The Ikram Ocakbaşı Restaurant

The other day I overheard my co-​worker talking about a Turkish restaurant in Mill Hill. Pretending I hadn’t been eavesdropping, I secretly noted down the name of that place.
Later that day, it was a rainy and indeed quite miserable London night, I jumped on the train… direction Mill Hill Broadway. I should mention, that this part of London is not my usual neck of the woods, but being both a foodie, as well as a city explorer by heart, I don’t mind travelling an extra mile.
When I got to the place, I thoroughly welcomed the smokey grill and appreciated the well-​functioning exhaust at the same time. Being a lonely and polite eater, I intended to pick the less-​desirable table by the door, but the waiter mentioned that it could get a little drafty and ushered me to a table inside the restaurant… that was really nice and I appreciated that immensely.
In my usual fashion, I asked the waitress for her recommendation and while she seemed shy at first («everything is good») I soon convinced her to tell me her favourite dish on the menu: Adana Kofte, which is the food of her childhood. I ordered the mixed kebab, which contained aforementioned kofte as well as chicken wings, chicken sish and cop shish. The kofte were really quite a delight: succulent, nicely spiced and tender. The shish were equally tasty and I enjoyed eating them tremendously. However, I thought the chicken wings to be on the bland side.
I had also ordered a starter called Ispanak Tarator (spinach mixed with yogurt, garlic, olive oil and tahini) which was nice, but next time I’ll go with the Kisir, as that description alone made my taste buds go gaga: bulgur with celery, spring onion, parsley, tomato, hazelnuts, olive oil and lemon juice.
Overall, I’m very pleased with my dining experience here. The restaurant was quite busy, which tells me that the locals concur with my opinion. Also, I saw somebody ordering take-​away and while he was waiting, they brought a cup if tea… nice touch!