Tike's Turkish restaurant chain to hit London
Tasty Med Ltd, a new UK venture, is to launch a series of authentic Turkish restaurants in London under the umbrella of Tike Restaurants, the first of which has now opened at the Lloyds Register building near Fenchurch Street Station.
Founded in Istanbul in 1998, Tike Restaurants currently operates 20 sites in Greece, Turkey and the Ukraine, and is now planning to expand into the UK with at least three sites to open in London over the next four years.
Costa Thomaides, chief executive of Tasty Med Ltd, told BigHospitality he believed the concept would work well in London, despite the economic climate.
"London doesn't really need any more restaurants, unless they're going to offer something very special, and we believe Tike is exceptional," he said. "The food isn't messed around with, it isn't fusion, it hasn't been adapted, it's exactly as you'd find it in Istanbul - real, honest Turkish food at a value-for-money price. Our average spend per head is below £20. This is what Tike is, and how it built its solid reputation in Turkey and Greece."
The first British Tike Istanbul Grill & Bar in Fenchurch Place has a contemporary Turkish yet informal design set around a central bar and open-plan bread oven. The 136-cover restaurant also features a smaller room on the first floor.
Head chef Murat Aygun leads a team of chefs borrowed from Tike Istanbul in creating a menu that features both cold mezze dishes such as cherkez tavugu (creamed chicken breast dip with walnuts) and ichli kiofte (steamed balls of cracked wheat stuffed with minced beef) and hot plates such as the meterlik (a metre-long adana kofte chicken or lamb kebab). Tomas Moravec will lead the team front of house as restaurant manager.
Tasty Med is currently looking at sites in the West End for the second UK outpost of Tike.
