Lara Kitchen — Restaurant in London

Disappointing Experience at Lara Kitchen – Not Worth the Trip from NW3/NW11

We recently visited this Turkish restaurant with high hopes, but unfortunately, the experience was quite disappointing—especially when compared to the many excellent Turkish restaurants in Green Lanes.

From the moment we arrived, the experience felt off. The owner was sitting and fully engaged on his mobile phone or possibly listening to music, showing no interest in greeting guests or creating a welcoming atmosphere—something that’s customary and expected in Turkish hospitality.

We ordered doner kebab and chicken, and politely requested for them to be wrapped, which is a standard request in most Turkish establishments. However, we were told they were not allowed to do this. We insisted, and began asking why. The explanation given—that the salad would make the doner cold—simply didn’t add up, especially considering that both the doner and chicken were already cold, greasy, and far from fresh.

Eventually, it became clear that the real reason was pricing. A wrapped option is cheaper, and although we offered to have it wrapped and still include the salad and rice, so they could charge the full price, the staff still refused. This felt not only unreasonable but also quite disingenuous.

Below is my response to the owner is as follows: Dear Elena,

Thank you for your response. However, I feel compelled to respond, as your reply unfortunately deflects rather than addresses the core concerns raised in my review.

Firstly, with respect to the owner—whether or not he is part of the service team is beside the point. In any reputable restaurant, particularly those that pride themselves on Turkish hospitality, it is customary that all staff, regardless of role, demonstrate a welcoming presence. Sitting idly and disengaged while customers enter does not reflect well on any establishment. If he is present in the dining area, a simple greeting is not only appropriate—it is expected.

Regarding the wrap issue, I must reiterate that the refusal to accommodate such a basic and reasonable request was not only disappointing but frankly dismissive. It is irrelevant whether wraps are part of your “dine-in” offering. When a customer is willing to pay the full price and only asks for the dish to be served in a different format—which many restaurants are more than happy to do—it is neither complicated nor disruptive. The excuse given at the time (that salad would make the wrap cold) was clearly untrue, particularly as the doner and chicken were already cold and excessively greasy when served.

You mention that food issues should have been raised at the time. I can assure you the issues were clearly evident, and given the dismissive attitude already shown by the staff, it did not feel worth the effort to escalate further. If your meals are prepared “fresh daily,” that freshness did not come across in any part of what was served to us.

As for pricing and the 12.5% service charge, I understand these are industry standards—but they are justified only when the service and food quality meet the standard expected. In this case, neither did. Paying nearly £50 for two sub-par meals in a setting with poor service and little hospitality does not reflect good value, regardless of how the pricing is displayed.

You also state that comparisons can be subjective. That may be true in some cases, but when there is a consistent level of service, generosity, and food quality across Turkish restaurants in areas like Green Lanes, it’s not merely opinion—it becomes a benchmark. Compared to that benchmark, Lara Kitchen unfortunately fell short on multiple levels.

My review was both constructive and fair, and based on a genuine experience. Rather than deflecting criticism, I would urge your team to take this as an opportunity to reflect and improve. Customer feedback is only valuable if it's heard—especially when it comes from those who support the local dining community and want to see independent...

The food here is decent! But it is a hit and miss. I normally order from Uber eats so I cannot comment on the atmosphere or service.

So far I have tried the baklava, kofte and the grilled chicken wings which both come with bulgar wheat. (you can also chose rice or half rice half bulgar wheat)

The meat is juicy and I like that it's not too salty. Some people might find it blander than other Turkish restaurants though. The bulgar wheat goes well with it. One time I had it with rice but the rice is a hit and miss, sometimes it's perfect, but sometimes it's too mushy so I thought it's safer to stick to bulgar wheat. Also they do amazing deals on Uber eats including buy 1 get 1 free on the grilled wings or kofte which is why I like to go here. It is a great value!

However there were a few things I don't like: Personally, I don't like the bread - maybe it's because I'm used to the Tirnakli pide style breads not these round, thick ones. There is no distinctive flavour or texture to it.

The baklawa wasn't great either. It was very soggy like it was soaked in watered-down honey /syrup sauce. I tried baking it in an oven and I could not get it to be crispy. Also the filling wasn't the best either. It was small amounts of crushed walnuts with pistachio sprinkled on top of the baklawa. I think it has potential to taste great if the runny sauce was not poured all over it, which ruined the texture.

It is still a great place to eat at! Going forward, I'll stick to the good...

I've been to Lara Kitchen many times, and the last couple of times I was rather disappointed by their menu changes.

They no longer do pide (Turkish pizza) which was one of our go to options for vegetarian dishes that kids like (the vegetarian burger is meh... You can buy that in the frozen section of any supermarket).

So we asked a lentil soup, that too was out of stock, and after asking for the vegetable kebab we were informed the rice recipe had changed, they now lace it with meat sauce...

In summary, there is only one vegan dish, the other two have cheese, but overall there aren't many vegetarian options available anymore.

The service was fine, though the poor guy was rather apologetic, which is a bit off-putting, but ultimately not his fault.

We also found it annoying to hear the same music in a loop the whole time.

I don't think I'll be going back, and it's sad as it was a nice...