Gallipoli, 102 Upper Street.

Now you can say what you like about Upper Street. Nouveau Gastro BoBo semi-skimmed chic it may be in parts, but there remain some very genuine spots, and this beautiful Turkish restaurant is one of them.

The service was friendly and my they work hard. The vegetarian meze that kicked off the meal were phenomenal. There were spicy tomato salsas laced with fresh coriander and walnuts, marinated aubergine and potato, fresh hot falafels, crisp pastry parcels bursting with feta and plenty of Turkish bread to dunk in the array of yoghurts topped with broad beans and good olive oil, homemade houmous, tzatziki and more.

After such a spread, I often find the main course quite bland, but perhaps that’s the idea. The thing is, the small bowls liberally dotted around the table (we were a big group) work so well as finger-dipping, reaching-over, pass-me-the-one-with-the-walnuts, social food, that when the mains come – juicy, well-cooked meat served with rice, salad, or maybe more yoghurt and tomato sauce – they’re bound to be a bit of an anticlimax. There were a lot of unfinished chunks of meat on people’s plates at the end - more a compliment to the starters than an insult to the mains.

Dessert was interesting, a bittersweet crème caramel wobbling between two apricots stuffed with cream and almonds, topped with pistachios. The centrepiece was forgettable but the apricots were fantastic. Just about room for a weak latte – didn’t try the Turkish coffee but I had a taste of the apple tea which tasted like hot sweetened apple juice but again, perhaps that's the point.

Now the bill. We had wine, and a set menu of three courses, with coffees. Including service, it came to less than 20 quid a head. Nothing pretentious about that. A genuine gem.