Dilara in Hackney

Dilara have nice precooked meals, which is great for lunch breaks.

I've been meaning to try this place for a while, and I finally went tonight with my wife. It was our first experience of Uyghur cuisine, and we thought it was excellent, an interesting mix of Central Asian Turkic cuisine and Chinese cuisine, the closest thing I would compare it to is Sichuan cuisine. To start we each had a little pastry filled with beef and lamb (Samsa), followed by succulent lamb skewers. For the main course we shared the beef and vegetables with noodles and the stir fried aubergine with steamed rice on the side, these two dishes in particular reminded me of Sichuan, they were both moderately spicy with the spice being really well balanced. The portions are fairly generous, so we left feeling quite full, overall very good value for money. The service was also excellent, our server did a very good job of explaining the menu, he seemed to be really passionate about the cuisine.

New management. Amazing food, amazing service and wow love this place. Unique food.

Delicious! The marjan qorumisi is especially good.

Food is still lovely here , new management who is also a lovely fella ! So happy it’s re opened , essentially get every noodle dish :)

This is one of the worst restaurants I've ever been to. And one of the worst experiences of service, ever. I visited this restaurant with a friend mid Oct on a weekday night. We had to wait nearly 15min before a waiter came to our table (after asking for help at least 5 times). They did not have 2/3rds of the dishes on the menu. 2/3rds! No explanation no reason except 'will be available next week.' We ordered drinks which did not come for another 15min. When we reminded about the drinks (around 3 times), we were told after another 10min, that the drinks were no longer available. We finally just left without drinks or food (after waiting for around 35min). The staff didn't seem bothered at all. This restaurant is absolute nonsense. The staff have no interest in being nice courteous or serving. A horrible experience.

Mid range price kind of restaurant, with a very typical cousine, generous portions, and nice staff. They even give you Tupperwares to do take away.

15 quid for 5 forks of chicken and lots of bine

First time having Uyghur food and it was fantastic. Will definitely be back again. The big plate of chicken was delicious

Nice staff, however food left a lot to be desired. Some of the food was visibly inedible and not even a wild animal would eat it.

I went here after a friend who has worked in the area for years recommended it and it did not disappoint. The first time I went here, I tried the Qoruma Chop, which are these hand pulled chewy and delicious noodles with beef. The cut chillies in this are perfectly spicy, intense and the beef is cooked and marinated well. The star of this dish are the chewy noodles which seem hand made. I have already come back to eat this again. Only thing I would say is the price is a little on the high side and it can be slightly too oily but I would still recommend to anyone as it tastes so good! They also don’t charge service charge to dine in which is a nice addition. Looking forward to trying more.

Food Is absolutely amazing and was a good dinner overall. Totally recommended! Staff were really kind. 👌+

What an experience!!!so So delicious. My family can’t wait to go back.

Will never know what the food taste like as I've been waiting more than an hour before to serve and to finally find out there is mostly nothing left available, drinks included.

New owner. Good food, much better service. Family run restaurant.

Excellent food, incredible kebabs, and wonderful service.

Good affordable Uyghur food. The girl that served us was very kind.

Great Restaurant with good food and super friendly family running the business. Will definitely come here often!!

Great taste and friendly service.

Awesome,awesome,awesome…Delicious food, nice atmosphere brings you to ancient East Turkestan. Deep Uigur hospitality and culture waiting for you!.

Excellent taste and customer service 👍🏻

Very welcoming staff, cosy, down to earth aesthetic. Lovely experience!

The staff are very warm and friendly. Clean restaurant with a beautiful interior. The food is amazing! I recommend getting the qoruma chop.

I had dinner here, it was an amazing experience. Staff were really friendly and helpful. I recommend you go here.

Amazing amazing food and friendly staff. This is my second time there and the food was so so delicious. Friendly waiter who could speak both Chinese and English .

Fantastic food and incredibly friendly service. The first time came, the owner changed. The Suirou Lagman was super quick to come out and very, very tasty, delicious, and speechless. All dishes were full of flavour. A must visit if you’re in Finsbury Park.

Fantastic food, very reasonably priced and really friendly owners. Absolutely loved the big chicken plate with hand pulled noodles. The kebabs were cooked incredibly well and were super tender. Would absolutely come back!

Everything was 10/10 from the food to the service it was excellent. I’d recommend this to anyone who loves noodles as it was really good. Also, it’s halal!!

A real family atmosphere. Uyghur people are so kind.

First time trying Uyghur food, really delicious. Great family restaurant, very relaxed.

Welcoming place, good food, friendly people

A lovely place. Great food, gave us rice and bread on the house :) accommodating and friendly, fantastic service. Portion sizes are MASSIVE (I took mine away, and the oil ended up seeping into my bag so be warned ahah) but yeah delicious food!!

Delicious food, great portions and lovely staff

The staff were so welcoming and friendly. The food seemed a Fusion of turkish and Chinese to me so I tried a few dishes from the mere menu. Everything was very fresh and tasty. My 2 friends and I all had a great evening.

Delicious food and outstanding hospitality. Customer service was amazing, we talked to the workers about what we wanted and the food was so delicious. Very friendly and tasty.

Great food and better service, it was so delicious i inhaled the food. I ordered noodles that ive been craving for a long time and it exceeded my expectations

The uyghur salad, noodles and dumpling variations stood out. Nicely spiced, with a balanced combination of vinegar and peppercorns. Note that the uyghur tea is salty - my boyfriend liked it, but particular taste. Service is attentive and kind.

lovely food great customer service definitely would come back

The workers were so lovely and helpful in deciding what to order as a first time customer. Will definitely come back and recommend too!!!

The food was very good, the service was excellent a great place to bring family for a night out

the food was excellent and made very quickly and they had perfect customer service

Amazing food!! Personal favorites were the Menper Soman, Lamb Shish and the Uyghur Salad.

Great food! The salad is unreal! And the sheesh!

Taste is as good as before after a several days closure for renovation. The service was just as expected definitely giving us a warm welcome back. Coming back again, thank you!

The food was amazing, high quality good taste and affordable pricing definitely recommend. It has now also been renovated and the atmosphere is great and looks beautiful

All very delicious. Great staff, lovely culture. We will definitely be back again!

The fried chili chicken was lovely!

Best place for authentic Uyghur food, Was delicious and good quality, Service was excellent definitely a place for a family dinner

Unexpectedly delicious food. Some really unusual dishes. Amazing hand-made noodles. Friendly service. Definitely want to go back.

Visited Dilara for some take-away over the weekend. I was amazed with the customer service. Very friendly and attentive. My husband and I were offered a seat, bottled water and tea, while we were waiting for our food. We spent less than £5 pounds in the restaurant, yet they were caring enough to offer us both a treat. Service like this makes a difference, thank you!

This was some of the best food I’ve had in London. I’ve never had Uyghur food before and it was delicious. I came as a group of 8 for my friend’s birthday and they gave us complimentary salad, tea and bread. They even served up a cake I brought from home and sang happy birthday which was really sweet. Super reasonable prices too! Would highly recommend this place.

The restaurant has changed the owner and now the food is far far poor quality and taste than before. We will never come back again

The restaurant has changed its owner and it tastes horrible. The milk tea is very plain and chicken plate isn’t good as before

I ordered the Fried Chilli Chicken which was delicious and definitely worth the money, the portion was huge! The service was amazing, the staff were very friendly and attentive. We also got free bread and baklava which was very yummy! Definitely recommend.

Great place in north London, food made fresh and big portions, spicy is spicy! Plenty of variety and decent prices. Will definitely return

It’s really delicious. I often take a long subway ride to eat there.

Great place to eat authentic Uyghur cuisine! They gave us a rice pudding on the house too - very kind staff 🙏🙏

Great turkish/Chinese fusion cuisine...well seasoned food at good prices 👌 😋

While we enjoyed the food which was very tasty, and not spicy, we couldn’t wrap our heads around the attitude we have received especially being in the empty restaurant, mostly serving take aways. we were the only customers there for a while, a parry of 4 adults, a toddler and a baby. Asked to warm up an appetizer. Were told we should eat it cold. It was warmed up when we said that the child wanted it warm. Asked for a 5th plate , got it after the reminder. Asked for 5 cups for a pot of tea - was told it was not enough tea for 5 cups. She brought the cup when we insisted. Put a fifth chair on the side of the table because bigger tables had “reserved” sign- were scolded for being on the way as she goes to the back of the restaurant They forgot to bring us 2 dishes, made us wait, and served them fast upon the second reminder ; rice pudding came in plastic package for taking away ( which was welcomed because we waited a long time) . Portions are medium size so we feel it was not a cheap place.

Rude rude rude. They used be nice in the past. Not anymore.....👎

I ordered the medium one for this chicken dish but honestly the amount of chicken is disappointing… the good thing is there’s no service charge. The taste was alright. Other dishes I ordered were fine as well.

Very nice, uyghur food, I have not tried before but was impressed Service was nice and friendly

I wouldn't give a single star cause they don't deserve it!!! The woman who was behind the counter, her customer service skills were very terrible and upsetting 😡...!!! I strongly recommend avoiding this Dilar Uyghur restaurant in order not to experience such a disgusting behavior...!!! Besides, the prices are rip off, I'm not surprised why there were not any customers...!!!

We loved our meal here. We had the chicken plate and it was glorious. Enough for two people or even three. Homemade noodles, a deep rich broth that could sustain you going up and down a mountain. We will come back !

One of my favourite restaurants ever - the lamb, carrot and rice dish is my dream meal.

Came twice, service is extremely terrible. Asked for a cup of water more than 4 times and never got that water. Took forever to have somebody come and take the order. Food is ok but not worth this absolute torture

The best platter of chicken and kebabs I’ve ever had in London

Wonderful service and food every time we visit. The big plate chicken and baklava is to die for. Thank you so much

Food is delicious and I strongly recommend the rice dish with carrot and lamb. The restaurant is nicely decorated, clean and toilet is very clean as well. The service received was friendly and helpful. It will probably be better to go in a large group and try the bigger plate dishes. I will definitely visit again.

Maybe the experience, service and food quality is all part of the Uyghur tradition, in which case I'd raise this to 4 stars. Either way, service was annoying and slow & meat quality was terrible. I can see why people go there, but I would never go back based on what I experienced.

If you are from LGBT community, be prepared to be declined because they’ll be fully booked by Ghost

Was hoping to find a gem, but was very disappointed. Tough, unremarkable lamb grills, cold rice, mass produced bread, and some sad iceberg lettuce. Didn't bring water, and overcharged me. Disappointed as Uyghur food is fascinating and can be brilliant.

Didn’t know Uyghur Food is that good? I like Chinese Tea like Pu Er but I didn’t know Flower Tea can also be made so well.

You could easily walk past this place on Blackstock Rd. Looks very much like a generic Turkish place with stainless pots of stew in the front window, but the Chinese? characters on the menus items is the giveaway. Staff are super friendly and welcoming. Food was great. It's kind of familiar, but with a twist. Starter dumplings were great, and Uygur herbal tea was delish. Will definitely go again.

By far the best Uyghur lamb skewers in London, so tasty and tender. 10/10

My favourite food to eat ever is big plate chicken! delicious numbing sauce, sweet spicy peppers, soft potatoes, chewy noodles mmmmmmm

The food here is amazing! We ordered a few dishes to share and the portion size is big! The taste is very authentic as well. Recommend it!

A nice family run Restaurant serving traditional home made food. Really tasty food and reasonable prices

Love the food, would highly recommend the milk tea, oxtail and dapanji chicken.

My favorite uyghur restaurant outside of my family’s kitchen in China! Quite honestly the best 大盘鸡 Big Plate Chicken I’ve ever had - definitely the star of the show. Be prepared to wait for a bit during busy hours as the type of dishes served generally take a lot of time to cook. Servings are big! So go with a big ground of people and order a variety of dishes to share and try. Must order: 大盘鸡 Big Plate Chicken，奶茶 Uyghur Milk Tea （slightly savory and served warm)

Immaculate food, taste and texture amazing service. Defo will be coming again. I’d recommend you and your friends get different dishes as the portions are very big so you can share all together and maximise your experience to the fullest

Food is good however the service was horrible, I’ve been twice now and it’s been bad both times. I have never been to a restaurant where I’ve felt so unwelcome. It’s really hard to enjoy dinner and the experience when the staff ignore basic needs like water and utensils when out to dinner. If you want to try the food I’d recommend takeaway to avoid the poor service.

Absolutely loved this place! The noodles were amazing, home made and so meaty and you could tell they were made with love. Will definitely go back and would highly recommend :)

Delicious food served by friendly staff! Def recommend big plate chicken!

Lovely food, highly recommended. If your in the Finsbury Park area and feel like trying something different but nice, then head down to Dilara and give them a try. You will not be disappointed.

My favourite restaurant in the area! Haven’t been able to find Uyghur food elsewhere. Staff are always really friendly and the lamb is insane

We ordered the large plate chicken to share between three of us: a chicken and noodle dish in a spicy broth. It was delicious and the sauce was made from whole spices and chillies that are left in the dish and made it rather fragrant.

Expensive and just a bit average

Initially we thought the food was great until our dumplings arrived with worm on top. We told the lady about it, she kept insisting it’s Iranian rice. She was very rude and didn’t own up to it.

Food was average (noodles was decent), the customer service was shocking. Very rude chef and lady owner, had a moody face on and was annoyed whenever we asked for items. We gave her feedback towards the end and she started shouting at us, we’re paying customers and spent a lot of money so was shocked by her behaviour/customer service. I would avoid this restaurant.

Uyghur cuisine is one of my favourite and living in the west of china I'd say I got to know it pretty well. The 大盘鸡 (big plate chicken) is soo good and they make the belt noodles fresh on the spot.

Booked for end of team dinner for 28. Gul was really helpful in picking the best menu choices for us to give a taste of Uyghur food. The food was amazing, I all the meat was cooked to perfection. Very tender and flavourful. Portion size was big and definitely value for money. If your in the area pop in. Great night thank you Gul.

Awful and beyond disappointing. Pay attention to the vast number of negative Google reviews. I was there with two family members, lured by Time Out’s glowing review. However, I should have started asking questions from when I noticed how empty the place was. The food is tasty, but the experience is completely ruined by the shocking service. Staff are not just unkind – I don’t care for extra smiles or ceremony – they are plain rude, aggressive and resentful if you ask any questions or clarifications about the menu. Queries and mild complaints are greeted with denial, accusations that you are a stressful customer, insults and shouts. Also expect to wait at least 45 minutes for your food to start arriving and to be served at least 20 minutes apart – we were watching each other finishing our meals, before the next person was served. No hope to eat together there, unless you share your dishes as they are brought to the table. Also no explanation on the menu about spiciness. Time Out make light of the waiting times, or the abruptness of the service. However, there is no charm in rudeness. Eating out cannot be just about the food in your plate. It’s an experience you pay for, going from the surroundings to the social interactions with people around you. To waive all this, is taking away from all those restaurateurs who put their heart and soul into making their customers enjoy what they pay for. When we left the restaurant, we felt sick with disappointment. Dilara deserve's 1st place on Time Out's Worst Restaurants in London, if there is such a thing.

Ordered via Uber food was never delivered and when called restaurant they refused to refund.I had to call Uber.I would avoid at all cost. On another occasion, after eating in I ordered Uzbek rice as a takeaway on 31/3/23 but when I brought home rice was off and smelly.l.that made me sick.They packed in a plastic bag tightly I don't open it when purchased.

To avoid at any cost Rude owners

Everything was delicious! The Uyghur kebabs were juicy and flavoursome and all the handmade noodles were wonderful!

Uyghur food: probably not known by most but to those that do, it is something magical. Shaped by its location at the crossroads of Asia and the religion of its people. It is a spectrum of influences coming together to form incredibly dishes. I’ve been twice and twice I have ordered Big Plate Chicken. It is spicy and numbing - eat the dried chillis if you dare! The chicken falls off the bone. The potatoes have lost all structural integrity being held together by the intense viscous broth. Said viscosity enables the coating of the thick hand-pulled noodles which have a perfectly chewy texture. What a dish! The lamb kofte are also very good with a classic flavour from the mangal. The same can be said for the cumin and chilli splatted lamb skewers served on fresh naan. These are a bit chewy for my liking but increases the length of time the flavour lasts in your mouth. The lamb buns (name forgotten) are straight out of the tandoor and have the attitude (flavour) to prove it. Then, a classic Pan-Chinese cucumber salad seasoned with the romantic pairing of soy and black vinegar. Finally, I insist you finish with the Uyghur milk tea. It tasks like unsweetened salted caramel. Litres could be drunk if not for the previous onslaught. I asked how they made it but they gave a cheekily guarded answer ie they know I’ll be back for more. A must.

Unexpectedly eating here today brought me much joy — it was one of the best things I have eaten so far this year, and I have eaten a lot. I tried the rice noodles with chilli and chicken as I am not a lamb lover. What turned up seemed more like udon than the thin rice noodles I expected, but I was happy about this. They also did not seem to come with any chicken, making me wonder if the wrong dish altogether came out, but what I did eat was absolutely delicious: full of flavour, fragrance, spice and heat. I loved the bits of celery floating around in it: this was surprisingly tasty in combination with the other flavours. The sort of oily broth concoction the noodles were served in was so tasty I practically drank it. We also tried the chilli chicken. I had anticipated this had been fried, but this dish was actually poached chicken thighs, again in a completely intoxicating sauce. The meat itself had been cooked on the bone and was intensely tender. Served with rice, this was also a pleasure to eat. As for the lamb skewers my partner ordered: I do not even like lamb but enjoyed the bite I tried — well seasoned, full of flavour. Whilst service was friendly enough for me, it was rather slow. I had wanted to order some baklava to try for dessert, but no one ever came to take away our finished dishes or asked if we had enjoyed the food (fortunately we did). Had the food not been so pleasurable, I would’ve deducted a point to reflect this, and also in acknowledgement of the restaurant being in need of renovation. All said, we very much enjoyed our visit and I can recommend this place for food that is hearty, invigorating and full of flavour. I could not stop eating, and this is only ever a good thing.

I had a delightful experience at Dilara Uyghur Restaurant in Finsbury Park. The food was exceptional, and it was a unique and enjoyable opportunity to savor Uyghur cuisine, which I hadn't tried before. One of the standout features was the affordability; it was pleasantly inexpensive. What added to the experience was that we didn't need to make advance reservations, making it convenient for a spontaneous dining choice. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking to explore new flavors without breaking the bank.

We were warned that the mantis would take 20 mins to arrive, but it took close to an hour. Was rather underwhelming as the dough was thick and undercooked, even though the skins at the bottom had broken, leaving the juices to leak out and the filling dry. The big plate chicken was very tasty, though rather salty. The Uyghur milk tea was nice though. Rather disappointed as the last time we were here, the food was more consistent overall. The staff working at the time we visited didn't speak much English so I don't want to dock too many points for service, but they felt rather aloof even though the restaurant wasn't that busy.