Grand Bazaar

I came here after a quick search on Unilocal for a place in Central that I’ve never tried before and that would be satisfactory for me and the party of ladies I bought along. The reviews sounded good after a brief glance and so here goes:
The restaurant itself was located on a quiet street alongside other popular restaurants such as Ping Pong and La Tasca. Abit of research beforehand, told me that Grand Bazaar doesn’t have any other branches, meaning competition must be fierce in order for this small business to survive.
The restaurant front also looked tiny in comparison to the other establishments. So small in fact, that I had a little trouble locating it despite having done some google street map research previously. However once I found it, it was like entering Aladdin’s cave. The restaurant ceiling was adorned with cute little lanterns and lamps of all manner of shapes and sizes and the walls were filled with frames, mirrors and tiny alcoves forged from missing bricks in the wall. These gaps were filled with candles where some had melted with the wax dribbling down the wall. It was a nice effect. Unique. Very Grand Bazaar ;-)
I appeared to be the first customer in the restaurant (it was about 12:30 in the afternoon) and I settled down to decide my food before my company arrived. The menu choice was extensive but what caught my eye was the set menu which consisted of a starter and main for under £10! Thats an absolute bargain! I picked the garlic bread which arrived soon enough and it was massive! (I also saw that the table next to us ordered a massive bread that looked like a cushion which I now regret not trying! It looked hilariously massive!)
Soon after, the main food arrived, and mine was the 42 James Street Special which consisted of Chicken, cubes of lamb and minced lamb cooked over charcoal (basically a mix of everything for the indecisiveness in me). They could’ve done with some kind of sauce though but luckily the meats were superbly and succulently done and I wish the plate consisted of more meat. The chicken and lamb were gorgeous! Definitely one to try!
Also the restaurant slowly started to fill up but obviously not as much as one would expect on a half term weekend. Still, the quality is superb enough although the price for drinks were abit on the extortionate side.
I’d definitely come back here again.

Awesome good and was a great birthday dinner from my lovely wife. Love the food. Only downside it takes som time for me to get there. If you are at Selfridges you need to go as it is right there.

Nice atmosphere for casual dinner with friends.
Falafel wasn’t great.
Check and lamb skewers were great — definitely recommend.
The street has a good vibe as well — lots of restaurants and bars. (Right off Oxford St)

Menu seemed very diner-​esque. Salad had no real taste and did not seem fresh. Lamb burger not bad but no sauce. Disappointed…

It is a proper Turkish restaurant with its decoration, atmosphere, friendly staff and food. It’s located in a busy street but worth to visit this authentic restaurant. I ordered kofte but had tried lamb and chicken shish as well. They were all tasty. Not overpriced for the quality. Recommended!

Solid restaurant. It’s in a pretty busy location with a bunch of other restaurants nearby, so it’s easy to miss — but definitely worth the stop! The portion sizes are excellent. I ordered the vegetarian mezze and I’m stuffed! Ingredients are fresh and delicious. I also enjoyed the air bread. Others with me ordered the lamb kebabs, chicken kebabs, and fish kebabs. All were happy. Coffee and dessert was great as well.
I didn’t give this place 5 stars because service was a bit slow. Also, there were no substitutions allowed with the menu — which always makes me a little skeptical. But that being said, everyone was kind and attentive if you could get their attention. Also, the staff was friendly and didn’t rush us out the door when we were finished with our meal.
Nice atmosphere as well. Beautiful lamps hanging all over the ceiling.
Solid 4 stars.

Lovley little place in the city, ordered the lunch special with my friend and we were not diappointed! For £10 we had a starter and main.
The mixed grill plate was delicious, just make sure you’re clear whether you want fried or rice or they will just give you rice.
Also try the ‘balloon bread’ which comes with mint yoghurt, a great accompaniment to our meal.
Four stars because whilst the staff were friendly, it was only when I could get their attention. The place was not that busy when I went (4pm late lunch) and there is nothing more annoying to me to finally catch the eye of wait staff only to continue to be ignored.

Amazing atmosphere and food to match!
The staff is extremely friendly and attentive. Staff were very helpful in suggesting food ideas.
Would definitely come back here and in the future!

Very good Turkish food. Great atmosphere and city scene.

great turkish food at very resonable prices for Central London however buzzy atmosphere and no music so good if you are looking for just quick bite — The food was excellent and great value for money but nothing special overall!

From the moment they brought out the bread, I was happy! Very traditional Turkish bread, just as I remember it when I was there. Big and puffy!
We ordered a selection of foods all of which were so tasty and flavoursome! We ordered some Turkish wine (when in Rome) which complemented the food really nicely. The place was buzzing and full of people which is a testimony to the great food that they serve here.
Traditionally decorated, after a few glasses of the Turkish wine, I could be back there dining on local treats!
Would definitely be back here to taste more foods from their vast menu.

I LOVE Turkish cuisine, but I rarely get the opportunity to eat it. I’ve never been to a proper Turkish restaurant, so this place was kinda like Nirvana for me!
It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had, so it goes without saying that it was also the BEST Turkish cuisine I’ve ever tasted. The service was impeccable and the male host that evening gave us more bread (for FREE) when he saw we had a lot of dips left and no more mile high flat bread.
I loved every minute I was there stuffing my face and enjoying the colorful, eccentrically light ambiance.
A MUST try even if you need to take the tube for a couple of stops and change lines!

I love this little Turkish restaurant near St Christopher’s Place. I often come here for lunch because it’s very reasonably priced and the waiters are always very pleasant. I normally order the falafel to start, and the mixed grill as a main. Both are standard Turkish fair, nothing out of the ordinary, but priced at £8.50 you can’t go wrong. They also do a lovely inflated Turkish bread and some fresh chilli sauce which is absolutely delicious, especially if you like hot food. Sometimes we’ve been given a complementary baklava which is also delish. Well worth the money, just don’t expect haute quisine.

A great place! Very nice atmosphere, tasty food and really good service. Tip: Order balloon bread for starters.

I’ve been to this fantastic Turkish restaurant on St Christopher’s Place a few times now as the food is delicious and such good value!
I recently went with my friend and we shared the meze and it was amazing, though there was so much food we couldn’t finish it all unfortunately. We also shared a lovely bottle of red which was Turkish too and a lovely surprise!
Would definitely recommend this place particularly if you’re sat outside and watch the world go by.

Great vegetarian mezze platter. Friendly service. Plenty of seating.

It’s okay if you find yourself near Oxford Street and find you need something to eat.
Came in for a late dinner with my cousins after a day of drooling at Selfridges. I had the Albanian liver starter, which was really quite nice if you like liver. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it was the highlight of my meal. Really well cooked, tender, no gristle or stringy bits, and not oily at all.
For my main I had a minced lamb and cheese pide. It remained mostly untouched. A lot of the mince was was just plain fat.
That being said, the service was really lovely, I was given a hot tea at the end on the house, and I liked the slightly kitschy décor, but I don’t see myself returning at any point.

Turkish delight. Small restaurants are dime a dozen on this part of the street and none really stand out. Probably why there are greeters outside to lure in unsuspecting tourists who made a wrong turn off Oxford St.
Having said that, it was nice. We only popped in for a glass of wine and dessert. The décor is the first thing you notice — the lanterns (?) hanging from the ceiling make for a nice atmosphere, albeit annoying to walk through if you’re anywhere above 5’8″.
The baklava was outstanding, Really top notch and the waiter even gave us an extra piece so the fourth of our party could have his own. And despite having eaten a huge meal of fish and chips at the Golden Hind within an hour before, the food passing by had me bookmark the venue for the future.

I’m still here on holiday and just had dinner here tonight. My cousin and his wife took me here for an early birthday dinner and earlier in the day, my cousin’s wife asked me «are you shy?» I laughed and said «no, not really!»
I didn’t think too much of it, until it came time for the big surprise in the night as we finished dinner at Grand Bazaar. We enjoyed an awesome dinner with a bottle of red vino when all of a sudden, the lights in the restaurant dimmed, loud music blared and some waiters came out with dessert slices of a candle lit birthday cake. I was applauding because they walked toward the back of the room to bring it to a table. Then another waiter came out and brought out another to a table closer to ours. Then a third waiter came out and brought one for ME!
I was totally surprised, had no idea, but played along. The whole restaurant was cheering and clapping when all of a sudden, the waiter reached for my hand and told me to start dancing on the chair toward the center of the room. OMG, as I walked toward the chair, I gulped whatever was left in my wine glass, hopped on the chair and belly danced away. Dang that was a long song, but I didn’t care, I was having a great time!
In summary, this restaurant has probably one of the best Mediterranean/​Turkish meals I’ve had considering we had a tapas style sampler of so many dishes, not one I did not like. The service was good and the waiters were easy on the eyes. They also gave us a complimentary shot of a Turkish liquer… it was really good and went down smoothly… yum!
This was probably one of the better highlights of my trip and will not forget it anytime soon. If you’re traveling to London, I highly recommend you try going here for dinner then walk over to nearby Soho to walk off your meal and have more drinks before you call it a night.
The folks here certainly know how to have a good time, I’m loving London and will be a little sad when I head back home in a few more days. Cheers!

NOM NOM
I am greek and I love turkish food, because it’s pretty much what we eat too :)
We stumbled across the Grand Bazaar while looking for another place in the neighbourhood (we didn’t know where exactly the place was) and decided to stay for dinner.
Food was plentiful and lovely. I liked getting salad, rice and chips as sides to my shish (3 smaller portions of all three beat one large portion of just one of them!). The hummus was overpriced and not as good as I’d have wanted, but the pita, as @CarrotRabbit says, was indeed all puffed up and lovely. It’s funny when you tear into it and watch the hot air come out.
Service was quick and efficient, the place was packed with as many people and tables as humanly possible (do NOT go there with shopping bags, or you’ll end up sitting on them… if you can) and with the dozens of little lanterns hanging from the ceiling and tiles and old photographs on the walls, it really did make one think of the world famous Grand Bazaar. Makes me want to go to Constantinople just to see it for real instead of hearing stories…
In the meantime, its culinary representative in Marylebone is most definitely worth a visit!

Mmmm. Tasty. Although perhaps Turkish food is better in the UK than it is in the USA, so maybe this place doesn’t stand out as much to London’ers as it does to my American tastebuds.
Not exactly cheap either, but it was pretty tasty. We had five people and hence quite a spread, both entrees and appetizers, and everyone left satisfied.