Oklava

I first discovered Oklava after reading a review by the marvellous Grace Dent and decided I needed to go immediately, and visited last year.
Oklava is sit nicely on the corner of Luke street and would easily be missed. In side the dinner area is not very big. The kitchen is open and over looks the seating area which adds space to the restaurant. The layout is an array of seating, from traditional table and chairs, bar type eating and raised seating for two. On my first visit we were seated by the window on chairs that offer no support for the lower back resulting in the news for one to tap into those core muscles that you’ve paid through the nose to activate in a trendy Pilates class! However, due to the chairs being raised one benefits from a sense of the space being much bigger than it is. I had not realised this until my second visit where we were sat by the door and next to a table of four very excited Shoredich types. Between the constant draft from the door being left open and the constant chatter one could also most forget this was the same restaurant. Thankfully what was the same was the food. A visit to Oklava is starts with bread and butter but not any old butter but date butter which is so tasty and moreish that I was starting to regret inviting my friend. The menu offers a good variety of fare from light bites such as Turkish sausage to more hearty meals such as the classic Lahmacum poshed up for us Brits. My only criticism is the price of the wine which is very tasty but can cause a serious dent in your wallet.
Oklava is somewhere I will definitely be going back to again and again

Wow I really am so happy I found this gem! Me and a friend were walking around and ran into this place randomly. It sits in a quiet corner in Shoreditch and is a sweet spot.
We were able to be seated at the bar area which was absolutely fine with us! I ordered some Turkish wine and my friend had an efes. We then were served brews with date butter which was out of this world — cinnamon & delicious!
We ordered a nibble of apricot, whipped feta topped with mint which was just a perfect way to start the meal. And I love love cauliflower so ordered this charred cauliflower dish covered with a flavourful sauce that was perfect for me. My friend loved it less so but hey if you like cauliflower I think you will like this dish. We finished with the chicken pide which is pretty much chicken in a pastry baked in an oven like a pizza which was to die for.
Service was good and people are nice so yes we are coming back :)

We started on the complimentary bread and medjool date butter which was delicious. These are also available in Selfridges.
chilli roast cauliflower, red onion, parsley & pistachio £7.00 — wow, if cauliflower was served like this each time, I would eat it all day long. It was such a picture with a strong toasted red with jewels of pistachio scattered around and crowned off with shavings of red onion. Just for a moment I had a crazy vivid childish imagination of these cauliflowers coming to life, growing legs and started invading the restaurant. Madness! But, back to reality it had such a nice nutty combination from both the roasted cauliflower and pistachio. A gentle kick of chilli at the end, it was proper comfort food.
braised octopus, ricotta, green olives, honey, pickled caper shoots and thyme £14.00 — individually the ingredients were brilliant — meaty octopus (not chewy), tangy pickled caper shoots and thyme, sweet honey, crispy thin bread — and they all came together in a mouthful of flavours. Served up with fresh salad, I enjoyed it very much. The ricotta, I carefully avoided.
charcoal grilled prawns, fennel seed, chilli and garlic £12.00 — nice big prawns but I did think that for four of them it was a little dear.
crispy pomegranate glazed lamb breast and yoghurt £9.50 — this dish was the star. Crispy on the outside but succulent and moist with a subtle lamb flavour, flavoured with the pomegranate glaze which was slightly sweet and bitter. There were only four small cubes of the lamb and I took my own time to savour this dish very slowly, hoping to prolong the taste.
pistashio sponge, caramelised white chocolate, barbecued quince, and crispy filo £7.50 — dessert was a little hit and miss for me. I thought certain elements were lovely like the barbecued quince; beautifully soft and pulpy with the savoury smokiness from the barbecue, and the pistachio sponge was light and not terribly sweet.
The presentation and style of the food were very sophisticated and portions of food were on the small side. We were advised to order a starter each and two more dishes per person for a proper meal. The dishes were served as and when it was ready so the distinction of starter and main dishes makes one wonder what was that all about. It could have been explained in much simpler words, three dishes per person.
What I did not mention earlier here was that Oklava serves very interesting Turkish wines. I had the opportunity to taste them at a wine event before and was impressed by these New World wines. My favourite was the Turkish sparkling wine at £60.00 bottle. I was tempted.
I just wondered if there was any restaurant that I had returned for a second meal in the last 12 months. Not to my godawful memory, but I certainly and must make it back to Oklava again.

I came here for a weekend lunch with two friends after booking many months ago, before the buzz really hit the press. They had a brunch available, and nearly everyone around us was having it, but the cold food looked rather disappointing to me and I pushed the group decision toward the many rich and savoury plates that Oklava is known for. They recommend 2 – 3 plates per person, and to start we got the baharat bread and medjool date butter and the courgette, feta and mint fritters. The date butter is apparently sold in Selfridge’s, a neat accomplishment for a newly opened restaurant. It was silky smooth with just the right amount of sweetness, really embodying everything I love about whipped butter. I also loved the fritters, especially the mint that did a great job cutting through the oiliness.
From the vegetables we had the pearl barley and the baked lamb fat potatoes. The barley was like a salad, the type you would find at Ottolenghi’s, and the potatoes, with a duck egg on top, was one of the most beautiful in terms of presentation. We ordered the classic lahmacun flatbread, which is with minced lamb on top, and it’s razor thin but the size of a pizza and served with a light salad. We were told that the lahmacun was the most popular, but I thought it was rather lacking in flavour and next time I would go for the octopus or the short rib, which were the original ones that caught my eye.
From the meat section, we ordered the lamb breast and the chilli-​garlic chicken. These were the standouts, and of that, it was definitely the chicken with its perfectly crumbed exterior. The only thing I would say about the chicken was that it was unfortunate that it came on the bone, as that was a surprise and a bit of a challenge to deal with. And for dessert, we indulged in the chocolate with blood orange cream and the yoghurt & honey parfait with pear granite. Both were amazing and personally I preferred the pear granite with its strong fruity flavours, but my friend loved the chocolate, which was an extremely rich, dark, and fairly bitter chocolate.
I loved the entire dining experience and I would not be surprised to see this become one of London’s hottest restaurants. The majority of the bar seating near the kitchen and by the windows remained empty throughout our entire meal, so for now, I can’t imagine it would be difficult to get a booking. The restaurant has huge windows that really take advantage of its corner location, reminding me of the ones at Granger & Co in Clerkenwell, and the tables are fairly well spaced, so it’s a very serene, relaxed dining experience. We must have sat there for over two hours and did not feel rushed in the least. I think we did a pretty extensive job sampling the menu but I would be more than happy to come again!