Cheap, cheerful and magnificent grilled meats

It is time to be led by your nose ... The first thing to hit you at Mangal II is the smell.

The fragrance of spicy, sizzling chargrilled meat is unmistakably, authentically Turkish.

This, combined with the relaxing pastel décor, puts you in holiday mood before you've even sat down.

The ambience is laid-back, too.

At slack moments, the staff shoot the breeze around the ocakbasi, and service comes with an ear-to-ear grin.

All you have to do is sit back, sink an Efes Pilsener and peruse the encyclopedic menu.

Prices are low and portions enormous.

Baskets of fresh bread are endlessly replenished and there's a vast range of tempting mezeler (starters).

The 25 options include simple houmous and dolma; imam bayildi, aubergines rich with onion, tomato and green pepper; thin lahmacun, meaty Turkish pizza; and karisik meze, a large plate of mixed dishes that's rather heavy on the yogurt.

The main dishes (kebablar) themselves are sumptuous, big on lamb and chicken, but with limited fish and vegetarian alternatives.

The patlican kebab is outstanding - melt-in-the-mouth grilled minced lamb with sliced aubergines, served with a green salad, of which the star turn is an olive-stuffed tomato shaped like a basket.

The kebabs are also superb, particularly the house special, ezmeli kebab, which comes doused in Mangal's special sauce.

On rare occasions the grilled quails listed on the menu are actually available, and are a 'must have' item.

They are very good indeed.

After that you might just be tempted by a slab of toothachingly sweet baklava.

Alternatively, round off the evening with a punch-packing raki.

Mangal Ocakbasi Ii
Stoke Newington Road, London, N16 7XN