Zara

Great little place in Hampstead Heath. Stopped by after a walk for a quick bite. Got a wrap which was pretty good. My gf got a fresh lamb dish that just came out of oven and was delicious. Prices ok. Servers friendly. Would come back to try something else for a dinner.

You know, I have walked by this place at least 50 times in the past. Every time I said to myself, SOMEDAY I’ll go in here. For the longest time, I just never had the opportunity because usually when I walk by, I am just not hungry.
Finally, that SOMEDAY happened! And I am so glad it did!
I came here a bit after 1 pm and I asked the server whether the lamb shank or the Mousakka is a better choice. I always liked mousakka so I knew it would be a safe pick, but the server recommended the lamb as it’s just fresh out of the oven so I agreed.
The lamb was so tender it fell right off the bone. The sauce was excellent and everything was super tasty. The portion was big so my boyfriend and I shared the lamb shank and felt it was quite sufficient for the 2 of us. Definitely recommended!

2.5
1 for the lovely staff.
1 for the location.
0.5 for the lemon slices they gave me to give the food some flavour.
Yes, really. Even the humus lacked garlic.
Nope! Not going back.

A serviceable neighborhood Turkish restaurant.
Not a destination place and there is much better Turkish food in London.
But for «nearby» and comforting — perfectly nice.

Popped into Zara for lunch. Nice, casual place. Good location to watch the buses rotate on Pond Street.
Food all pretty basic. We had the mixed mezze which was ok, not bad value for £8 (the large version is £10). Chicken Shish and Iskender to follow. Again not bad.
Ordered a fresh mint tea — expecting a pot and cup. Got a glass.
Overall, just nothing special. The wife, who’s French, quite likes it, which I found a bit odd.

Quite mediocre for the price. I had the lamb shish (£12), partner had the mixed grill (£15) and it was very basic. Salad was just chopped iceberg lettuce and red cabbage — covered in what we think was burger sauce! There are many better (and cheaper) Turkish restaurants in London

Zara has a reasonably priced lunch special: £10 for a salad, main and some bread. The food was delicious but only if you’re a fan of lamb. Lamb seems to always be used for lunch special.
The atmosphere is very intimate. A large group would definitely not go unnoticed, or unheard. But the décor is pretty and a nice place to take a date. If they like lamb.

I guess it is a really good Turkish restaurant. I recommend the Vegetarian Mussakah and their equivalent to the halumi cheese, which I don’t recall the name.

Zara is a lovely Turkish restaurant near Hampstead over line station. The interior is quite casual but all the same quite beautiful. They have padded benches running along the walls so there’s plenty of room to spread out. There’s lots of Turkish styled lamps, which i love as well as other Turkish paraphernalia. They also play some traditional Turkish music in keeping with the atmosphere of the place and the staff that served us were Turkish too making it easy to believe you’ve been transported to a little Turkish village local.
The food is pretty simple with the standard salad and rice accompaniment which could do with being jazzed up with a bit of flavour but even though it’s simple food it is still tasty. Their home made hummus is lovely and their shish kebab wasn’t bad either-​far from the stereotypical greasy take-​away kebab. When i was here last i tried their lamb and aubergine and the lamb was cooked beautifully but for the veggies out there they do offer a wide range of vegetarian dishes.
They also serve wines, beers and spirits as well as soft drink-​coffees etc. The prices were good; roughly 4 pounds for a starter and 7 to 9 quid for a main which i think is fair for the quality of the food.
The service here was great with very friendly and efficient staff who were quick to order and very attentive.