Mangal 1 is an authentic Turkish restaurant in Dalston run by a Turkish family and frequented by a loyal customer base. With its massive charcoal grill by the entrance pumping up smoke all the way down Arcola street, Mangal has an old and loyal customer base. Its younger offshoot, Mangal 2, is better known partly because of its infamous twitter account and partly because artists Gilbert& George eating there almost every night for the past 16 years. It’s fair to say Mangal 2 has been largely unpopular amongst the vegans because of its tweets. Let's get back to the point: Once a butcher shop, Mangal 1's main activity is meat on the grill. Do not worry you would never leave either Mangal joints hungry. Turkish mezes have a lot of vegetarian options such as smoked aubergines with garlicky yogurt and olive oil, grilled onions with pomegranate molasses and many more. Mangal 1 is our favourite Turkish restaurant in London and by far the best tasting aubergine mezze in town. It is, however, not vegan friendly and you will be leaving the restaurant smelling like grilled meat.