Layers of thin filo pastry filled with sheep's milk feta and leeks, baked until golden and shatteringly crisp, then finished with a drizzle of truffle honey. The sweetness of the honey against the salty feta is what makes this version stand out from the standard borek you'll find elsewhere. Multiple food blogs call this out as a must-order from the meze section.
Tips from diners
Order this alongside the hummus and crisps as a meze spread for the table — the sharing format is how the restaurant is designed to work.
Hand-minced lamb loin shaped around a skewer and cooked over the mangal grill. The lamb has a good char on the outside and stays juicy within. Served with grilled flatbread, a simple salad, and a yoghurt sauce. This is the centrepiece of the mangal section and the dish that reviewers most frequently recommend from the grill.
Tips from diners
If you can't decide between grill options, the mixed grill for two at 58 pounds includes this alongside chicken and other cuts — better value than ordering individually.
Thin, crispy potato crisps dusted generously with baharat (a warm Middle Eastern spice blend) and sumac. Reviewers from London on the Inside call these out as the thing to order immediately while you read the menu. They arrive quickly and disappear faster. At around 5 pounds they're a cheap and moreish opener.
Tips from diners
Order these the second you sit down. They come out fast and keep you going while you decide on the meze spread.
Hummus baked until warm and creamy in a clay pot, then topped with slices of pastirma (air-dried cured beef similar to pastrami) and browned butter. The warm, savoury hummus with the salty cured meat is a combination that several reviewers call the best hummus they've had in London. Time Out's review highlighted the meze section as particularly strong.
Tips from diners
Scoop this up with the complimentary bread rather than ordering extra sides. The bread basket is generous and included.
Islak burger (literally 'wet burger') is a Turkish street food staple — a beef and lamb kofte patty in a soft bun that's been steamed in a garlic-laced tomato sauce until the bread absorbs the liquid. It's messy, savoury, and unlike any burger you'll find at a standard restaurant. At 14 pounds it's one of the more affordable main-course items.
Tips from diners
Don't expect a conventional burger. The bun is meant to be soft and soaked through — that's the whole point of an islak burger. Eat it with your hands.
A whole aubergine slow-cooked until silky and collapsing, stuffed with a mix of tomatoes, onions, and garlic. The name translates to 'the imam fainted' — supposedly because the dish was so good. This is a classic Turkish vegetarian dish done well here, and at 16 pounds it's a solid option for vegetarians looking for a substantial main course from the menu.
Tips from diners
This is one of the best vegetarian main options. Pair it with the borek and hummus for a full vegetarian meal from the meze and mains sections.
Opened in 2024 inside the Hyde London City hotel near Farringdon, Leydi is designed by chef Selin Kiazim, who previously ran the critically acclaimed Oklava in Shoreditch. Head chef Halil Simsek leads the kitchen. The concept is all-day Turkish dining inspired by Istanbul's neighbourhood restaurants — from breakfast through to mangal-grilled meats in the evening. The dining room, with its dusky-pink walls, gallery-style artwork, and shell-shaped seats, has drawn comparisons to a toned-down version of Sketch set in Istanbul.
The express lunch is 26 for two courses or 29 for three, Monday to Friday 12-3pm. It includes meze, a pide, grill option, and dessert. Best weekday lunch deal in the City.
Leydi Hour runs Monday to Friday 3-6pm with signature cocktails at 7 pounds each. The Sumac Cosmo is the one to try.
The Turkish brunch on Saturdays and Sundays (10am-3pm) is designed for sharing — menemen, sucuk with fried eggs, and house-made pastries. You can add bottomless prosecco.
The restaurant is inside the Hyde London City hotel but has its own entrance on Old Bailey / Holborn Viaduct. You don't need to walk through the hotel lobby. Farringdon and St Paul's stations are both a 5-minute walk.
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