Ephesus

This was the only restaurant we could get a table at on a busy Saturday afternoon in Hackney. We ordered pretty quickly but unfortunately we waited over half an hour for our food! What made this even more annoying was that the couple that sat down next to us about 20 minutes later, received their food within less than 10 minutes. The food itself was okay value, although I found my falafels were quite hard. My boyfriend ordered lamb which was absolutely wonderful, with a lovely smokey charcoal flavour. The manager offered us a drink on the house for the wait, which was a nice gesture.

Yum Yum Yum! This restaurant always seems quiet on a weekday evening and that always put me off but don’t let it!
I went on a Monday night with a pal and it was perfect for what we were after. We drank wine took our time and felt relaxed.
We ordered two starters, a cold and a hot meze with some olives and this was more than enough to pick on in between chit chat and left us feeling really full by the end of it all! To top it off the bill was on £30.
I would highly recommend.

So this place has a lot of bad reviews, and to be honest I’m not really sure why.
Me and a few (read: 11) friends were walking down Broadway Market last weekend trying to find somewhere that had outside seating and was empty enough to fit all of us when we stumbled across Ephesus. While it didn’t have seating outside, it did have plenty of available seating inside and the whole front of the restaurant was open to the air so we thought ‘good enough’ and went in.
They were quick to accomodate us, pushing six tables together and placing menus down and generally fussing over us. They had a deal on for a jug of cocktail (sangria, Pimms or sex on the beach) for £15, which is pricey but split between two or three of you, it works out well. You can easily get six wine glasses from one jug and the Pimms was LOADED with fruit. No strawberries or mint though. Mm.
As this place is Turkish, we expected a selection of mezes but they have starters and mains. As this wasn’t what we were looking for, we just decided to order a selection of starters between us and try to create our own meze platter and that worked out pretty well for my mates.
I, however, went maverick and decided to order their ‘Special’, which was six vegetarian and six meat dishes chosen randomly by the chef, shared between two for the princely sum of £12.95. And let me tell you, if they do this when you visit, ORDER IT.
The whole thing was spectacular. We had a pretty wide range of food, from hummus to tzatziki to grilled halloumi, calamari, feta and a load of other delights. And it all tasted GOOD. Not to mention being excellent value for money. I heard grumbling down the table once my friends had clocked what we had in front of us for half the price of the starters they’d ordered. Wiiiinnn.
There is, however, some truth to the comments about service in the other reviews. After we’d ordered our food, some plates were set down in front of us without a word and then a couple of minutes later were whisked away again. Clearly they’d got the table order wrong and instead of asking if we’d ordered it, they just put it down and disappeared, leading to the slightly embarrassing backtrack.
They also didn’t seem to make much effort in getting all our food out at the same time — one person was waiting for their food for a solid half an hour. She ordered wedges so I’d say they definitely give preference to the more ‘authentic’ food on their menu. Something to note if you don’t like Turkish food.
Ultimately, for food and drink to feed two people, it came to under £30. Which basically is a bargain. And we were able to sit staring out onto Broadway Market and make a lot of noise without complaint, so it was basically perfect for what we wanted. I say at least give it a go… it’s worth that much at least.

Food took forever to come, we ordered 3 plates, they came back with 6.
Service was poor. Also they don’t accept card and the nearest ATM is in a convenience store charging you 1.7£

Bad menu, bad food and even bad service. The only good thing about this place is the location (in the heart of Broadway Market). We were at the market last Saturday and we ended up in this restaurant with the intention to have brunch/​lunch. We though: It is in the middle of the market so it can’t be so bad, right? Huge mistake.
We got a table. The decoration was bleh. They didn’t do so much about that. But who cares? If the food is good, it is not a big deal. We ordered some dishes: Hummus, English Breakfast and some veggie dish with rice on the side. NO GOOD AT ALL. The breakfast was OK, not a big deal (it is quite essay to do that). The hummus totally dry and so salty and the veggies from the can with a really weird sauce. I can’t even start to describe that main dish.
The service was messy and rude (most of them don’t speak english). On top of that, they charge you 10% of the service with your bill. Not nice.
Obiously I’m not coming back. Broadway market is a Paradise for foodies, so if you can, try to avoid this place.

We were drawn in on Sunday morning by the beautiful display of lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there.
When looking through the menu, my friends and I all thought that the scrambled eggs with spicy Turkish sausage, fresh tomatoes and peppers sounded good and so placed our orders with the waiter. Since Sunday was a bit of a scorcher, I was also happy to see frappucinos on the menu. I asked the waiter what their frappucinos were like and he said ‘err, we don’t do them’, which left me a little baffled. I didn’t order a drink as I had a bottle of water with me, but my friends both ordered water and we waited for our meals. The water came out a couple of minutes later but the glasses were seriously manhandled by the waiter; hold them by the stem, not the rim!
Another 15 minutes of watching the waiters and (presumably) the chef wrestle with each other by the till passed before we got our food, and I honestly wish they had just forgotten about us. Perhaps if the chef spent more time in the kitchen, the food would look less like vomit on a plate. Needless to say, it didn’t taste too great either. There was about 2 pieces of egg white (I couldn’t detect any yolk) and about 4 pieces of sausage, stirred into what I can only assume was a seriously bland pasta sauce (if not just canned tomatoes), and slapped onto a plate with a ‘decoration’ of dried herbs (oregano?) around the edge. I almost thought it was a joke; trying to see just how bad they can make something and still have someone eat and pay for it.
If that wasn’t bad enough, when we went up to the till to settle up (£4.50 per plate of ‘food’, £2.00 for the bottle of still water, £2.60 for the sparking), the man serving expressed to us his displeasure at our request to split the bill between two cards, letting out a huge sigh and stating that it was ‘very complicated’ to do. It was at this point that we nearly walked out without paying.
I can’t understand how an establishment like this continues to run. A complete dearth of customer service skills coupled with a total lack of pride in what they do should not make for a successful business. A real shame.

Walking past these Broadway Market places on a Saturday is torturous. Breakfast must be mine!
Deciding where to go this morning, I am a sucker for Turkish and meze, we spotted some tasty dishes getting served up and grabbed the last outdoor seats. I love their colourful Turkish lamps throughout, these are a beautiful design and I bet, pretty magical if you are dining in there at night.
My eye was drawn to the Epehsus Breakfast, a dish with a bunch of little pots and flatbread. 4 types of cheese to nibble, tapenade olives, a boiled egg, yoghurt, jam and honey — a simple and perfect brunch dish for me. We also ordered their £4 Eggs Benedict… err maybe give that one a miss.
People complained about the service, but i actually thought they were very sweet and fast.

Had a pretty tasty breakfast here on ¹²⁄₃₁. The many lanterns hanging from the ceiling made for a lovely ambiance even at 11am.
Biggest complaints: they needed reminders to bring our much-​needed waters. I’m told this is normal in the UK. The tables were WAY too close together. I’m used to cozy dining in LA, but this was way too close. Getting out from your table is like getting up to go to the restroom from the center seat on a transatlantic flight.
They were busy, but not enough to justify the table spacing. A major fire hazard, if nothing else!

The business conept is clear. Summer open-​air ambience is good. I love a myriad of Turkish lamps, which make me feel as if I were in the Grand Bazar in Istanbul (my favourite place)! so beautiful.
Recommended food is healthy vegies. they are unique (people may notice at ther first bite), very tasty (for vegan food) and reasonably priced. However, people do not yet recognise the value of those dishes. Here is a challenge as to how they get the (conventionally-​minded) western customers to go for tasting. My suggestin would be to add some more value-​added higher-​priced dishes to unlock the demand of higher range of customers who wouldn’t mind paying for refined exotic cuisine or conventional sultanate clients. Currently most of guests are lower or mid middle class locals, part-​time/​temp, and young generation. They have potential to diversify the customer segments.
Very well-​mannered (presumably well-​educated) Ottoman boys attend the guests. Services are more than satisfactory.
All in all, guests can have enjoyable moments.

This is the second Turkish place to try its luck in these premises within the space of a year. Competition is rife: Broadway Market’s got an abundance of nice bars, restaurants and cafes, including Cilicia just up the road.
So what does Ephesus bring to the brunch bonanza? Well, that’s simple: Price. Eggs benedict? £4. Sure, it won’t be quite as tasty as La Vie En Rose, mere metres away, but it’s literally half the price!
The Turkish brunch dishes are probably the best bet. Though if the first bite is truly with the eye, I’d maybe advise dining blind-​folded. Presentation is not a strong point. Still, it’s tasty and I’ll head back.