Proper Turkish döner is something else entirely. The meat should be marinated, layered on the spit by hand, and cooked slowly until the outer layer is crispy while the inside stays juicy. The best döner spots make their meat fresh, on-site, daily.
Types of Döner
| Style | What It Is | Where to Get It |
|---|---|---|
| Döner Wrap/Dürüm | Döner in thin lavash bread | Best Turkish Kebab, Fez Mangal |
| İskender Kebab | Döner on bread with yogurt, tomato sauce & butter | Antepliler Döner |
| Döner Plate | Döner with rice, salad, bread | Gökyüzü, most ocakbaşı |
| Mixed Döner | Lamb + chicken together | Available everywhere |
The Best Döner in London
Antepliler Döner
The İskender Kings | Green Lanes | ££
The İskender kebab here is legendary: thin slices of lamb döner piled onto fresh pide bread, topped with thick yogurt, house-made tomato sauce, and—crucially—a generous pour of melted sheep butter brought to your table sizzling in a copper pan.
What to Order: İskender kebab (the signature), mixed döner wrap, Sultan Ahmet köftesi
Pro Tip: Walk next door to Antepliler Künefe for dessert after.
The Best Turkish Kebab
The Stoke Newington Legend | £
The name is bold. The kebab delivers. Everything is prepared in front of you. The salad is chopped fresh. The meat is sliced from the spit as you watch. Portions are enormous—one serving is genuinely enough for two people.
What to Order: Mixed döner wrap with everything, chicken shish wrap
Pro Tip: There's usually a queue—it moves fast. Perfect post-pub fuel.
Mangal 2
Elevated Döner | Dalston | £££
Döner as fine dining. Their mutton tantuni—chopped and grilled mutton loin served on pillowy sourdough—shows what happens when döner meets Nordic precision.
What to Order: Mutton tantuni, lamb döner with accompaniments
Pro Tip: Book ahead. This is destination dining.
🥘 İskender Kebab Explained
The king of döner dishes. Named after İskender Efendi of Bursa who popularized the vertical spit in the 19th century.
Components:
- → Fresh pide bread, cut into strips
- → Thin slices of lamb döner, piled on top
- → Thick, creamy yogurt
- → House-made tomato sauce
- → Melted sheep butter, poured over at the table
Where to get it: Antepliler Döner (Green Lanes) is the definitive London version.