London’s lesser-known unique and amazing flavours of Uyghur cuisine: Dilara Restaurant

Dilara is one of the few Uyghur restaurants across London. Uyghur cuisine is the cuisine of the Uyghur people, which are mainly situated in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. The cuisine is characterized by a blend of northern Chinese dishes like noodles and dumplings, and Turkish dishes but with Uyghur spiced kebabs, meats, bread and rice dishes. A feature by FnB columnist Riccha Grrover for Asian Lite International.

Dilara on Blackstock road near Finsbury Park hood is a buzzing, popular, well lit must-visit restaurant, with big plates of food on its menu meant for sharing with friends, families or foodies all digging in with gusto! Lamb dishes feature heavily across the menu.

All the products they use in the kitchen and restaurant comes directly from the producers daily, and they prepare their dough by hand in front of their customers. They use traditional methods of cooking to reveal hidden authentic flavors and use the highest quality, organic products.

Unique tasting salty well done lamb skewers are popular, these are cooked in an open kitchen and some other dishes on a charcoal grill, this surely fills Dilara eating in vibe with warm and appetising aromas. The food comes hot as cooked fresh and looks appetising from the minute it arrives with its hearty presentation and generous portions.

The signature tugure dumplings made lamb and onions, are filling, which are meant to be a best-seller are surely delectable and fragrant with its side dipping chilli sauce that is next level amazing for those who can handle a slight kick! Their handmade flat noodles drowned in a spicy broth with chicken and potatoes is one of their well known and most ordered sharing dishes and indeed it is top notch in taste, flavours and spicing.

The vibe is casual and relaxed in this no-frills but amazing food jaunt serving Uyghur food, the service is very helpful and not rushed, the servers are knowledgeable and even the owner is around to help give suggestions helpfully on what to order based on preferences and explains patiently about the cuisine and details of various dishes they offer. The do delivery, takeaways too but the charm is eating their freshly made cuisine in the cosy restaurant and seeing all the diners tucking into the same dishes as each dish as cooked arrives at the same time for all who ordered it, exudes quite a comforting communal vibe. Highly Recommended!