What's the draw
Chef Hus Vedat was born and raised around the mangals of Hackney, but time spent heading up the Caxton Grill and Barbecoa has resulted in his first solo venture, Yosma. The restaurant takes the food of Turkish meyhane-style feasting and elevates it to something altogether more high-brow, by way of a wood-fired oven and grill and a spacious, obliging Baker Street dining room.
What to drink
There's an extensive list of raki, if you want to introduce yourself to the liquorice-heavy national liqueur of Turkey. Find it in cocktails like the Taksim2, which blends these anise flavours with rye whiskey, sherry and molasses, ending up somewhere between a manhattan and a Turkish sazerac. Wine-wise, great Turkish options – mainly using native grapes – offer more than a glimpse into the sometimes overlooked wine of the country. Kavaklidere's Ancyra is a great example: all cranberry and ripe blackcurrant flavour, with a yoghurty mouthfeel, as good a match for grilled lamb as you'll find and a snip at £8 by the glass.
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What to eat
This isn't Turkish fusion; rather, it's about classic, full-flavoured Turkish dishes prepared with a deft touch. Lamb rump is soft and pillowy, with a gamey character and full of char and lazy spice, served on smoked aubergine; a flatbread with whipped lamb fat is a must, as are the house pickles; and the lobster manti is the only dish that feels like it's crossing over – delicate lobster stuffed into thick pasta dumplings, served with cream so subtly spiced it could be a plate of ravioli. The slow-cooked beef shortrib, suspended in bright red oil and unctuous hung yoghurt was a clear highlight, before a big-hitting pudding – künefe, made up of salty cheese covered in shards of pastry a pistachio crumb and drowned in sweet syrup – so clearly finished us off that it may as well have taken us outside and put us in a taxi itself.
Sharing plates from £5; wines from £6 by the glass. 50 Baker Street, W1U 7BT; yosma.london
