Crystal

4 Reviews on “Crystal”

• Federica De Dominicis

  This place has been the last stop of many weekend’s night out, open till the wee hours with a large selection of dishes, I wasn’t stuck with just a doner. For years the quality has been quite high and the service fast and polite. Sadly it all changed months ago when a new set of waiters and probably a different management started to run the place. The quality has since dropped and there is no service whatsoever. Rudeness run the place now. The food is okaish but there are better options on Holloway. Go there only if everything else is closed.

  August 16, 2015, 1:19 am

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• Catarina Lourenço

  This turkish place is a frequent stop after going grocery shopping in Saturdays mornings. The price is quite good (the menu in this page is not the same anymore) and you have quite well made turkish food. I’ve tried the Dorma which is wrapped vine leaves with a filling of rice, onion and spices. Very good but I always end up eating their bread stuffed with filling like potato, spinach, ricotta, etc. They have a bit of variety. This dish is around 3 pounds which is great. The service sometimes is a bit chaotic and not very nice but if you catch them in a good mood they even let you change the fillings a bit and mix different ingredients.

  July 20, 2015, 4:35 pm

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• G. H.

  I am a regular customer at this cafe and have always enjoyed the quality of the food and the reasonable prices.However, On Saturday 31/1/2015, I found a sharp a metal nail in the pide I ordered. It was already in my mouth and I was lucky to have noticed it before chewing or swallowing, as this could have had serious medical consequences.No refund or compensation was offered. I had to PAY for this!!!I find this unacceptable and will never be going there again.

  May 1, 2015, 7:19 pm

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• Martin Newman

  The only way I can describe Crystal on the Holloway Road is as the assimilation of a Turkish kebab shop into an English workmen’s cafe – or visa versa.It provides cheap but sizeable meals from stews and pides to grills, served up on typical checked cafe tables with a cup of strong coffee.For about 6 you can have a slap-up meal and the food is very good. Cooked on charcoal the tender lamb grills, the adana kebabs and the iskenders are as good if not better than many more expensive restaurants. Try a plate of shredded lamb in yoghurt sauce with chips, salad and chilli – my favourite. And start with the paca soup, the best lamb soup I’ve tasted in London.The lahmacuns are also first rate, and although I’ve not eaten pide there it wouldn’t surprise me if they do that well too. All meals come with fresh salad and newly baked Turkish bread.Crystal is open quite late and has pretty steady traffic all day and a good buzzy atmosphere, with students from the uni down the road and plenty of local residents dining there. The staff too are polite and usually quick to serve the tables, despite having a healthy takeaway business as their main focus.Highly recommended.

  June 29, 2013, 5:58 am

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