Simit Sarayi

Paper plates, disposable cutlery, tiny tea cups, cold food when "heated", expensive. Average sandwiches. But cakes were quite nice. Had to wait 20 minutes for a cup of hot coffee (the first one, which took 15 minutes, was cold). Also staff barely speak English and don't know what a plate is. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Simit Sarayı is a great grab'n go Turkish bakery which is part of an international food chain with over 400 branches worldwide including London. As I stumbled upon this chic little spot on Shaftsbury Avenue, they had a variety of delicious pastries, sandwiches, snacks and pies to choose from with various flavours including sausage and cheese, olives, chicken and much more. With an over the counter service, my companion and I ordered the Simit sesame – a Turkish take on a bagel where the main difference being that Simits are baked in a stone oven whereas bagels are boiled before being baked. We shared two of these; one with feta cheese and the other with cheddar. I personally preferred the cheddar as I found that it had a sharper taste to it, which brought out the full deliciousness of the bread, although I must say both sandwiches were delicious. We then had the Rose Borek with Potatoes which were incredibly creamy and savoury with a very rich potato type filling in the centre. For dessert, I had their Carrot and Cinnamon Cookie which was a rather dry biscuit that had just the correct balance of sweet and spice flavours. With Simits ranging between £2-4, Boreks averaging at £3.10 and a Cookie at £1.49 it’s not cheap but then again the food and flavour profile at Simit Sarayi is much more interesting than your typical bakery. It does tend to get crowded in peak hours but if you like the concept of a quick counter deli service, it’s a great spot for some amazing Simit along with a piping hot cup of tea where authentic smells will transport you back to Turkey.