Following the success of his family’s beloved ocakbaşı restaurant Mangal II, Sertaç Dirik is venturing from Dalston to a Victorian corner building in Soho, where he’ll open the first restaurant of his own, Kid. It’s in partnership with lauded restaurateur David Carter (Oma, Agora, Manteca), who describes himself as a “long-term supporter of Mangal II, both in its OG days and then in its reincarnation in 2020 when Sertaç boldly reinvented what Turkish cooking meant for London”.
Dirik was raised in east London, and his father opened Mangal II in 1994. It wasn’t until 2020, when Dirik returned from cooking in Copenhagen restaurants 108 and Amass, that he took the reins in the kitchen with his brother Ferhat, and transformed it into the hugely popular contemporary Turkish restaurant it is now.
Kid will draw from Dirik’s Turkish heritage, incorporating techniques he’s refined in his time in kitchens across London and Copenhagen. Fire will be at the heart of both the menu and the restaurant’s design; the grill will be the focal point of the space, with diners perched at the counter overlooking the chefs at work, or seated in cosy banquettes upholstered in hand-stitched fabrics dyed in burnt terracotta shades. Designed by Carter’s long-term collaborator Box 9 (Oma, Agora, Smokestak), the interior will blend traditional Soho architecture and Turkish detailing, with precise brickwork alongside folk-inspired Anatolian craft details.
The menu will focus in on the flavours of Central Anatolia, where Dirik’s family hails from. Bread is an essential part of any Turkish table, and Kid will serve multiple varieties, including seeded sourdough pide grilled on the mangal then brushed with kaymak butter; and tombik pide (bun-shaped flatbread) baked in the wood-fired oven. They’re the perfect accompaniment to a selection of fresh salatas and meze, including çökelek cheese, made in house daily and served with summer peas and carosello cucumber.
Dirik has delved into the comfort dishes of his childhood for inspiration, including içli köfte, often seen a family gatherings, which see aged ex-dairy beef, roasted onions and grape molasses wrapped inside a delicate bulgur shell. His braised goat kid dish, cooked in a wood oven using traditional clay-pot tandır cooking, is a homage to holidays spent cooking with his father in Didim along the Aegean coast. Larger sharing plates will include Cornish lamb saddle cooked on the grill and served with roast garlic and sivri peppers.
Dessert will centre around traditional Turkish coffee and tea, served alongside Turkish delights and baklavas that will incorporate seasonal British produce, like cherry and pecan.
“At its core, Kid is a restaurant that aims to show the vastness of Turkish cooking, expressed with the warmth you’d come to expect from someone’s home,” Dirik said in a statement. “Utilising the techniques I grew up learning from my parents, I feel it is an absolute privilege to serve you in London’s most distinctive neighbourhood.”
Kid will open at 55 Frith Street, W1D 4SJ in September 2026.
