I use the word cuisine rather than food. The new restaurant I have mentioned earlier, at 18 St James’s Street, is not,as I had suspected it wouldn't be, a lowly kebab house, as much as these very much are on the menu. There is a range of soups, hot and cold starters, ranging from mercimek corbasi (lentil soup), humus, barbunya pilaki (a haricot bean dish), imam bayildi (stuffed aubergine, stuffed vine leaves and prawn cocktail for the unadventurous, or, as they put it on the menu “Prawns served traditional way”, to sucuk izgara (a Turkish sausage), fried quid, sigara boregi, (deep fried soft cheese in filo pasty), and arnavut cigeri (Albanian style lamb’s liver). Soups cost £3.00, cold starters £2.50 and hot ones £3.50.

A cold mixed meze of humus, cacik (cucumber in garlic and yoghurt) ali nazik (grilled diced aubergine in yoghurt and garlic) patlican soslu (saksuka aubergine), ispanak tarator (a spinach dish in yoghurt and garlic) and russian salad, comes for £6.50. The hot meze at £7.00 comprises sausage, scampi, fried squid, sigara boregi, mititi kofte (spicy fried meat balls) and slices of grilled haloumi sheese.

Mains are all served with onion salad, grilled onions, "shepherd’s" salad, rice and bread. Various kebabs and grills make up the main course options, including such delights as quail, pousin and Koc Yumurtasi, (marinated, grilled lambs testicles) for £7.00 a serving. A mixed kebab of lamb cutlet, lamb, lamb shish, adana kebab (also lamb) chiken kebab, liver and kidney costs £11.50. Sea bass and sea bream served with salad cost £10.00. (Pides, from £5.50 and lahmacun £1.50 are not for sale on Tuesdays).

Wines start at £10.50 for a bottle of Italian house white or red. A bottle for the Turkish white and red Villa Dolucas is £12.00, and there is a selection of other choices such as Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay (£12.95) Hardy’s Shiraz Cabernet (£12.50) available. Moet Chandon and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin can be had for celebrations at £30.00 and £45.00 respectively. A sparkling martini is available for £15.00. Beer is for sale, a bottle of Stella, Efes or Beck’s costing £2.50

Desserts are simple – sutlac (rice pudding), ice cream, baklava, or fruit salad. Coffee is Turkish.

Te 0208 520 2783. Open from 11.00am to 12.30am