Izgara Finchely: best to eat there mid week and avoid Saturday

5th December 2015
We had previously eaten at Izgara on a Friday night when it was not too busy, and it had been an experience good enough to make it a recommendation for group eating (7) in December on a Saturday (booked well in advance). http://www.izgarafinchley.com/
We knew that opinions different, and it has been a love-it or hate-it establishment. If you look at TripAdvisor, that is the impression you get, and most of the moans are about the service.
At 7.30 on a Saturday, it was full with a mix of groups, but not particularly xmas outings.
It took a while for things to get moving and eventually I ordered Arnavut Cigeri  which is Freshly fried diced chicken liver with onions.

This was quite a large portion of tasty hot livers scoring an 8.9 on the CHOF scale, and came with two types of flatbread on the table.

For main I ordered Kuzu Güveç which is Slow cooked diced lamb with mushrooms, onions, peppers, in an authentic tomato sauce served with rice or salad (Available in Spicy) and I chose the spicy with rice. I made the smart move of avoiding a yoghourt based dish this time.

Again, a very decent sized portion, and also at about a 7.8 on the CHOF scale. By the time this was served, it was clear that there was a problem with service, and the process of serving 7 meals seemed to be beyond their capability. A soup starter was sent back for being luke-warm, and for someone else to do that brought a warm glow to my heart. It must have been really really luke-warm. Towards the end of the meal, a kitchen door was opened and a wheeze-inducing  blast of smoky fumes came out, which did not set off fire alarms but was a mite disturbing. It was ok as a meal, but the service rubbed everyone in our party up the wrong way. I am guessing if you go there at a quiet time, it is a different story. The eating out culture in London on a Saturday night has created a dilemma that unless you are going for very top end of the market, it is clear that no-one wants to hire enough staff, as most of the profits must come from that one night. We are considering an eat-at-home-take-away for this group next time. Whilst I understand the concept of supply and demand, with the demand being for a Saturday night out, the customer should always be the focus of a restaurant business, as they are not doing us a favour.