[...]

«1

Comments

  • KazKaz
    edited 9:12PM
    Only been once and really enjoyed it. Good food, not too pricey, decent portions and good Turkish wine.

    With regards to window seats being booked, having worked in restaurants, unfortunately a lot of people book tables and then don't turn up rather than cancelling so these situations can arise. Weird if none of the seats got taken though.
  • edited 9:12PM
    What the devil are you talking about, gardener-joe? Petek rocks. Best food and friendliest service on the SGR. Do you work for Yemek (or should that be Yamek?) by any chance?
  • IanIan
    edited 9:12PM
    Petek: The food is excellent and well priced and the owner is a great man. The service is eccentric at times but it's a great value restaurant with a great atmosphere. Unless you did go to somewhere called Patek, in which case I have no idea.
  • edited 9:12PM
    Joe, what do you mean by "homemade food" talking about restaurant? Bread or what?
  • edited 9:12PM
    Petek's a favourite and this description doesn't sound like the place I've been to many times. Has someone set up a counterfeit version (with nearly the same name?)
  • edited 9:12PM
    I've only had good experiences at Petek. The Iskenderun kebab is about as good as food can get. My only complaint is that it often seems to be quite cold in there, even in summer.
  • edited 9:12PM
    I'm surprised by this too. I go a couple of times a month and it is always a delight. My favourite restaurant in the area (with Dotori a close second)
  • edited 9:12PM
    I have to agree with Joe - I'm not a big fan of Petek.

    By all accounts the meat is good, and it's really friendly, but I find the veggie things are not as good as in many other places nearby. The most standard things are not as nice, with a limited meze menu, and there are too many combinations of strange things in salads. I prefer Gem at Highbury Corner, Yemek on Blackstock Road, and the many places on Green Lanes/in Hackney. They could do with a menu overhaul for the veggie stuff definitely - add some bean mezze, change the veggie main courses etc.

    The Mexican is really not very good - you could make the same thing better yourself at home. Or get on a tube to Benito's hat in Goodge St, or Chilango at Angel.
  • edited 9:12PM
    Perhaps it's just people called Jo/Joe that don't like it?
  • edited 9:12PM
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • R&JR&J
    edited 9:12PM
    Been in there once and doubt I'd rush back. Food is ok but had better. The service was very quick, almost to the point that they wanted us out of there.
  • edited 9:12PM
    Its possible to have a bad experience in a good restaurant. If its your first visit then you don't go back, if you've been before and had a good experience then you just put it down to an off day. Repeat business signals success to me, and you don't double the size of your restaurant by selling shit food. Petek doubled in size due to its amazing success. My experience is that they have a very simple formula which works well. You will get very good charcoal grilled meat and fish and you don't pay too much...not sure about the veg as thats not why i go! Whenever i go the guy ALWAYS has a knack of finding or making a table for me which i think is brilliant (how many places have you gone to where someone who doesn't care says "urh, sorry, we're full" and you go away disappointed...never happened to me at Petek). As an aside, i visited Beirut City last Friday. Their chicken is the best i've ever tasted. The owner is quite proud of his secret marinade...and so he should be...its fantastic.
  • edited 9:12PM
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • edited 9:12PM
    @ Misscara. Ha ha.....the famous "Special". I'm glad i'm not the only one that never had any clue about what was on offer. He could be saying grilled dog with a side of poached snake guts and everyone would look at each other round the table and say "hmm, sounds lovely...i'll have the chicken shish please".
  • edited 9:12PM
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • edited 9:12PM
    I've never understood what the specials are either! But I like my Stroud Green dining experiences to be a little bit quirky, it's part of the charm. Otherwise we would be overrun with Zizzi and Strada and the like. And I've always thought the food is great in Petek.
  • edited 9:12PM
    I love Petek, never had a bad experience myself but i wouldnt recommend the meze sharer thing as its not that much food for the price which is surprising as even their starters are so reasonable and giant. I went on a date there once and they were very lovely and recommended a lovely bottle of turkish wine when we got a bit stuck choosing.
    its a shame you had a bad experience but dont let it put you off!

    My flatmate and I went to Mexicali on wednesday evening and its AMAZING!
    we had a portion of nachos to start and ended up scraping the plate. The cheese was really melty and they were very generous with the classic toppings, only thing missing was the jalepenos.
    For the mains my flatmate had a veggie chimi changa which I tried and was incredibly tasty, full of authentic spices and the portion was very generous with a side of refried beans and spicy rice.
    I went for the chicken and shrimp with spicy rice, equally good!
    The waitress was very nice (not to mention absolutely gorgeous!), helpful and smiley. We asked her to shut the door as were sitting quite close to it and it was rather chilly and she obliged with no fuss.
    great atmosphere despite the fact that the music was a shakira album on repeat but the decor is lovely if a bit kitsch.
    Definitely recommend it!
  • edited 9:12PM
    I do find the chat about restaurants strange.Mrs. TB is from California and we both agree that Mexicali is an abomination, not even TexMex. Anybody who serves baked beans instead of refried beans should be sued under the trades descriptions act. On the other hand, if you want a top magaritta, ask John at Petaks, it may blow your socks off. Chilango's in Upper Street is good and the Amigo's take away service ain't bad. Huge portions.
  • edited 9:12PM
    __Petek's__ is always reliable - good food and friendly staff/service - but maybe not for vegetarians (I wouldn't know as I favour the other side)? __Mexicali__ is really only a poor imitation of Tex-Mex food and their chimichangas are not even close to their own menu description. Funny enough, Sainsburys used to do a reasonable chicken chimichanga as a baked ready meal about 20 years ago - they were yum....
  • edited July 2011
    I was with Taff Bach when he ordered a chimichanga in Mexicali and I can honestly say I have never seen anyone so grimly disappointed with what arrived. In fact, he virtually refused to eat which must surely be a first for Mr Bach. *Thunderclouds*

    Apparently the wrap should be hard (it was soggy) and the beans weren't refried, but mushy like baked beans.

    Me, what I know about Mexican food can be written on a centimetre of tacos shell. Those fancy dishes all seem the same to me, just soggy pancakes filled with mush, chicken, sour cream and salsa - I can say my fajitas was delicious and went down a treat. Beans is beans.

    I think the moral is, do not go to Mexicali with someone who knows about Mexican food - apparently it's rubbish.

    Probably all right for kids and the ignorant though.
  • IanIan
    edited 9:12PM
    I have held back from commenting on Mexicali as they did such a good job of launching and everyone wanted them to do well, but my experience mirrors others above. I don't know, but I would guess that they don't make stuff fresh on-site but bring it in as ready meals and heat it up. I'd like to have a look at the kitchen to be proved wrong. As Taff Bach says, the refried beans were not good and the wrap was soggy, and there was no taste to the filling. So, unfortunately, we went once and have never been back. Such a shame as even a half decent effort would be a really good change, it's just not very good.
  • edited 9:12PM
    Fans of fish should definitely go for the special at Petek. I've seen John, or Mr Petek as I like to think of him, stocking up at France Fresh Fish. The swordfish is particularly good, and beats the more expensive (and smaller) version at Banner's hands down.
  • edited July 2011
    Mexicala is a cheezy chain store. What do you expect?

    The food at Petek is good and the service too (generally). However, every time I've had to deal with the 40 year old dyed blonde waitress there, it's not been so good. Despite our cheerful attitude she just scowls and is probably the most unfriendly waitress on SGR. She really needs to go. I've worked as a waiter but if I felt the way she does I'd move on, as I did. She's not cut out to be a waitress!
  • edited December 2017
  • KazKaz
    edited 9:12PM
    Was in there last night, had a really nice meal! I had the mixed shish, recommended.
  • edited 9:12PM
    Another fan of Petek. Lovely fish. Huge veggie portions. Best of all, I've never had to wait more than 10 minutes for takeaway.

    Haven't been to Mexicali, but it looks absolutely horrendous from the outside. It's not a Mexican restaurant. Not even Tex-Mex.It's a Tex-Mex-themed restaurant. Ew.
  • edited 9:12PM
    Reality check. Can anyone reassure me that, for example, La Porchetta isn't really just an Italian pizza-themed restaurant or that the Exotic of India isn't, in fact, just an Indian-themed restaurant. Come on guys, this is London, not Acapulco, Naples or Mumbai - the food's nothing like the 'real' thing - what do you expect?
  • edited 9:12PM
    krappy makes an excellent point. What restaurant, on SGR or elsewhere, does not adapt its culinary product for a Western or specifically British clientele? I am reminded of the several local Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants, of which Addis Ababa on Seven Sisters is my favourite. They seem terribly exotic to me, yet when I took an Eritrean friend they were rather sniffy concerning the compromises made to attract the likes of me.
  • AliAli
    edited 9:12PM
    well La P does do the best Pizza on SGR by far !
  • edited 9:12PM
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
Sign In or Register to comment.