Journal / Turkish cuisine
A guide to Turkish cuisine: meze, kebabs and baklava
What is Turkish cuisine? A clear guide to meze, kebabs, bread, yoghurt and baklava — and how we cook those dishes at SoBha in Highgate.
· 3 min read · Highgate, London N6
Turkish cuisine is one of the great home-cooking traditions of the eastern Mediterranean. It is not “kebab and chips” as a stereotype. It is olive oil, charcoal, yoghurt, fresh herbs, slow vegetables and bread meant for tearing.
At SoBha in Highgate we cook that food every day. This guide is for anyone who wants to understand Turkish food before they sit down — or who is deciding what to order.
Meze: the start of a Turkish table
Meze (mezze) is a spread of small plates. You do not rush it. Typical Turkish meze we serve include:
- Hummus — chickpeas, tahini, lemon, garlic
- Cacik — yoghurt, cucumber, mint, a little garlic
- Baba ghanoush — smoked aubergine with tahini
- Borek — fried filo with spinach and feta
- Sucuk — grilled spicy beef sausage
- Halloumi and falafel
Order a few to share. That is how Turkish cuisine is eaten in Istanbul, Ankara and at 179 Archway Road.
Kebabs and ocakbasi grills
When people search “Turkish food” they often mean the grill. In Turkish cooking the grill is a craft:
- Adana kofte — minced lamb with herbs, on the skewer
- Shish kebab — diced lamb, marinated and grilled
- Chicken shish — breast with herbs
- Pirzola — lamb cutlets
- Mixed kebab — the house tour of the grill
We serve those as they should be: with salad, bread, sometimes yoghurt or tomato sauce (as with Iskender). See the grill list on our menu.
Yoghurt, bread and the supporting cast
Turkish cuisine leans on cool yoghurt against hot meat, and on bread instead of a pile of unnecessary garnish. Ayran (salted yoghurt drink) is the classic companion to kebab. We also pour Turkish wines from Anatolia if you want to stay in the same geography.
Baklava, kunefe and the last plate
A Turkish meal wants a sweet ending.
- Baklava — layered filo, nuts, syrup
- Kunefe — hot cheese pastry soaked in syrup, cooked to order
If you only remember two words from Turkish desserts, remember those.
Turkish cuisine vs Mediterranean food
Mediterranean food is a wider map: olive oil, fish, vegetables, lemon, grilled meat. Turkish cuisine sits inside that map and has its own grammar — meze first, grill second, tea and baklava last. At SoBha you can eat a fully Turkish table or mix in sea bass, coban salad and a Mediterranean breakfast.
That is why we describe ourselves as a Turkish and Mediterranean restaurant in Highgate. The two ideas are cousins, not rivals.
How to try it properly
- Start with two or three meze.
- Share a mixed kebab or a fish grill.
- Finish with baklava or kunefe.
- If it is the weekend, come back for breakfast.
Book a table on Archway Road and we will walk you through the rest.
More from the kitchen
Turkish breakfast in Highgate: weekend brunch on Archway Road
Weekend brunch in Highgate with a Turkish twist: eggs, borek, sucuk, feta, avocado and Mediterranean plates at SoBha, 179 Archway Road, N6 5BN.
What to order at a Turkish restaurant (first-timer’s guide)
First time eating Turkish food? Here is what to order: meze to share, a kebab or grill, ayran or wine, and baklava — with SoBha’s Highgate menu as the example.
Mediterranean food in North London: what to eat at SoBha
Where to find Mediterranean food in Highgate and North London — sea bass, salads, olive oil cooking and Turkish grills at SoBha on Archway Road.
