Gem in Islington - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

I had tasteless prawn starter Turkish bread and a glass of white wine for main over cooked sea bass it was so dry and rice tasted like it came out of a packet and chopped up tasteless onion tomatoes And cucumber first and last time expensive as well I appreciate that some people will eat anything and give it five star but not me in fact this place and a few others have in fact put me off eating out so I’m not putting up with crappy food and I’ve decided not to eat out again only on very special occasions with my Family.

Booked a table for 6 after my son’s civil partnership ceremony. Turned up at the allotted time and the restaurant was closed. This was not our mistake. The owner apologised, but surely if you’re taking reservations then staff should be at the restaurant ahead of time. Not a good experience

Great food, staff were lovely and very accommodating. Great place for a catch up lunch!!

Amazing staff, good value & fantastic food & cocktails will keep you coming back time & time again!!!

Perfect place on Upper St for a relaxed dinner. The team looked after us all night, and the atmosphere was wonderful. The borek (filo & feta pie) was delicious, and the drinks flowed. We will definitely be back to try one of the bottomless options.

Living in London, you're spoilt for choice on poor quality food. However, one thing for certain is that there aren't many places like GEM RESTAURANT. The food is outstanding, tasty, and succulent and leaves you wanting more, even though you have no space to stomach it. I have eaten from GEM RESTAURANT on a few occasions, and the food gets better every time. From fresh produce, succulent meats, and happy staff. I can honestly say this place lives up to its name. ITS IS TRULY A HIDDEN GEM, THANK YOU, #TEAM GEM, FOR BROADENING MY PALLETTE.

Lovely wait staff. Edie was superb. Aubergine dishes were delightful. Everyone left happy

Been coming here for years. Food, service, value and all round quality is absolutely spot on. Appreciate getting looked after whenever I visit ❤️

exelent food and service as always highly recommend

Had a brilliant late Saturday lunch at Gem yesterday. Been there a few times now and each time it's been great. We went for one of the set menus, which includes hot & cold meze, any main course from the menu, desert and bottomless prosecco. Service was brilliant/friendly/attentive & food great. We'll be back!

Very quiet early Saturday afternoon but nice. Food was very nice but would have been far better if served hot. Both our dishes was served luke warm which totally spoiled it. Would go and try again but would ask that food be served warmer.

Had a great time, and the food was perfect. Been to many Turkish restaurants and this place is a GEM indeed. Will come back again.. Return after a long time, still very good, and the service is great also. I'll be back The meat has been cooked perfectly 👌 Chicken not dry and very tender Lamb cooked just right The adana is tasty Returned once again, this time I had the lamb shank which was soft and yummmmmy. Even the boss man remembers me.

Excellent - food always delicious, with large portions. Two suggestions: One: please add NO SAUCE to the modifiers on your Just Eat menu - I don't want them and sometimes they spill in the bag. Two: please change your packaging - there is almost always a spillage in every delivery from your restaurant. Don't just tie the top of the plastic bag (the boxes move around and spill during delivery). Wrap the bag around its contents and tape it closed, like Pret do.

Lovely Mediterranean restaurant. Had the beef stifado and moussaka. Both were excellent. Falafel and tzatziki for starters.

I recently had the unfortunate experience of dining at Gem, a Greek restaurant that turned out to be the worst I've ever visited. From the moment we walked in, it was clear this establishment had serious issues. Firstly, the service was abysmal. Our waiter casually mentioned that most of their products were frozen, which was incredibly disappointing. Greek cuisine is renowned for its fresh ingredients, so to hear that everything was prepackaged and frozen was a major letdown. To make matters worse, the owner was too busy harassing the waitresses to address our complaints. It was evident that the staff were uncomfortable and unhappy, which only added to the unpleasant atmosphere. Moreover, I was appalled to learn that the owner keeps the tips and the service charges for himself. This unethical practice not only demoralizes the hardworking staff but also leaves a sour taste in the mouths of patrons who believe they are rewarding good service. Overall, I would strongly advise against visiting Gem. The combination of poor food quality, terrible service, and unethical management practices make it a place to avoid at all costs.

Hard to believe anybody could be less than complimentary about this restaurant. The owner, staff, food and atmosphere are all first class. Will definitely be returning…

Went yesterday late afternoon.and it was quiet...service slow though..had to ask again for my beer.. my friend had to ask again for his coffee..bread to go with our starters was cold ... rice on my chicken shish was cold...this is why i dont like paying the service charge.. but all in all i wouldn't go again...

We ate at Gem prior to going to a music show at the Union Chapel which is just up the road. Really friendly staff, great food and a great atmosphere made for a very enjoyable meal. I’ll definitely be going back next time I’m in the area!

Good was not nice very greasy. Some food came out burnt had to send back. The male staff was very rude.

Loved the bottomless brunch here. All the mezes were delicious and very generous portions.

Food was very bland felt like it was microwaved, I like the lamb and chicken to taste and look like it’s been cooked on a grill it looked boiled to me also no flavour to it, it’s a no from me first and last time ordering

We went last week with the recommendation of my friends. I loved all the appetizers and kebabs, especially in Adana😍😋 there were special parties held every week. We have already booked our place for my friend's birthday next week. Many thanks 🙏

Excellent food, wide choice of dishes, staff pleasant and price reasonable. Will go again. We just had meze and didn’t manage to finish everything!

Item was missing my sauce I ordered and gave me 2 sauces I don't like or didn't order no free bread even spending £££

Really great restaurant! One of the tastiest and nicely cooked chicken mix I've had lately! Friendly nice staff ! Definitely going back to try the musaka! It looked awesome!

So welcoming from a great team of staff! Mezze prawns divine and the baklava heavenly. The mezze were altogether really delicious, both hot and cold. We really enjoyed the Keo wines from Cyprus.

Sea bass was excellent! Salad was fresh and rice was just perfect! Excellent meal overall thank you

The vegetarian moussaka was fantastic, generous portions with fresh salad. The staff were so friendly and accommodating, all in all a great restaurant experience.

Had an amazing time! Definitely recommend. Food and cocktails are lovely and staff are so friendly 😊 I came with my friend and very happy with everything. We will absolutely come again

Just had my wedding dinner here. Absolutely brilliant service and gorgeous food. Everyone commented how lovely it was. Would definitely recommend.

Once again, items missing and the wrong items sent. We've given these people a few chances, but they constantly mess up

Never, ever go on a match day! I’ve just left, at 7.20, having arrived before 6pm, ordered just after 6 and eaten NO FOOD. The kitchen was completely overwhelmed and - as the abrupt manager proudly pointed out, other people had also had to leave with no food at all. It’s just exploitative to take more bookings than you can serve. Only the second time I’ve ever been to a restaurant where there was no food served to our table. It’s really rare. Most restaurateurs are better at their jobs (or not so greedy) That Gem is so badly managed is a shame: Gem by name but certainly not by performance or experience. Anyhow, I’m starving and will have to buy some halloumi on the way home… NOT how I expected the evening to turn out.

Delicious food and great service, some tasty vegetarian selections.

Delicious food. Very friendly staff. Would recommend.

A great find. Turkish cuisine just along from Union Chapel; our venue for the evening. Absolutely ideal for a pre-show meal, except it was much, much better than expected and it was a shame not to have spent more time there, savouring the delicious food. We had a set 3 course option with the selection of the main course, accompanied with a beer each. It was excellent. Attentive, friendly but professional staff. Prompt service. Good atmosphere. Great food. Reasonable value. Would definitely go again.

Another fantastic time at Gem , food fabulous and plenty, we all had a lovely time celebrating our friends 60th birthday Thanks to Andrew and all his staff

Had another excellent pre match meal here on Tuesday evening the best place to eat & drink in Upper Street

We were there at a quiet time so it was calm. Service was great, food was fine but not special. Good value.

Ordered chicken combo and I received only 4 bits of chicken shish. Absolutely ridiculous. Not even chips with it

Great food. But service is very slow when they are busy. Would give them a second chance though as the food was soo good.

Great food, great staff and a great atmosphere!

Dishes served quickly Tasty dishes, perfect meat cooking. I had the chicken combo. I recommend this restaurant. Too bad there wasn't local music to provide even more scenery.

We came for bottomless brunch and the food was incredible- out of this world. The cocktails were so good and strong! Definite value for money. Just wish we lived closer. 💯 recommend ! Service - Andrew was so attentive. Best place ever!!

Had the late night brunch here. Could not fault it, the team were so friendly. The price was very reasonable. Everybody's been so welcome and accommodating. The food is absolutely delicious - if you like your greek food, then you're in for a treat. Ευχαριστώ πολύ.

Had the late night brunch here. Could not fault it, the team were so friendly. Everybody's been so welcome and accommodating. The food is absolutely delicious - if you like your greek food, then you're in for a treat. Ευχαριστώ πολύ.

Delighted by the impeccable service and delectable offerings at this bottomless brunch. The staff's friendliness and attentiveness enhanced the experience. The cold and hot mezze surpassed expectations, providing a satisfying culinary journey. The value-for-money deal further heightened the overall satisfaction.

Excellent! Make sure you ask to tickle the waiter!

The food was delivered ice cold and in terrible disarray, completely messed up and spilled.

Great food, fabulous atmosphere and very well priced. we’ll be back.

Best bottomless brunch deal in London, great service and food /drinks

Just did a bottomless brunch. £35 per person including service charge and extra bread. Amazing food and the staff are very sweet and helpful. Had a lovely time here.

The staff and the atmosphere are really nice. The food, however, wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t taste fresh.

Just had a dinner and it was brilliant.

Great place for our team bottomless brunch

Lovely restaurant, good quality produce and friendly staff. Always go back

Delivery was missing the rice from one of the meals. Called & advised restaurant but no one called me back :(

Great place, nice decor & vibe. Staff are very friendly and very much enjoy coming here

The sarma beyti was poor quality and the salad was not good at all. Would not recommend.

Definitely recommend this place. Value, portion size, quality food. (Gentle mention that the loo’s could be cleaner, need freshening up of an evening.)

Hidden GEM was absolutely brilliant last night. 25 of us went for our Christmas work party, and we had an amazing time. Food, drinks, belly dancers, music all in one place. We loved it and will definitely be back 🤩

Mezes were nice and filling. The main courses were a let down, dry meat and bland. Staff were nice until we discussed service charge is optional, not mandatory to pay.

What an amazing experience. The menu is unreal. Fresh, clean and great portions that represent each background. Highly recommend anyone going to Islington to head into Gem! Well well worth the money.

Best Turkish/Greek experience ever! We wanted to try a bit of everything, so we went for the cold and hot meze and left us without words. The meze includes bread as well and they have the best Tzatziki and Tabule I've had in London. Regarding warm meze the Kofte, Calamari, Borek and prawns (Karides) was another level. Superb food quality, taste and presentation. Service was outstanding: friendly, professional and amazing recommendations. I would share some pictures but by the time we realized we finished everything :P Sincerely 10/10, truly recommended.

we have chosen this restaurant from Tripadvisor and went for dinner. It’s a small, cozy restaurant. Everybody was very kind with us and the food was good. The menu is between of Greek and Turkish culture. Everything was great. The only regret is the music a little too loud

A local restaurant to my office. We ordered 4 small meze between the two of us. They arrived with a basket full of warm pitta bread slices. The portions are very generous, so much so that we could barely finish it all, but we tried. The food was well seasoned, fresh and definitely worth the price. We found it better to order the small plates than pay for one large plate of food. Will be back later this week, though this time we do have a Groupon voucher for 8 meze!

Number 1 Turkish food in north London, the service was great, the food was on point and the music as A1

Lovely setting. Great food and amazing service. The hospitality was just superb!!! Ideal for a couples meal but equally fantastic for larger groups. Cocktails are strong, not watered down like some places, I highly recommended the woo woo!!

Great food, great service. Had the chicken and rice, and the meat was cooked really, really well. Was genuinely delicious, and filling. Highly recommend! Food came pretty quick too which was a bonus.

1000000000% Recommend their evening brunch!! such an amazing place to spend evening with friends. The food is unbelievable so much choice that comes with the brunch. Defo get the creamy chicken with mushrooms as a main with rice, it was unbelievable.. the starters both hot/cold were so good. Staff are wonderful so friendly and kept bringing us prosecco bottles!!! I really would pay much more for this, its so worth it honestly!!!! MUST MUST MUST VISIT! We will be going there again 100000%

Great place Fab people Discovered my chance as down to watch football with the kids. Will come back.

Not the restaurants fault but DO NOT MAKEA BOOKING THROUGH GROUPON. They are advertising this offer even though you can't make a booking. Gem say the issue is with the Groupon booking system whilst Groupon say the issue is that Gem only have limited availability. Despite receiving a full refund, Groupon are still advertising this deal but you can't make a reservation. Its wrong. Don't get tempted by the deal otherwise you will be conned.

Visited this month, prebooked table for 7. We explained that we only had an hour and a half and could we order quickly. They took 20 mins to take the order which took 45 mins to be served. We had finished our drinks before service. Sadly we had to bolt down our food and I had to leave most of mine, so we could make a nearby concert venue on time. So sad because the food was lovely and service exceptionally poor. Restaurants to compete these days need to get both front of house and back functioning together. 'We are short staffed' was a poor excuse when the table had been booked for weeks.

First visit having read good reviews. We ate early, at 5:00pm, so restaurant was quiet. When we left at about 6:30pm it was pretty packed, a good sign! The patron, I guess it was, was polite, friendly and helpful as regards menu choices. We both had a set menu of cold then hot meze and a dessert. Food was delicious and there was plenty to eat. Glad we hadn't ordered a main course as well! Would certainly visit again. Recommended.

I’m really fond of Gem which is the restaurant closest to our house. We have been coming here for 20 years. We actually ate here on the evening we moved into our house. The food is reliable, generous and great value. On this visit we shared the mixed chicken kebab, borek and halloumi. The owner is lovely and friendly and the staff are all really jolly. Great place to have on our doorstep.

My boyfriend and I had a great dinner at Gem. The lamb sarma beyti and lamb chops were delicious and excellent quality. The taramasalata was lacking in flavour but hummus and bread both also amazing. Service was good, prices about average and pretty decor. Probably not quite in my top Turkish restaurants in London but it’s a great one, you won’t be disappointed.

The food is so good! Would definitely recommend!

Had a lovely dinner on an extraordinary hot evening. I had Calamari main, and my daughter had chicken and Halluomi salad. Both delicious, and good portion sizes. The service here is what always bring me back. Vicki was attentive, and made my evening really nice. Thanks Vicky

Used to be much better, a more traditional Kurdish cuisine which is very unique to see anywhere in the world. Used to have an old lady that was baking fresh bread in the window that you got for free as soon as you sat down, which made the place so genuine. Today its more modern random cuisine and it doesn't feel like a special place at all... very sad that one of my absolute favourite restaurant in the world became like this... Still decent though but from a place I used to visit once a week I will probably never go back again unless the owners make a huge change back to what it was.

We had a great mid-week bottomless mezze lunch at the Gem! The service was fantastic and the food was perfect, we couldn't fault anything! Will definitely be coming back and recommending to others. Such good value for money also.

Went to a family friend's birthday bash service was slow and confusing but the food was lovely

A few years ago I gave 5-star to Gem but I had to remove one this time. The staff is very friendly and the food good but we had to wait for ages for our meal which was frustrating. The restaurant was not particularly busy.

Visited on a friends recommendation and was very impressed. The food and service was excellent. Went with the set menu to try as many different dishes and the waiter explained them all to us. There was loads too, was stuffed by the end of the night! Finished with some cocktails which were just as good. Highly recommended

Went with a groupon and I love the restaurant , it was cute , the owner super friendly , the food was very tasty .

A really nice place. Polite staff with not a too long wait for food. The vintage decor is interesting and stylish

I love this place and have had many great lunches and work events here. Last week myself and a friend went for lunch. We ordered off the express menu.The starters were awful Borax deep brown and dripping in oil. We mentioned this to the server who admitted they looked like they had been left in the fryer too long. The mains were great with a huge amount of food. At 3pm the server informed us that he was closing and that he was giving us 10 minutes to finish. We had half a bottle of wine left and planned to stay longer for coffees. We said that we had no idea of the closing times that were not displayed on the Web site or in the restaurant itself. We rushed and had to leave the rest of our meal. A very disappointing experience this time. Not the usual good standard from Gems.

Didn't receive the food we had ordered. Pork belly should have come with chips, but they sent rice. Ordered a side of chunky chips but they weren't chunky and pretty soggy

Great place on Upper Street. Food is great, wine is ok. Service is excellent. The meze and kebabs are of good quality. Recommend.

Lovely food, great service and good atmosphere - music not too loud.

Best day, best staff venue and management, best dj, best birthday ever. Food is also on point so much we had to take it home. Best bottomless brunch by far. You guys made my day xxxx

We had a two greek salads, have tasted better!! The ladies toilets were dirty. Wouldn't hurt to get it cleaned on a daily base. Won't be coming back

Brilliant food and service. Thank you

This is the best restaurant on Upper Street Amazing value for money Andy the owner is a legend and the staff are brilliant

Really lovely food, well priced and the manager was very friendly. A great experience.

Gem saved me on an incredibly hot day. Staying in a friends flat and having picked up my supper from Tesco I discovered that the oven didn’t work. Gem provided a delicious pork souvlaki to take away. I had been teaching all day and thought I had no appetite but should still eat. After the first bite my appetite started raging and I ate every last bit. The restaurant is lovely inside and it feels both romantic and family friendly - a rare thing. Do go!

One of the best places around! Everything including rice tastes splendid. Definitely worth checking out if in the area.

Friendly staff, great drinks, lovely food

Stopped in before attending the Union Chapel. So glad we did.

Love doing the bottomless brunch! It’s really lovely food and the owner and staff are really friendly and welcoming! Will be back soon

Visited in the past, food was very good then. This time it was distinctly average. We had the fish platter which was mainly out of the freezer with lots of batter. Not the standard I would expect in a genuine Mediterranean restaurant.

Food was truly awful, cold and tasted undercooked (even the rice!) and the meze was probably from a tin. Just slop! Cocktails were a whole lot of sugar and juice. Would absolutely avoid this place, terrible quality.