Mangal Ocakbaşi in Tower Hamlets

Brilliant fresh food - served with fresh breads and salads. Friendly. Just excellent. Our favourite on this strip in the hood. We’ll be here again soon.

We live locally and are always delighted with the food here. Hands down the best falafel I’ve had in London. Everything is so abundant so you never leave hungry!! And we could not have asked for friendlier staff - thank you!! We love supporting these guys, we go there again and again for their delicious food. Thanks Mangal!!

Popped in for a drink and can't believe how above and beyond the staff went for us. They instantly brought over complimentary snacks to share which was a lovely touch! We then ordered a bottle of Prosecco and they made a make shift ice bucket for us to make sure it was chilled. The lady at the counter was so lovely and chatty, when we paid we were given Turkish sweets to eat and offered mints. Later on in the evening I was desperate for the toilet and ran back in and asked if I could use theres and they were more than happy for me to do so which is so lovely of them, they honestly couldn't have done enough for us

First and last time we will visit! My food came out 15 minutes after my boyfriend and the whole wrap fell apart... there was no one in the restaurant!!!! Would not recommend.

New Owners! Magnificent service and food. I understand that the past owners had some issues with service and food. This was my first and not my last visit to Mangal. We enjoyed the hot and cold mezes plates. It was PLENTY for two people and a nice variety. The owner was very nice to us and gave us some awesome rice pudding for desert. He had just joined Open Table and I was the first booking. If you were there under the old management/owner, give the new folks a try!

I’ll keep it short and simple. Very slow service. Unhappy staff. Was told there was no rice for the family meal that we ordered after we finished our starters, chips were over cooked and the meat was bland. I wouldn’t go there again.

More of a friendlier welcome than last time. The lighting is too bright inside making it really light. The food was still the same, yuck. Slow to arrive and was luke warm. The bread was the best thing. The atmosphere is still very strange in here, lots of dodgy looking people coming in and having secret outside conversations with staff members. Staff seem to spend more time looking at their phones than looking after the customers. As we were about to leave there was an almighty argument with two groups of people in the restaurant and the staff, resulting in the police being called. Two people were arrested and an ambulance came for a third person. In total there ended up with about 10 police officers there and two ambulances. This place is definitely off the radar for the future.

The food was delicious. Staff were friendly but couldn't find them when you needed to ask for something. Food was fresh. We ordered thr platter. Price was decent and compared to other platters this one was a bit small but we were still full.

Mangal serves good Turkish food in a friendly atmosphere. The staff is very well behaved and the menu is well planned.

I live close by and tried this for the first time last week. What a shame, uninterested staff, just getting through their shift. There were 6 other people in at the same time and it was a struggle to get attention. The free bread was great. The paid food was awful, it was one of those meals that your eating and thinking is this going to make me sick. Whilst in there, there seemed to be lots of strange people coming in to chat with the staff, which made it all feel a bit weird, couldn't wait to leave...

Had a horrible experience. Very polite (but didn't seem to care), food looked great but terrible service...had to wait just over 30 mins for the food which was ok but then my food came without a spoon as I also ordered soup so while my friend ate I waited a further 12 mins having repeatedly asked multiple staff and then gotten up from my seat to finally receive my spoon to eat a cold soup :-( others in the restaurant began talking about how long they were waiting not sure if its under staffing but cant recommend the place unfortunately.

Found via Trip Advisor... a friendly atmosphere and fresh cooked food. Bread, salad , dips and a wide range of meat dishes! It's "bring your own Beer/Wine" but there is a Sainsbury next door with a good selection. Will definitely be back !!

We stayed nearby to visit the athletics. We ate here three times because the food was fresh and so good. The staff were very friendly. We saw many families in there and it us family friendly. The lamb chops are stunning as is the salad . A really decent place. Prices are good £11-15 for a main which comes with nice bread and salad..

I'm working locally and have been to this restaurant twice in 2 nights - I'm considering a third tonight too! Both nights we have arrived late in the evening but the staff are very friendly and helpful - nothing is too much trouble. They don't serve alcohol or take plastic cards, so be aware of that if that's important to you. There is a cash point next door but one though. I can thoroughly recommend the lamb kebabs or the sharing platter! The food is truly excellent and the portions massive! I can't fault anything at this place. Superb....

I had the vegetarian meze, lentil soup and houmus, my husband and friends had the meat kebabs. We were given free dips and bread to share, I loved mine but the husband thought the meat was a little overcooked but it was extremely busy as we went on the opening night. We returned a few weeks later with a group of friends and we all agreed it was delicious. Great value and it is bring your own booze. At present they only accept cash (but there is a cashpoint and alcohol at the Sainsbury's next door)