How two brothers saved their dad's restaurant from ruin
Mangal II: Stories and Recipes tells how a neighbourhood restaurant, loved by artists Gilbert & George, survived against all odds
The Covid pandemic caused many of us to reaffirm our lives and loved ones. For those operating successful small businesses however, it also brought a more existential threat: to buckle up or buckle under.
East Londoners Ferhat and Sertaç Dirk chose to buckle up.
*Mangal II. Photography: Justin De Souza *
The Turkish brothers are the sons of Ali Dirk who, in the early 90s, immigrated to London and opened the UK’s first traditional Anatolian grill house, known as an ocakbasi, in the then run down area of Dalston, in Northeast London.
With a focus on its conventional coal-fire grill technique known as mangal, the restaurant became an instant success as THE place for the capital’s best doner kebabs.
Chicken Shish. Photography: Justin De Souza
Many restaurants followed suit, trying to repeat the successful formula as the area gentrified, while retaining its gritty, artsy edge, over the decades.
Artists Gilbert & George walked to it pretty much every night from their home in nearby Shoreditch, happy to rub shoulders with the locals – who included the occasional member of Parliament - at the tables of the restaurant. It was a practice they maintained until lockdown hit, and the restaurant, along with many others worldwide, temporarily closed.
Courgette Fritters with Sucuk Mayonnaise. Photography: Justin De Souza
But the pandemic caused debts to accrue, so in stepped Ferhat and Sertaç Ali’s two talented sons who sought to redefine, reinvigorate, redefine and refine the culinary experience, in anticipation of its reopening.
Ferhat brought the chutzpah of the restaurant’s edgy Instagram feed to life, while Sertak brought the culinary expertise he’d gained from his experience at Noma’s Copenhagen sister restaurant 108.
Adana-Style Lamb Skewers. Photography: Justin De Souza
Our new book Mangal II: Stories and Recipes shares the story of their spectacular 180-degree turn to succeed against all odds, and also boasts sixty of the restaurant’s delicious signature dishes: including their father’s famous lamb kebab, the restaurant’s infamous smooth, creamy hummus, prepared with chargrilled chickpeas, and its legendary apple butterscotch tahini tart.
Organised into four chapters – Foundation, Transformation, Inspiration and Progression – the book features a collection of witty and reflective essays and memories of Mangal II’s rise to become a destination for the neighbourhood’s creative community; as a family-run business that nearly went under; and as a reinvention story under the influence of Ferhat and Sertaç –now firmly at the helm and who co-author the book.
Baklava. Photography: Justin De Souza
Mangal II: Stories and Recipes also includes a forward by American TV presenter Action Bronson and another by British chef, TV presenter, and entrepreneur, Andi Oliver.
Meanwhile, beautiful photographs by Justin DeSouza of the restaurant, its food, and the local neighbourhood, provide the sweet honey on top of the baklava.