Dalston these days is a lively part of N16. The area hosts the Rio cinema, the new Vortex jazz venue (transferred, not without controversy, from Stoke Newington Church Street) and a substantial number of interesting Turkish eating establishments.

One of the oldest is the Istanbul Iskembecisi. By contrast with the brightly lit insides of the surrounding bars and restaurants, the cavernous interior of the Iskembecisi is more dimly lit, and the rather 1950s decor combines to create the impression that this is the sort of place you might have met your Soviet contact to hand over the microfilms back in the good old days of the Cold War.

But do not be put off. There is some really good food here and many of the dishes will not be found on the menu of your run-of-the-mill London Turkish restaurant. There are, of course, all the standards, and my vegetarian companion found plenty of choice among the large menu of Meze dishes and in the special vegetarian section. She began with Muska Boregi - lovely crisp samosa-style pastry parcels stuffed with fetta cheese and mint.

I, by contrast, headed for the more meaty 'Turkish traditional specialities' section of the menu. Here were a number of really interesting items. I was sorely tempted by not one but two varieties of tripe soup but declined out of a feeling that not too many N16 readers would be prepared to follow me on this one. Instead I chose Dil Paca, a soup of creamy tender chunks of lamb's tongue in a light broth. Intriguingly, the diner is provided with lemon and salt and enjoined to season the soup to individual taste so it can be truthfully said that the final product reflected my own culinary skills as well as those of the chef.

For seconds, my companion hunted through the vegetarian main courses and chose Zeytinyagli Ispanak which, as the name implies, was a dish of spinach, delicately spiced and accompanied by rice, tomato, onion, peppers, carrots and yoghurt. The dish was judged a success. I chose a chicken Guvec; chunks of chicken in baked vegetables with chilli. The flavour was very good although the dish was rather watery for my liking. One small quibble I have is that the baked peppers included would have benefited from being skinned at some stage, I got one or two mouthfuls of baked skin which resembled wrapping paper.

Finally, we were presented with a rather garish desert menu that was largely pre-packed German ice cream cakes. But fortunately there were a few Turkish specialities available and we shared a 'Keskul', a rather nice coconut milk pudding with pistachio. It was cool and refreshing after my peppery chicken.

For wine we dutifully chose a Turkish red, Villa Doluca which, to be perfectly frank, was nothing to write home about. The wine list did however present a good variety, including French and Italian as well as Turkish.

The bill for £33 for two was not bad at all. I certainly intend a further visit to sample that tripe soup. I will be driven there by combined memories of my mother's tripe and onions, 'trippa romana' in small Roman trattorias and 'callos y morcilla' in small bars in the back streets of Madrid. None of these I have ever seen in London, So Istanbul tripe soup strongly beckons and I shall no doubt produce a special brief report for N16 carnivores.

9 Stoke Newington Road, N16, 020 7254 7291

A Personal Touch
By Warren Neill

Church Street may not be the Melton Road of Leicester or the Curry Mile of Manchester but it has its fair share of Curry Houses, or should I say Indian restaurants.

Each one has a lot to offer in its own individual way, and Karnaphuli is no exception. Named after a river in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh, Karnaphuli has a very personal touch from the moment you enter. The staff are impeccably dressed and extremely courteous, which complements the cosy, not cramped, atmosphere and subtle décor (make sure you take in the traditional paintings on the wall, though - they are something else!).

The wine list is quite extensive and, although they didn't have what we asked for, a suitable replacement was found in a spicy South African red. All wines were thoughtfully priced to give a good range of choice. Starting with Onion Bhajis and Butterfly Prawns was a great choice, and they were well cooked and presented. For the main course we tried the Mixed Grill and, for the benefit of the reader, the Chef's Special.

The former was a selection of sizzling Tandoori chicken, lamb, prawn and kebab with bread and vegetable curry - easily enough for two who didn't necessarily want to waddle home. And the latter was melt-in-themouth breast of chicken cooked in medium spiced dryish sauce. If you want to try something that is not run-of-the mill curry, and also singular to this restaurant, then I would fully recommend trying this. This is definitely the place for a more intimate, 'looked after' meal. It seats about 50 without feeling intruded upon and, if you want proper (though not total) privacy, ask for the table at the very back left.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

20 Church Street, N16, 020 7254 0661

Christmas at the Farmers' Market
By Kerry Rankine

The Farmers' Market runs all thorough the year, and Christmas is a particularly good time to be looking for locally produced, seasonal food. This year the Farmers' Market will be open on Christmas Eve - during its normal opening hours of 10am till 2.30pm. Throughout the Christmas period and on Christmas Eve itself there will be a special emphasis on meat, game and poultry. There will be organic turkeys, wild rabbit, organic ducks, organic beef roasting joints, hams - all of these can be pre-ordered from the farmers at the market or ring Growing Communities for contact details.

A vegetarian Christmas feast might include some of the speciality mushrooms on sale at the market every week, including oyster and Portobello varieties or perhaps some of the wide range of squashes - which would make an amazing centrepiece for a Christmas meal. Our organic lavender producer from Suffolk, Mark de Roy, will be at the market throughout December - his organic lavender oils, lavender water and handcreams would make perfect last minute Christmas presents. If you are looking for a treat there will be delicious hand-made Fair-trade chocolates. And of course there will be those sprouts!

The Stoke Newington Farmers' Market takes place every Saturday from 10am till 2.30pm at William Patten School Stoke Newington Church Street and is run by Growing Communities: www.growingcommunities.org or 020 7502 7588 for more details. 

All the produce at the Market is organic, biodynamic or wild and is grown, reared or produced within 100 miles of Hackney.

Next Page