In the kitchen of the London restaurant on Beauchamp Place, a chef in a white tunic leans over a vertical spit and carves thin slices of lamb infused with charcoal smoke. Hot oil from the pan pours straight onto the plate, hissing and foaming as it coats the pieces of meat, flatbread, yogurt and tomato sauce. The aroma — thick, creamy, with a slight tang of yogurt and a smoky note of charcoal — fills the dining room, where waiters in tuxedos carry portions across white tablecloths.
It all began in 1867 in Bursa, in the Kayhan district. İskender Efendi, a butcher by inheritance, was the first to thread lamb vertically onto a spit and roast it over an open fire so that every piece got even cooking and juiciness. Thus was born the döner in the form known today. The İskenderoğlu family has preserved the recipe and technique unchanged for almost 160 years: only select lamb and a little veal, salt, a vertical charcoal grill, served on bread with yogurt, tomatoes, peppers and an abundance of butter.
Today the London restaurant is run by Oğuzhan and Kayhan İskenderoğlu — representatives of the fifth generation. They personally selected the cooks from among Turkish chefs living in the UK and sent them for training in Bursa. Every day in Knightsbridge a limited quantity of meat is prepared: when it runs out, the kitchen closes — usually around seven in the evening. The same is done at the original establishment in Bursa.
The menu is extremely concise: the main dish costs 29 pounds, a portion and a half — 39, the children's — 19. The only side dish is roasted aubergine with the same butter. The desserts are kemalpaşa made from cheese and semolina, and candied chestnuts, both from Bursa. Şıra — a traditional grape drink — is served instead of alcohol, although a licence has already been obtained.
The interior of the three-storey townhouse is assembled from things brought from Turkey: mid-century furniture, tiles, family photographs and a bronze bust of the founder. No bright signs and plastic trays — only an austere, almost museum-like style. The restaurant already receives up to 400 guests a day, among them the Turkish ambassador, who has visited here four times.
Address: 30 Beauchamp Place, London SW3 1NJ. It is best to come during the day or early in the evening, while there is still meat on the spit. It is precisely here that one can try İskender kebab in the form İskender Efendi conceived it — without the later additions and simplifications that have changed the dish outside Bursa.
