Dem Turkish Mezze Grill - London

We always enjoy our visits in that, both as couple and often as larger group. the welcome is always welcoming, the service is wonderful and the service warm and helpful.

Situated in a almost passable street in Crystal Palace, fronted by a humble restaurant sign, is this little Turkish restaurant. At least, it looks little from the outside. Walk in, and you 're presented with a rather large venue, with seating for many patrons. There is no maître d ' or equivalent to check our booking or offer us seating. It took a few minutes of trying get someone 's attention to even get noticed, another five minutes or so for a table to be setup, and once seated and given menus, it took over 15 minutes to order some drinks. I believe this service issue is an exception as it was Father 's day, and the restaurant was exceptionally busy, therefore the serving staff were stretched. I suspect a normal day would be better. I didn 't expect much at this stage, however, this venue turned out to be a hidden gem! Forget location, ambience or service. If your goal is to try some incredible Turkish food, this is the place to go! My mum and dad love Turkish food, and we 're no strangers to it. Although all Turkish restaurants tend to have a very similar menu, each has it 's own variation on their standard recipes. This is where Dem stands out from the crowd, the bread was seasoned with a unique blend of spices (I suspect paprika and celery salt?? , and similarly, the meats were seasoned and flavoursome. There won 't be enough bread served for the meze, so you will need to order more. Also, the salad and bread that gets delivered to the table when you sit down is all you 'll be given with your entire mains (which are served simply as meat and rice . So don 't over do it and finish these off before your mains arrive! I do recommend this restaurant for the food look forward to going there on a non-special occasion so that I may experience it in a fairer setting for the service staff.

Fantastic food. Great value. Can't wait to come again

I went with a friend and we ordered starters and a main, shortly after some complimentary snacks arrived, which was bread, dips, salad and onions, which is a lovely gesture but if we had known we would not have ordered starters as there was a lot of uneaten food which seems a waste. For mains I had a lamb skewer which was cooked perfectly and tasted delicious. My friend ordered the falafel as she is vegetarian, she said they were dry and the sauce it came with was not very nice either. She was not happy with the vegetarian selection. The service was very good though and we also got complimentary baklava's for dessert.

Dem must be the best Turkish restaurant in south east London.