Ishtar

Continues to consistently deliver a great meal. The service can be a bit slow at times but the food here is consistently good — whether it is fish, chicken, or lamb. Got introduced a few years ago and keep coming back whenever in town.

Visited for a family dinner… they were happy to arrange a table for 10 on short notice…
Great family atmosphere… good food and great service…
The kebabs were really good as was the vegetarian mousaka.
Will definitely return…

5 étoiles pas moins pour ce superbe restaurant à la cuisine raffinée et goûteuse. Je recommande les yeux fermés.
Je n’avais jamais goûté la gastronomie turc.
Un accueil plein d’attention, malgré le fait que nous n’ayons pas réservé. Un lieu élégant et contemporain ouvert sur la cuisine.
Une atmosphère propice aux rdv professionnels comme au repas romantique ou familial.
Une carte avec les noms en turc et la décomposition de chacun en dessous.
L’équipe en cuisine et en salle est majoritairement turc (seul une serveuse peut être né l’étais pas).
Seul point gris diront nous, le temps entre l’entrée et le plat a été assez court. Enfin, pour une personne comme moi qui prend son temps à manger.
Notre gentille serveuse est venue nous demander si l’on avait terminé et surtout a cherché à récupérer nos entrées alors que nos n’avions pas encore terminé. Et oui, le plat a été rapidement prêt. C’était à la fois marrant et gênant car elle se sentait vraiment obligée de nous presser. Sans doute pour que l’on puisse savourer chaud.
Néanmoins ce point a été très vite oublié. La fraîcheur, les saveurs des mets ont très vite laissé de côté cet épisode malencontreux.

My parents and I were visiting from the States and were trying to find a place that was open at 16:30 for dinner near where we are staying. We came across Ishtar and were so glad we did! We all ordered off the lunch and early menu where you can do 2 courses for £11.95.
After ordering, we were promptly brought hot bread and hummus along with a small bowl of spiced olives. The hummus was the best I’ve ever tasted! Heavy on garlic, but I’m a garlic fan. Then they brought our starters. I ordered the calamari and, again, I swear it was the best I’ve ever had! I ordered the iskantar for my main course and it was very good! I’ve had better lamb, but there were no complaints coming from me.
Both my parents highly enjoyed their meals as well. Even my father who typically dislikes ethnic food!
Our waitress was very attentive (granted we were only one of two in tables in the restaurant at the time). She seemed very pleased we were enjoying our meal so much and brought us a bit of Turkish delight for dessert!
I would definitely recommend this place and would love to return!

Simply the best Turkish rest in London. The kebabs were amazing. The meat is the best quality I had in London. Its a shame they don’t do the Doner Kebab but I know its for a good reason. Done Kebab is made of cheap cuts of meat.

I’ve eaten at Ishtar twice now, once for lunch and once for dinner. Honestly, I was a bit scared to return after our first amazing visit, but I can now say that this place seems consistently good!
Service: This restaurant is not large and there seemed to be only one waitress at lunch, and a couple servers at dinner. Our waitress was nice, helpful, and patient (supremely important when it comes to my picky family). Food took a while though, even at lunch when the restaurant wasn’t very busy.
Ambiance: Very clean and well decorated. The ambiance is great.
Food: Everything, except the complimentary bread (which is dry) is delicious! A few of the standouts:
– Karides Tava — not sure what the prawns were marinated in but I just want to buy a bottle of it and bring it back to NYC. Presentation was beautiful as well.
— Levrek — the seabass was deliciously flaky and fresh.
– Tavuk Sis — my husband and FIL loved this. I don’t eat chicken so I can’t comment.
– Mashed potatoes — good but nothing especially unique.
– Rice — So Good.
– Chocolate Cake — well presented and quite good.
– Apple Crumble — not overly sweet, which was great.
Prices: Ishtar’s lunch menu is fabulous and very affordable. Dinner is a bit more expensive but really worth it.
Bottom Line: I highly recommend Ishtar and know that we’ll be returning for sure.

Great food and nice restaurant. Presentation of the food was beautiful. I had a chicken dish that was a little too salty for my liking, but it was still good. There was an amazing lamb dish that was in a wrap form with yogurt around it. It kinda looked like a flower. The owner is super nice. Music was playing downstairs, so go dance after dinner if you can.

The best turkish food I’ve ever had, even didn’t have like this when I was in Istanbul .
Lovely staff and amazing food.

Nothing special. They don’t take Amex. Sucks. The Iskender was not proper. Meaning it failed. Service was ok. Would not go back.

Terrific Turkish restaurant that delivers great value for a W1 address.

Meat was good, that’s about all I can comment on… Not a place for gluten-​free people, since even the rice has bread product added. They’ll replace the rice with salad for you, but it’s a very small amount of basically just lettuce. Service left something to be desired.

Had the unfortunate luck to dine here at the same time as christmas party tables (the christmas meal deals are very good value).
The mezze starter was good. The lentil soup was very nice, perfect in this weather!
The grilled lamb cubes were too fatty for my taste. The ‘Iskinder’ main dish was average.
The lemon sorbet was horrible. The pistachio ice cream was, again, quite average.
Service average, décor nothing special.
A good value restaurant for a quick meal. Nothing special.

I’ve been here 4 times now and never been disappointed. The food is very fresh and really tasty. Even the vegetarian options were delicious. Reasonably priced restaurant with a great atmosphere. Warm bread straight out the oven is served complimentary with hummus and olives before entrees. Be sure to book ahead!

Really great lunch spot and delicious food. I especially love the lentil soup and the Borek.

Great place for two set lunch menu. Nice bread and hummous+olives delivered before entrée. Sauses in separate cups for the main course very good. Had asparagus and then grilled chicken. Will be back if in the neighborhood again.

On the plus side, the dining room was very pleasant — quiet enough for the four of us to have a conversation without the incessant techno-​pop that your typical London Turkish place will have. Large noisy parties are accommodated in the huge downstairs dining room.
But the surroundings did not make up for the greatly overpriced and mostly bland food on offer.
There are many hot and cold mezzes on offer — we shared the mixed vegetarian and an order of falafel. Portions are on the very small side, and nothing was really stellar — M&S does better with their pre-​packaged takeouts.
Mains had mixed reviews — the tiger prawns were very good with a wonderful simple garlic sauce, but the marinated chicken kabob was served with plain unseasoned rice and seemed to lack the advertised marinade. It was dry and flavorless.
The minced lamb with garlic and a yogurt/​tomato sauce was flavorful enough, but quite heavy and dense (if portion size is the meter you use to rate goodness, get this dish).
The last contender was a special chicken dish with chestnuts and mixed root veggies — but was missing the requisite chestnuts.
On the whole, I’d say you could do much better and be much happier elsewhere.

I really liked the food here. The atmosphere downstairs at the weekend is great. There is a DJ, singer and belly dancer sometimes. Lots of dancing. Only downside is I think the food is pretty pricy compared to other Turkish restaurants and it is hard to get the waiters attention at times.

I’m surprised this place hasn’t been reviewed yet. I used to live right down the street from this restaurant and passed by it nearly everyday without giving it a second glance– the restaurant front leaves nothing to be desired and I never thought about going in. One night my friend and I were starving and didn’t want to go too far for a meal so we decided to try out Ishtar as it was only a few minutes walk up the street.
The inside décor surprised me– it is so lovely and fancy inside with a wonderful ambiance– I never would’ve expected that. Our servers were great and attentive. We started with the Shared Meze Plate appetizer which included hummus, kisir, patlican ezme, ispanak taratar, & patlican soslu (mind you, the only thing I could properly identify was hummus), plus a bunch of delicious vegetables to dip in the sauces.
For my main course I had one of their cubed lamb plates (I forget which one), but it was also delicious and left me wanting more. It’s all a bit pricy but I think it’s worth it. Looking forward to returning again next time I’m in London

Have been visiting Ishtar since it first opened, comfortable seating, nice dim lighting and the food is fresh and good — all cooked from the visible kitchen which is spotless.
Always have the grilled meats and recommend the baklava for dessert served with their homemade pistachio ice cream.
The only thing of late is the bread served along with hummous & olives when you are seated: it is now served almost over crisp — was much nicer served it simply warm when the texture of the excellent bread was more edible… not toast like.

Great Turkish restaurant — lovely décor, great food (fish kebabs great!)
£20 for set menu