Green Lanes Mediterranean Grill Gökyüzü: Open to 2am Daily

Gökyüzü, at 26–28 Grand Parade on Green Lanes in Harringay, is the Mediterranean grill north London uses for big family dinners and late kebabs alike: it opens at 9am and closes at 2am every day of the week. Opened in 1999 as the family's very first restaurant, it now anchors a six-branch group, and its mixed kebab platter, at £39.50, is the dish most tables order to share.

The branch page states it plainly: established in 1999, this was the very first Gökyüzü restaurant. The group now runs six locations, but Green Lanes is the original and still the busiest, and the restaurant describes itself as run and operated by a family. Green Lanes was already the spine of London's Turkish and Kurdish community when it opened, and Gökyüzü grew up alongside the bakeries, grocers and ocakbasi rooms on the same stretch.

The dining room is enormous, which surprises first-timers who see only the shopfront. Inside there are tufted burnt-orange leather booths, a bottle-green glazed brick-tile wall, oak panelling and geometric dark wood screens dividing the booths, with full-height windows onto the street. The Infatuation called it multicoloured and enormous, and on a weekend night every one of those booths seems to hold a three-generation family.

Everything on the grill section is cooked over charcoal. The adana kebab, seasoned minced lamb on a skewer, comes in two sizes at £19.50 or £24.50, and the lamb shish is priced the same way. Lamb chops are £29. The iskender kebap, sliced meat over bread with yoghurt and tomato butter, costs £24.50 and is the order for anyone who likes their kebab rich rather than lean.

The mixed kebab at £39.50 is the reason big tables come here: lamb shish, chicken shish, adana kebab, two ribs and two chicken wings on one platter. For two people sharing everything, the menu's For Two platter at £62 adds more variety. Grill mains are served with rice and salad, so ordering extra bread before the meat lands is usually a mistake.

Smaller appetites have options too. The small mixed meze, meant for two or three people to share, costs £18 and is a good way to start without ordering half the cold counter. Lahmacun, the thin minced-meat flatbread, is £7.50 and works as a cheap lunch on its own with a squeeze of lemon and a handful of parsley rolled inside.

Because the doors open at 9am, Gökyüzü also serves breakfast and brunch from 9am to 4pm, a side of the restaurant many visitors never see. A weekend Turkish breakfast here is calmer than dinner, with more space in the booths and quicker service. If you only have time for one visit and want the full grill experience, though, come for dinner, when the charcoal is fully lit and the room is at its loudest.

Walk-ins are accepted, but the restaurant's own FAQ says it cannot guarantee a table, and its 2026 visit guide notes that weekends can get busy, especially in the evening. Booking online through the restaurant's reservation system is the safer route for Friday or Saturday dinner. Weekday lunch and late evenings after 10pm are the easiest times to walk straight in.

The restaurant is halal and fully licensed, with cocktails and raki on the drinks list, and all major credit cards are accepted. A discretionary 10% service charge is added to the bill. For delivery, Gökyüzü works exclusively with Deliveroo, while takeaway can be collected directly. The honest call: skip delivery if you live nearby. The grilled meat is noticeably better eaten in the room, minutes off the coals.

On a Saturday night the wait for a walk-in table can stretch, and there is no point standing in the doorway for long. Green Lanes is one of the densest Turkish restaurant strips in London, so the street itself is the backup plan: several other ocakbasi grills sit within a couple of hundred metres in either direction.

Alternatively, put your name down and wait with a drink at The Salisbury, the grand Victorian pub at 1 Grand Parade a few doors away. Opened in 1899 and Grade II* listed, it has a carved wooden bar, etched glass and tiled floors, and it is one of the finest surviving pub interiors in north London. It makes a far better waiting room than the pavement.

Harringay Green Lanes Overground station is a short walk from the restaurant. Grand Parade forms part of the long stretch of Green Lanes between Manor House and Turnpike Lane, lined with Turkish supermarkets, baklava bakeries and grocers, which makes a walk along the street worthwhile before or after dinner.

For a daytime visit, walk south toward Finsbury Park, which offers lakes, a cafe and wide lawns, and makes a good place to settle a big kebab lunch. The Harringay Ladder, the grid of terraced streets running off Green Lanes, is a typical slice of residential north London and the walk back up Green Lanes passes the bakeries where a box of baklava makes an easy dessert to take home.

Address: Gökyüzü, 26–28 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, London N4 1LG. Nearest station: Harringay Green Lanes on the Overground. Hours: Monday to Sunday, 9am to 2am. Breakfast and brunch are served from 9am to 4pm. Walk-ins are accepted but not guaranteed, and a discretionary 10% service charge is added.

Menu prices: lahmacun £7.50, small mixed meze £18, adana kebab £19.50 or £24.50, lamb shish £19.50 or £24.50, iskender kebap £24.50, lamb chops £29, mixed kebab £39.50 and the For Two platter £62. Halal, fully licensed and card-friendly. Karpo APP can line up a late Green Lanes dinner with a pint first at The Salisbury.