When I was in Istanbul I saw some whirling dervishes. Now that is an odd one. It’s kind of dancing and spinning in a big flared skirt so you look not unlike a spinning top. In Stoke Newington the Turks have taken over and a good thing too, without them the place would be dead on its feet. They run the bars, restaurants, kebab joints, grocery shops, jewellery shops, dry cleaners, barbers, hairdressers, and so on. Stoke Newington was on the verge of near wasteland isolation until the Turks and Greeks took it for their own. 
Everyone who comes to visit me in London from further a field gets fed flatbread and proper Turkish Delight, humus and iskender. Not one of them leaves without loving every minute of it. The Dervish restaurant on Church is always my starting point, (unfortunately there is no whirling). I wish it could be La Sera on the High Street but not everyone likes fish. The staff in the Dervish are brilliant, no matter how many people we bring there or how late and loud we are they go out of their way to make sure we have a good time. Now I’ve been to nearly every “little turkey” restaurant in London and I genuinely think that this one is the best, their Iskender is superb, just the right balance of yogurt versus meat versus pitta. The Church Street Special is a mix of charcoal grilled meats so tender and so tasty. Skip desert and wait for your bill and the apricot surprises that come with it. In fact stay there all night.
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