Typically, after raving to people about Meze Mangal, I was recommended a Turkish restaurant which not only thought to be better, but even more local. Levante is a restaurant which also sells take away kebabs, and I’ve walked past it many a time without even looking twice, it’s so unassuming. I didn’t even realise you could sit down and eat in there until Ms D recommended it.

Levante has an even more cheap and cheerful decor than Meze Mangal, with bright lights and formica covered tables ruling the roost. There is also a big open grill in the restaurant, but I don’t recall seeing the wood burning oven, although as there are plenty of oven dishes on the menu, including the Turkish Pizza, there must be one somewhere.

The menu at Levante has plenty to choose from and had several fish dishes, which I found a little suprising, as well as the many grilled meats and oven baked Pide’s on offer. In addition, despite offering other, non-Turkish wines, I decided to stick with the traditional Efes beer, this time!

I ordered my new, favourite Turkish starter, the Lahmacun (spicy minced lamb pizza) to kick things off and it I wasn’t disappointed. The thin crispy base with a thin layer of spicy minced lamb, wrapped round some fresh & crunchy salad is a most enjoyable way to start a meal.

Mains consisted of a double order of Cop Sis kebabs (for me and Mr S; I ‘m not that greedy!), which are basically lamb shish kebabs, but with smaller cuts of meat. The lamb was quite tender, but I think I would have liked it to be a bit more so.

I think the food at Levante was probably of equal quality to Meze Mangal, but with a slightly more extensive menu. The service did taper off towards the end of the meal, with us having to wait quite a while to get a waiter’s attention so we could get the bill, but apart from that lapse, the serving staff were appropriately attentive. Despite neither restaurant having particularly welcoming decor, I think the slightly institution-ish bright lighting was a bit too much in Levante and with the pricing similar, there’s not much to choose between the two. Overall, though, I think I preferred Meze Mangal, as it was a bit more cosy and more fun to watch the oven chef making his Lahmacun’s, Pide’s & bread. However, now knowing I have somewhere which serves good kebabs close by, I’ll most definitely be stopping off at Levante on the way home at some point in the future, if not at the restaurant!