Mangal 2 Restaurant

Mangal 2

After working as a young and aspiring chef in Istanbul, Ali Dirik moved to London in 1987.

Within 4 years and together with a business partner, he opened the first Mangal Ocakbasi on the back streets of Dalston.

The innovative 'ocakbasi' restaurant, with its charcoal cooking method was the first of its kind in London and soon gained a cult following, with numerous press reviews and awards.

By 1997, Ali opened Mangal Ocakbasi 2 and later ended his involvement with the first Mangal Ocakbasi.

Embedding the successful menu with plenty of new additions, and a larger seating capacity, Mangal 2 became a local favourite.

http://www.mangal2.com

Reviews and related sites

Posh No More: Fanny's Kebabs Makes Branding U-Turn After Being ...

Review analysis
location   staff   food   menu  

Firstly, the crowdfunded soon-to-open restaurant elected to include in its logo, beneath the name Fanny’s, a tagline, which was also its mission statement: Fanny’s kebabs are (or were) “posh kebabs.”

So much so, in a call with Eater London today, Claude Compton, one of the founders of Fanny’s, said that they will drop the word “posh” from the logo and will no longer be referring to the brand in those terms.

“Thank god some lads from Fulham are opening Fanny’s on the High St, home of some of the best Turkish food outside Turkey, to ‘reshape what people think a kebab is’.

Fanny’s is aiming to re-write, re-invent re-invigorate the London Kebab scene.”

But, when asked why he felt kebabs need to be “posh” and “healthy” — given it would be difficult to mount a serious argument that says, for example, a grilled chicken or lamb sis, is either unhealthy or whatever the opposite of posh is — Claude Compton told Eater London this morning that it was about “differentiation,” which is to say their “take” and their use of suppliers.

We Spoke to the Guy Behind the Dalston Kebab Shop with 25,000 ...

Review analysis
food  

To celebrate the release of Kings of Kebabs, our brand new show celebrating the dons of the British kebab scene, we revisit Mangal 2, the Tweeting Turkish grill restaurant that features in our inaugural episode.

It's part of the reason why the Twitter account of his family's Mangal 2 Turkish restaurant in East London is such a raving success.

Six out of seven, Dirik is behind the grill at Mangal 2 flipping adana kofte and lokma kebabs, splitting restaurant-running duties with his father Ali Dirik, who came to London from Istanbul in 1987 and bought the charcoal cooking method of ocakbasi with him.

"Our Twitter account was actually initially formed by my older sister, who's a psychologist," Dirik tells me.

Away from the politics and the Twitter spats, there's one burning question I've been dying to ask: Does Dirik really fuck Pringles tubes?

Cut the shish: London's favourite kebab-themed twitter @Mangal2 ...

Review analysis
food  

After public brawls with @TheDolphinPub and Nandos, we thought it only fair that Dalston’s cheekiest kebab shop @Mangal2 (who the UK Twitter director named his favourite account this year) got a chance to debunk seven vicious rumours.

You may glance inside, see a stern-faced man holding an iPhone and beating stick and assume we’re part of the Mafia.

Gilbert & George want to be your friends Gilbert & George are good-intentioned, dry-humoured, charismatic men.

Not cool, Australia, not cool.

For more kebab jokes follow @Mangal2.

How to behave in a kebab shop

Review analysis
food   location   value   menu   drinks   busyness  

Ferhat Tweeting about everything from how much he hates Nando’s to the political situation in Turkey, Ferhat has managed something very rare: to tweet as a business in a way that makes people like that business.

— Mangal 2 Restaurant (@Mangal2) April 22, 2015 Maybe a kebab restaurant should just shut up and tweet instagrams of its food but I feel obliged to say something when things like Paris happen.

I always want people to try the mixed kebab because it is has five different meats, people discover what they like by trying everything on it.

Then there’s the other side, which isn’t just Mangal 2, good establishments that want to make good food and to showcase what your cuisine and culture is about.

Well, this… pic.twitter.com/LiyOBb9NI7 — Mangal 2 Restaurant (@Mangal2) September 9, 2015 Not all Turkish places are drunken hotspots for kebabs obviously.

Twitter and Facebook masterclass - Mangal 2 and Wimpy Worthing ...

Review analysis
staff   food  

With the Twitter feed from the superb Stoke Newington/Dalston kebaberie Mangal 2 and the Worthing Wimpy you get a completely difefrent approach which in both instances is utterly addictive.

The Mangal 2 Twitter account is just superb – a total breath of fresh air.

Their deadly rivalry with Mangal 1 restaurant is just one of many reasons the Twitter feed has become a cult with nearly 9000 followers.

So here is their take on the game and album of the week And what they think of kids And it doesn’t get more welcoming than this And a warm welcome for North London’s most celebrated new Turkish/German arrival I know from personal experience that the food is as good as the Twitter account too.

It won ‘Wimpy of the year’ this year and if the food and service is anywhere near as good as the Facebook pages the guys certainly earned it.

Mangal 1.1: London kebab kings turn up the heat | Life and style ...

Review analysis
location   food   staff   ambience  

It’s an unlikely spot for a legendary restaurant, flanked by a dark alley, factory buildings and a cash and carry, but since opening 25 years ago, Mangal (translation: barbecue) 1’s consistent formula of fresh meat, bread and salads, has made the place a local institution.

Customers assume that Mangals 1 and 2 are sister restaurants; they regularly book tables and collect takeaway orders from the wrong Mangal.

According to Cuce, a few years after the Arcola Street Mangal opened to rave reviews, they needed to expand on their four tables so his father and Dirik senior, opened a second Mangal on Stoke Newington Road with more meze on the menu.

Eventually, Mangal 1 was able to stretch into the building next door and the two chefs parted ways, with Cuce’s father keeping 1, and Dirik keeping 2.

Whether all this is hammed-up friendly rivalry or they’re sworn enemies is moot, but Cuce’s point remains that Dirik’s satirical tweets are fuelling interest in both restaurants, as well as showing how the area has changed: Dalston has become hipster ground zero.

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