Islington kebab house Liman skewers rivals to be named London’s best restaurant on TripAdvisor

A snug kebab house on a side road in Angel is the latest hidden gem to beat London’s Michelin-starred venues by being crowned the capital’s best restaurant on TripAdvisor.

Liman Restaurant, which sells shish kebabs from £9.80, is currently ranked higher than sites such as the Ritz, Barrafina and Pétrus on the travel website.

Located behind Islington’s fortress-like police HQ in Penton Road, it was only opened by Kurdish couple Niyazi and Berivan Tezik, both 33, in June but has won hundreds of five-star reviews.

Mrs Tezik is a pastry chef and Mr Tezik has worked at the Royal Albert Hall and Turkish restaurant Sofra in Mayfair. Mrs Tezik, who moved with her husband from her home in Turkey seven years ago, said he was the “secret to their success”.

She added: “It has been a lot more responsibility because of TripAdvisor but we love it.”

Liman is managed by their friend Murat Bicmli, 37, and his wife Joelma Bicmli, 36, who works front of house.

Mr Bicmli said: “It’s a lot of pressure — we explain to people that we are not fine-dining, we are not five-star but people search the best restaurant in London and book us without checking anything.

Finest dining in the capital

1. Liman Restaurant, Angel

2. The Golden Chippy, Greenwich

3. Bar 61 Restaurant, Streatham

4. Tangia, Tooting

5. The Five Fields, Chelsea

6. Zeret Kitchen, Camberwell

7. Holy Smoke, Wimbledon

8. The Clink Restaurant, HMP Brixton

9. Gastronhome, Battersea

10. The Ledbury, Notting Hill

"We can have a hard time with some guests, but it’s good because we have regulars as well — it’s split about half-and-half. We’ve had guests from around the world.

“We call them guests not customers. The moment you call them customers you expect something from them — this is our house and they are our guests. This is very important. Our main duty is to make sure people are happy.”

The menu is mostly Turkish and Middle Eastern fare, with prices starting at £3.90 for a lentil soup. The most expensive dish at £15.50 is the karisik izgara, an array of kebabs, ribs and lamb chops.

Liman took the top slot from The Golden Chippy in Greenwich High Road, which is now at number two out of London’s 17,680 restaurants.

Where are they now? some of travel website’s past top tips

Trattoria Raffaele, Sydenham

Ranked No 1 in February 2016 (now #110)

Raffaele Giannandrea, 45, said he had taken on extra staff to cope with the surge in customers: “It’s been crazy. People out of the area want a table and have to keep trying. We had one man trying to book a table for eight months. He lives in Fulham. Eventually when he came down we gave him the meal on the house.”

Meze Mangal, Lewisham

Ranked No 1 in August 2012 (now #1,422)

Co-owner Sahin Gok, 48, said he had expanded into the shop next door and raised the cover from 45 to 120. “We had to close for refurbishment for four months. We’ve got a lot more staff. We still get in the regular customers. We are quite happy with what we have. It’s still hard work but it’s always busy.”

New London Café, Highbury

Ranked No 1 in July 2015 (now #518)

Owners Ilker Bafra and his Ines Gutierrez got married and moved to Spain. The restaurant is still called the New London Café. Onur Dogan, 27, took it over five months ago with his wife. He said: “We kept it as they did as it was so successful.”

Venue may not be the Ritz but it has speciality all wrapped up

When I think of kebabs I think of sweaty grey meat being hacked off a rotisserie at some time after 2am. But Liman Restaurant could not be further from your typical shish cliché.

Nestled in a backstreet five minutes from Angel station, it has a snug atmosphere with candles and fresh flowers. Free warm bread and hummus was quickly placed on our table.

I tried Mediterranean starters including mixed meze (£5.50), feta cheese pastry (£4.80), grilled Turkish sausage (£5), aubergines (£5) and courgette fritters (£5.90). For the main I went for the £15.50 karisik izgara, the mixed grill. You get your money’s worth — the Adana kebab oozed with flavour. To finish I had a sarma baklava (£4.50), sheets of filo pastry filled with cream and nuts.

It’s no wonder the place is crammed. It may not be the Ritz but I ate the best kebab I have ever tasted.

Sophia Sleigh