Saturday night myself and my partner visited the new Turkish BBQ & Meze restaurant on Doncaster Road “Lalezar”. The family run restaurant already has two other established restaurants in Doncaster and Rayleigh. Lalezar have award winning kebabs, recognised at the British Kebab awards.
The former Scunthorpe bar has been transformed into a vibrant and modern 2 storey restaurant with open grill and kitchen.
It was clear to see from the exterior that the venue was very busy. Lalezar’s curb appeal is very inviting and you are greeted with a warm welcome.
Once seated, your drinks order is taken, We opted for the mojito mocktail and a bottle of coke but there were plenty of alcoholic and non alcoholic options available. You are presented with 3 large dishes of complimentary hummus, tzatziki and spicy homemade chilli sauce along with a basket of warm flat bread.
We ordered a hot starter each, Lahmacun, which is a traditional turkish thin pizza base seasoned with lamb mince, tomato and fresh herbs. Garnished with pickled chillies and gherkins and fresh rocket leaves. It was nice with a squeeze of lemon, dunked into the remaining dips.
Second starter was the Halloumi and mushrooms, the sauted mushrooms were very flavourful with a nice hit of garlic in each mouthful, moreish and cheesy and if you like a cheese pull, you’ll get one with this.
Time for main and speaking of time, wait time was not long at all, in fact very quick, to say how busy it was. There were lots of staff and although they are all new they worked very hard running around and looking after the customers.
For the mains, I ordered the chicken mixed kebab and was blown away by the portion size. It comes with an assortment of grilled chicken and the smokey charcoal flavour definitely takes centre stage. My plate had 8 tender chicken wings that fell from the bone, succulent grilled pieces of marinated chicken and a minced chicken mixed with herbs and garlic. It was accompanied by boiled white rice, and that’s probably the only thing I wasn’t keen on. With the mains, we were served a beautiful vibrant looking salad and onion pickle, which added to your fork with the juicy meat, really gave it that extra texture and freshness.
My partner prefers the vegi options so went for the Vegetarian Musakka, which was comprised of layered courgette, potato, bechamel sauce, peppers and cheese in a rich tomato sauce with a choice of white rice or bulgar wheat rice. I’d definitely recommend trying the bulgar wheat option with your meal. Again, overall portion size was impressive! I’m not mad on vegetarian meals but my partner really enjoyed the flavours and overall dish and even had enough for dinner the next day, as did I.
For 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 non alcoholic drinks, our bill came to around £65.50.
Overall, the experience was a good one, it’s good value for money and a lot of food for it! It seems quite common that people leave with a takeout box. Given the generous portion size the quality was not compromised and everything was fresh, flavourful and as you can see very colourful.
I’d definitely go again, and if I had to be picky my only gripe would be that we were seated on a table for 2 next to the bar, understandably it’s busy and they have to fit everyone in but it was a high traffic area for staff to walk and the table was an intimate proximity to the couple next to us. But it’s minor and common in busy restaurants, it wouldn’t put me off visiting again and I’m sure if you requested specific seating they’d be happy to try and accommodate. It would probably also benefit you to visit on a quieter week night rather than a Saturday. As I say this was my only gripe about the whole experience, quick service and staff were all friendly and helpful. I’d say booking is also essential for the weekend.
Please note: Scunthorpe Nights is non profit and voluntary, all views are my own. I don’t get paid and I don’t have a team of people or reviewers. I just really enjoy promoting the local area as a hobby and to help support. So please share, like and follow my page. Thank you in advance.
Menu Photos
Call to book: 01724 340006
Due to how busy the restaurant is and staff training they are having delays with the Scunthorpe website and socials.
Scunthorpe Nights 