark at the side, but there is no parking only street parking and my mum who has mobility issues, so we had to drop her off neatest we could and its in a really busy main street junction so difficult yo even drop off . No seating was available downstairs when we got there and told to go up. There was no way my mum could have climbed such steep steps. We waited around for abit, not really any waiting area, but as we took my mum we had to as she isnt in a position to walk about again to go anywhere else. If we were on our own we would have left. Luckily a family had finished and was leaving so we got that table. The place was freezing cold with a few electric heaters but still felt cold. On the website it says if you spend more then £48 they give a complimentary bottle of wine, didn't get that, and didn't want to ask. No dips or sauces given until we asked and even then they said they would giv us just little bit to try and if we wanted more would charge. We've been to other Turkish restaurants and they give so many varieties of dips, great salads and bread as standard. Food wasn't really flavoured quite bland, lamb looked bland and chewy It was quite expensive for a little unkempt place that was freezing. Definitely not reccommed for anyine with disabilities or young children as its so cramped no space for wheelchairs,prams. We only had mains no starters and a drink each and came to over £80. I didn't really want to leave a tip but still did. Was not happy and wish we had gone somewhere else, only booked this as it was Friday and most places were booked up. Will not ever visit again. Its a very tierd, old place that needs some work doing. Nowhere to move, even the toilet area...

My partner recommended here as she used to eat here years ago and loved the place. When we arrived there was a scrawled sign saying they don't accept card, which is odd for a restaurant (they used to accept it). When we sat down there was only 3 small groups of other people so not busy at all. We were sat down for at least 15 minutes before I had to get up and go and ask for drinks, I would have understood if the place was busy but it was not. When I asked for a pint of cobra i was told they have nothing on draught at all, dont know how they could run out as the place was dead and most likely was the same the night before. Shocking table service. The place itself looks nice inside, very rustic. When the lady finally asked us for our food order we ordered 2 specials only to be told they didn't have it in, when we selected another option again told that wasn't available so we asked for a couple of minutes to select something else. Another 10 minutes before we were asked what we wanted. The woman was acting as though she was rushed off her feet and ignorant, the place had barely anyone in there. When we finally ate our food it was not even decent. The lamb was dry, so was the chicken, I've eaten in better kebab takeaways. My partner mentioned none of the same staff were there from when she last visited so the problem must be the people running it now. Avoid this place if you can, there are so many better places to eat, they barely pass as a takeaway let alone as a restaurant. If you want a really nice Turkish visit...

We've visited many times over the last few years. And it's getting worse each time. Today was probably the last visit.

We ordered the lamb shish (Grilled lamb pieces) and pilic shish (Grilled chicken breast). Ezme dip and chips with the lamb and chicken rather than the rice & side salad that normally comes with it. Why? Because the salad is always warm, because of how they pack it. And the rice is never great - like microwave packet rice.

Well - the chips weren't a better alternative. Nice and chunky, but no taste and inside was powdery. Not fluffy.

The chicken was dry and tasted very bland. The lamb was AWFUL. Incredibly tough - I needed a steak knife. And on top of it, had no taste at all.

I have been to Turkish, Greek and other restaurant cuisines all over the country - as well as in those in the native countries, and mangal is just a very poor attempt at Turkish cuisine. The menu is getting shorter each time we see it, prices are going up and quality is dropping each time.

The two stars are because they always get the order right and the customer service is good. But still not worth the...