Turkish Meze at St Christopher's Place

St Christopher's Place is one of the small architectural surprises of central London: a pedestrianised piazza, hidden behind the storefronts of Oxford Street, lined with restaurants and a flower stall in the centre. James Street is the southern entrance from Oxford Street, and Grand Bazaar has been at number 22 since 2005. The way the room works — 42 covers inside and 75 covers spilling out across the piazza — is built for the way Turkish meze is meant to be eaten: slowly, in small plates, with the table loaded.

Our cold meze list is the long one. Humus, baba ganoush (smoked aubergine, tahini, olive oil), haydari (strained yogurt with mint and walnuts), kisir (cracked wheat, pomegranate molasses, parsley, sumac), ezme (chopped tomato, pepper and walnut), dolma (vine leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts and herbs) and patlican söğürme. The standard share for two is a four-plate cold board with warm bread and olive oil; for groups, a full meze platter brings everything to the centre of the table at once.

The hot meze list is built for the chargrill and the wood oven. Sigara börek (cigar-shaped feta filo rolls) come crisp and salty. Halloumi is grilled to order. Falafel is fried fresh with tahini sauce. Octopus salad and grilled prawns sit at the seafood end of the list. Sucuk arrives sliced and grilled in a small pan. Most diners who come for meze build out a table from there — adding lahmacun, pide, manti or a mixed grill once everyone's eaten through the small plates.

In summer the outside tables on St Christopher's Place are the heart of the experience: a long, slow share under awnings, the piazza a few degrees cooler than Oxford Street's pavement. In winter the inside dining room is dim and warm and quiet by Marylebone standards, particularly mid-week. Bond Street tube is sixty seconds away through the piazza's southern arch, Oxford Circus eight minutes east.

Meze tables tend to sit longer than mains tables — typically two hours for a full share. To make sure we hold the right size table for your group, please reserve online. Walk-ins are welcome on weekdays and at quieter weekend hours; Saturday evenings book out a week in advance. View the menu for the full meze list.