Rakkas

Rakkas just wins. The coffee is superb, the breakfasts are tasty and the interior décor is so mad it works. Who doesn’t like eating a hungover omelette in a cave?!
This is the ultimate breakfast experience. I’ve tried a lot of the menu here and what’s great if you’re not feeling adventurous there’s plenty of standard stuff here or if you want the Turkish experience you can go wild. Of the things I’ve tried I fell head over heels for the halloumi & olive omelette (with wedges & salad). Sujuklu Menemen was another award winner for me with that spicy Turkish sausage and scrambled eggs mingling in my mouth.
The full Turkish experience I mentioned 30 seconds ago is also known as the Wan Breakfast. Enough to feed you for the day, it comes with 3 types of cheese, honey, clotted cream, eggs, fresh cucumber & tomato, bread, tahini, tapenade, butter and more… (seriously there is more, I just can’t recall it all). Washed down with a cup of the good stuff (Turkish tea) you’ll be smiling inside & out.

I’m a big fan of the Turkish breakfast item called Menemen (tomatoes, scrambled eggs, peppers and onion) and they do this beautifully here. But that’s not the only thing that’s noteworthy about this place — I really enjoyed the Wan breakfast, which consists of various cheeses, spreads, sweet condiments, fried egg and plenty of warm pita bread.
In fact, my friend — with whom I came to this place — had originally come to this place because he saw on their menu that they serve this special breakfast and apparently it’s not easy to find it here in London. (He’s Turkish by origin and always on the lookout for things that remind him of home.)
Insider tips for eating the Wan breakfast:
— generously spread the white/​soft cheese (upper right bowl on my picture) on some pita bread and top it of with honey… heavenly!
— put a slice of the feta cheese (lower right bowl on my image) on a piece of bread and top it off with a slice of tomato;
— I liked to combine the olive mash (mid-​left bowl) with the crumbled cheese (upper left);
— dip your bread in tahini and pekmez and just enjoy;
Also, I highly recommend coming here with at least two people and then order one Wan breakfast and one Menemen… that, combined with loads of cups of tea, will leep you busy for a while!
Although, I haven’t tried their lunch or dinner menu, I trust that it’s equally good too.

I’d been wanting to find out what this restaurant/​bar/​shisha lounge was like to visit ever since it appeared earlier in the year, mostly as I was intrigued by the décor: the building has been done up to an impressive standard, with fresco-​style paintings on the wall, lots of wood cladding and a very grand-​looking sign. It’s all a tiny bit kitsch, but definitely in a good way.
On our visit this weekend, the staff were immediately inviting and friendly, quite happy for us to come in just for drinks and a snack if we wanted. As we’d come in late on a Friday night after dinner, we were mostly keen to try out the massive shisha garden at the back which really has to be seen to be believed! it feels a bit like stepping in to a grotto, with rock-​style cladding all around and a huge water feature at the end. The ‘shisha man’ soon came over and attended to our needsit has a late licence till 2am on weekend days, and plenty of people were clearly settled in for the evening, playing chess and enjoying a beer or two!
We decided to sample a bit of the food as well which was really tasty, fresh and excellent value for money. I’d recommend the Imam Bayaldi in particular! Slightly better vegetarian selection than other Turkish places I’ve visited too. There was live music all through the evening, which certainly added to the atmosphere!
All in all, a great experience.