№ 214 — The Fire
One fire.
Lit at 11:30.
The mangal is the restaurant. It runs the length of the room, it sets our hours, and it decides when a skewer is ready — not a timer. This is how it works, and everything we refuse to do to make it easier.
Our grill line is open to the dining room. Ask for a counter stool and you’ll eat a metre from the coals, with a front-row seat to every quarter turn.
№ 01 — Spec sheet
The mangal,
by the numbers
Built to order in Gaziantep and shipped to Hackney in 2014. It has been relined twice and never once switched off mid-service.
Grill length
3.2 m, open front
Fuel
Kent oak lump charcoal
Grate temperature
320 – 360°C
Skewers
Flat iron, 18 mm × 70 cm
Knife
Zırh, 42 cm, two handles
Mince rest
14 hours on ice
Charcoal per day
≈ 90 kg
Gas lines
None. Ever.
№ 02 — A day at the fire
From cold iron
to banked ash
09:00
Butchery
Shoulder and tail fat broken down; mincing starts on the zırh board.
11:30
Fire lit
Oak lit in a chimney and spread once it greys over.
12:00
First iron
The first Adana goes on for staff lunch. Always.
15:30
Re-bank
Ash raked, fresh oak laid down for the evening.
18:00
Full bed
The whole length of the grate is live and roaring.
23:00
Last iron
The final skewer of the night, then the künefe.
23:30
Banked
Coals buried under ash to keep the brick warm.
№ 03 — Three tools
Knife, iron, coal
The zırh
A crescent blade with a handle at each end, rocked through the meat for twenty minutes per batch. It cuts rather than crushes, so the fat stays in pieces you can taste.
The flat iron
Wide, heavy skewers that hold heat inside the mince and stop it spinning when we turn it. They’re seasoned like cast iron and never see a dishwasher.
The oak
Kiln-dried oak lump from a Kent coppice. It burns clean, hot and steady, with none of the chemical tang of briquettes.
№ 04 — What we won’t do
The short list
of shortcuts we skip
01
No gas
Not as backup, not on busy nights.
02
No lava rock
It’s a heat sink, not a flavour.
03
No mince machines
Every gram goes under the zırh.
04
No frozen meat
Delivered Tuesday and Friday, used by Sunday.
05
No rushing
If the iron isn’t ready, neither is your plate.
Ask for the counter.
Eight stools face the grill. They’re held for walk-ins until 19:00, then released to bookings.