Indulge in delicious Turkish food in London at Skewd Kitchen

skewd kitchen

It takes a lot to convince us to venture beyond the safety of where our monthly travel passes will take us (that’s zone 1 and 2 for those of you who don’t know us). Skewd Kitchen has done it though, and will probably do it again.

We were invited in to try their new lunch menu, and they really wanted us to sample it. All in all, we think we probably ate around fifteen dishes, so we can safely say we can give you a pretty good rundown of their plates, new and old.

As soon as we sat down we were greeted with a glass of sparkling and a smorgasbord of heavenly homemade dips, olives and other accompaniments. The accompanying pide was filled with a gas that inflated it so it came out looking like a balloon and was a real winner for us, incredibly dense and soft, making the perfect base for the antipasto. Our pick of the dips would have to be the beetroot tarator, made with oven-roasted beetroot, hung yoghurt, garlic, olive oil and topped with crushed walnuts.

Next up came some more nibble food in the form of mini lahmacun and grilled halloumi. Lahmacun are round flatbreads topped with minced lamb, tomatoes, garlic and bell peppers and are served with pickled onions to top, then folded in half and eaten like a little taco. We don’t need to tell you what grilled halloumi tastes like because everyone and their dog is about that life these days (and rightly so), but what we do need to tell you is that you should order it. No questions asked.

Moving onto heftier dishes, we chowed through tender chicken grilled on skewers, a refreshing salad of chopped tomatoes, croutons and pomegranate seeds and a stuffed pepper. Don’t ask us why, but chargrilled lettuce is just such a winner. A deceptively simple dish, when topped with the right ingredients it can be an incredibly flavoursome meal that’s as good for you as it is filling. Skewd Kitchen serve a chargrilled baby gem with haydari, mixed nuts and spices.

  • grilled chicken at skewd kitchen
  • grilled baby gem lettuce at skewd kitchen
  • grilled watermelon at skewd kitchen
  • skewd kitchen
  • octopus at skewd kitchen

Grilled watermelon with feta also came out, which was super interesting with the fresh and sweet flavours of the watermelon balanced out with salty balsamic and feta and earthy greens. To finish the grilled dishes, a large octopus tentacle came out, perfectly cooked with a hint of charcoal and served with sweet and juicy Mediterranean salsa.

Now, the next three dishes we’re going to talk about will CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE. If you’re out in Cockfosters and you don’t go to Skewd and order these, you’re a fool and are only punishing yourself. First up is the lamb shish. So perfectly cooked we literally couldn’t stop eating it even though we were busting at the seams by this point, the smokey flavours of the British woodlands coal and the richness of the meat came together to create an amazing dish.

  • lamb at skewd kitchen
  • skewd kitchen
  • charcoal ice-cream at skewd kitchen

Islak burgers are a Turkish street food, and we were told this is like the go-to bite you grab when you’re on your way home from a night out and want to stuff your face with something. We described it as sort of like a cheeseburger covered in pasta sauce, and everyone on our table agreed so it can’t be too far off. We don’t know why it works, but it does, and the richness of the sauce combined with the softness of the bun and the satisfaction of a burger patty and melted cheese had us eating everyone else’s leftovers.

We weren’t sure if we were going to make it to dessert or were just going to die in a euphoric food coma first, but we somehow got there. There are no words for this dessert. All other desserts pale in comparison to the kunefe. Made from flakey kataifi pastry and filled with four (FOUR) different kinds of cheeses (secret cheeses that nobody would reveal to us), it’s then fried and soaked in maple syrup. This results in a crunchy and crispy outer that’s sweet and syrupy, with every bite revealing a melted gooey cheesy interior. If we could have these every day for the rest of our lives we’d be two very happy gals.

skewd kitchen
The best dessert on this planet

Located out at Cockfosters, or the end of the Piccadilly line, this Turkish restaurant is well worth the trek. Regardless of the incredible food, the staff are incredibly passionate and friendly, and the restaurant space is welcoming and modern. Top that off with prices that are almost as awe-inducing as the food and you’ve got yourself a winner.

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