Neco Tantuni ve Künefe Salonu in Enfield London might just be one of our favourite hidden gems in the capital. This part of Enfield was truly one of our proudest discoveries with an array of authentic Turkish spots serving a variety of hard to find dishes, but the one that takes the prize for being the best is without a doubt this gem right here. This is the golden hidden gem within the hidden cluster. Why? I’ll go into detail below, but very briefly they do some really hard to find authentic Turkish dishes like Tantuni, a dish we had actually never even heard of namely the Yoğurtlu Tantuni and a deliciously authentic Turkish Kunafa (which is actually hard to find in London). Read on for more details and our experience.
Our favourite hidden gem in London
Neco Tantuni is a little restaurant that is run by a family from Mersin, a city from Southern Turkey. Depending on when you go, you’ll see different family members there. Rumour has it that the wife makes the best Tantuni, that’s the only one we tasted so can’t really vouch for that, but it was delicious nonetheless. They were very warm, welcoming and they really made us feel at home with their hospitable nature. Excellent service. They’ve got nice spacious seating while keeping it cosy. They’ve got cooking stations for the Tantuni as well as the Kunafa giving it that buzz (love watching the food being made). Their menu is straight forward with a handful of dishes on offer only. They do a number of authentic Turkish dishes that are quite hard to get outside of Turkey, so let’s talk about that now.
Tantuni
Tantuni was our favourite find when we visited Istanbul. What is it though? It is a wrap that has sliced beef, lamb or chicken, parsley, raw onions, sumac and tomatoes inside it and usually served with pickled chillis and lemon. It is made on a specific pan usually found at the front of the shop and you can watch it being made. It can be consumed in wrap form in lavash bread or as a sandwich in a sub. Initially it was meant to be a poor man’s food, but it is now a very popular fast food item amongst amongst locals and loved by tourists upon trying it. It actually comes from Mersin, so having people from Mersin making and serving it to us, made it feel that much more special.
Read more about Tantuni here.
Yoğurtlu Tantuni
This is basically Tantuni in lavash bread cut up into pieces and then topped off with yoghurt and brown butter. In writing this post I was doing some research to dig up some more information regarding this dish, but couldn’t find much. In all honesty, until I came across this place, I had not heard of this dish before, I didn’t even see it on offer in the couple of Tantuni places we visited in Istanbul. Asking them, they informed us that this dish comes from Mersin and can only be found there. So, that’s all I have for this dish. But wait for our review as to call it glowing is an understatement.
Turkish Kunafa
Kunafa is a famous Middle Eastern dessert that most likely comes from the Palestine region (Nablus). There are many variations of this dessert and from them is the Turkish version. In particular look out for the Hatay Kunafa, which is the Turkish speciality. It is probably a little less sweet than the Arab version, so if you’d prefer that, you’d love this. I often refer to it as a warm cheesecake. It’s something you have to experience especially one made fresh in front of you.
Our experience
We did a mega post on Turkish food in London a while ago, which included a couple of spots we absolutely loved: one that does Kunafa and one that does Tantuni. See post here. This spot is amazing because it brings both of these plus an absolutely show stopper and show stealer of a dish too as a bonus, all under one roof.
We ordered the Tantuni, Yoğurtlu Tantuni, Manti and Kunafa. The lamb Tantuni was as expected, we watched it being made and it was the perfect snack wrap. A few bites of absolute joy. Combine the slightly meaty bites with lemon zest and pickled chilli and you’re laughing! Then, came out the Yoğurtlu Tantuni, the dish the stole the show here. We didn’t know what to expect, but boy oh boy. We were left speechless. It’s one of those moments where you take a bite and just look at each other giving the look of appreciation and sheer joy. We both knew we were experiencing something special. The layer of yoghurt on top of the Tantuni killed off any little meaty taste the meat from the Tantuni might’ve had, and then what brought everything in this dish together and elevated it to greatness is the brown butter that was added on top. I’m salivating thinking about it.
Moving on, the Manti was pretty good, but nothing like our previous Manti experience at Gokyuzu. Still very good, but nothing too much to write home about here. And last but not least came dessert. We ordered the Kunafa and again we watched it being made just like the Tantuni. We were actually full by now and were slightly worried how we’d tackle this. But it was actually pretty manageable in size and also not too heavy in taste (unlike some Kunafa). It lacked a crunch, but it lacked absolutely nothing in terms of taste. It wasn’t too sweet neither, so even if you haven’t got the sweetest of tooth, you can enjoy this. We got it topped with clotted cream and pistachio. Clotted cream is the only way to go with a Kunafa, the only way! It just finishes it off perfectly.
Overall, this is a restaurant that I am obviously going to recommend. I mean I don’t know if you can tell that I absolutely love this place. I will not say anymore… just go pay them a visit! And tell them I sent you!
Getting there:
Parking: The road round the corner from the restaurant (Brick Ln, Enfield EN3 5BA) has unmarked parking spots (free parking). Other than that most roads are Sundays and Weekends free.
Nearest Mosque: Palmers Green Mosque is a bit far (15 minute drive), but I think the closest one with female facilities unfortunately. Enfield Islamic Centre is closer (4 minute drive).
Nearest station: Southbury
