Kezban Mediterranean Restaurant

Kezban is a Turkish-rooted Mediterranean restaurant on Commercial Street in Leith, a short walk from the Shore. The chef, originally from Turkey with fifteen years of cooking behind him, builds the menu on a BBQ charcoal grill and fresh preparation throughout — a commitment that comes through in the flavour of the lamb and chicken dishes. The menu opens with two full pages of hot and cold meze: sigara boregi, sucuk, hellim and falafel, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, hummus, cacik, and charcoal-grilled lamb spare ribs with bulgur wheat and salad, all accompanied by hot Turkish bread. Grilled mains follow — shish, kofte, doner variations — and the vegetarian options run well beyond token gestures. The dining room is warm and atmospheric: tapestries, cushions and lamp-light, well suited to a shared-plate evening. Kezban has accumulated over a thousand TripAdvisor reviews at a strong average and is one of very few Turkish restaurants in Edinburgh operating at a full sit-down dining level. On a Commercial Street that has seen considerable change, it has become one of the area's most consistent independent restaurants.