Neil Littman visits a unique Turkish venue in Enfield Highway recently rated among the top four restaurants in London

Until recently I had three ways to discover places to eat; my local knowledge of Enfield where I have lived for over eleven years, recommendations and tip-offs from friends and readers, and Googling search terms such as ‘new restaurants in Enfield’ (which was how I found the extraordinary Shere Khan restaurant).

This time, however, a fourth solution presented itself – a full-page review in The Guardian! The author of the piece showered praise on Neco Tantuni in Enfield Highway. Transforming what was a former greasy spoon café, the Turkish venue incredibly won fourth place in Vittles’ list of London’s top restaurants.

Located in Brick Lane just off Hertford Road, Neco Tantuni still looks like a café from the outside and gives little away about what’s happening inside. The name is part of their story; ‘Neco’ means ‘everlasting’ and ‘Tantuni’ is a popular Turkish street food, originating from Mersin on the southern coast and consisting of finely-diced beef, chicken or lamb, stir-fried with sumac and other spices cooked slowly on a massive pan. It is served wrapped in lavash bread with fresh tomatoes, onions, parsley and sumac, with a squeeze of lemon or served with yogurt. Presentation is simple but delivers a great burst of flavour.

Arriving on a cold, wet winter evening and unable to get hold of my regular dining companion who had the flu, I entered the packed dining area, which has about 20 seats. I thought it might mean getting a takeaway, but they found me a seat on the end of a table for six occupied by four other very enthusiastic diners. Curiosity got the better of me and I asked them if they had eaten there before, and they said they had also read the article in the weekend press.

Neco’s short menu is printed on just one side of a laminated card with a dozen dishes including various tantuni (a type of meat wrap) plus their signature dessert, kunefe (made with spun pastry dough and syrup). There is not a kebab in sight!

The one vegan option – printed on a separate card stuck on the wall – is ciğ köfte, a popular Turkish/Armenian spicy dish made with fine bulgur, tomato/pepper paste, and spices, wrapped in lettuce with lemon and herbs. I was offered a sample taste of this dish, which had a rich, spicy and tangy flavour from ingredients like Urfa pepper, cumin and pomegranate molasses.

There was a hive of activity at the serving counter, where all the preparation and cooking with oil and spices takes place using an enormous special convex iron hotplate. I ordered a chicken tantuni, but a complimentary plate of pickled vegetables and chillies arrived first, which were sharp and crunchy and hot. So hot, in fact, I ordered a glass of their ayran yoghurt drink to cool myself down, and then a second!

The tantuni arrived 15 minutes later and tasted juicy, savoury, slightly spicy, and tangy all in one mouthful, as well as filling. I wasn’t really prepared for this, as the dish itself looks like any other wrap, but the flavours are a great combination and demonstrate that appearances are not everything.

I rarely order desserts as they are often bought in, but at Neco I ordered their kunefe which is prepared in front of customers on a smaller version of the hot plate used for the savoury dishes. Kunefe is made with kataifi shredded pastry used in Middle Eastern desserts. There was some kind of soft cheese in the base, which was doused in syrup. This is served with ice cream or cream and was heaven on a plate. Complimentary Turkish tea was served at the end of the meal.

The tantuni deserves praise for offering something different and introducing another facet of Turkish cuisine to Enfield. I also wish to thank my fellow diners from Potters House Church, who were on my table and treated me to my meal!

Neco Tantuni is family-friendly and good value, costing around £15 per person, but is cash only. It is unlicenced but does offer takeaways. It opens every day, 2pm-12am.

Do you have any suggestions for restaurants in Enfield to review or feedback on the places Neil has already reviewed? He would love to hear from Dispatchreaders:
Email [email protected]

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