Shirley Valentine’s Taverna

Tiny restaurant tucked away on a side street in Barbican. The food is amazing, the set menu gives you a taste of everything which is great, but it’s a lot of food!

I have eaten here on two occasions and thoroughly enjoyed my meals. On my most recent visit I had the sword fish skewers on a bed of rice and it was absolutely delicious! The staff were really helpful and polite and I look forward to returning again in the near future because there were so many more meals on the menu that I really want to try!

This is a fantastic Turkish/​Greek restaurant tucked away behind most of the hustle and bustle of the Barbican. I’ve only ever tried to go on weeknights, though my fiancé said whenever he’s tried to go on weekends, it’s been fully booked.
It’s a small restaurant on two floors. The menu spans both Greek and Turkish cuisine. The wine recommendations are decent, but I recommend starting off with a glass of raki, the closest thing you’re likely to find around here to a French pastis. I’ve had the ouzo chicken, a chef’s specialty that was amazingly flavorful and that was far too much food for me to finish, as well as one of the fresh fish plates, which are simply prepared and very tasty. A note on the ouzo chicken: if you’re not a huge fan of anise flavoring, fear not! The ouzo flavoring is very mild and just adds depth to the otherwise creamy tomato-​spice sauce.
The service was quite good and the food was very high quality. I’m happy to make this a regular dinner destination.

Very good food and good value. Had a selection for lunch. All good.