Turkish pizzas coming to Kettering as new town centre restaurant prepares to open

A group of chefs will bring some Turkish delights to Kettering with a new restaurant serving up ‘pizzas’ from their homeland.

Kevok is set to open in Montagu Street on Friday (March 8) with traditional dishes such as lamb kofte and chicken shish, cooked over charcoal, featuring on the menu.

And diners will also be able to order Turkish-style pizzas lahmacun and pide, something owner Ersin Yildirir is looking forward to bringing to the town.

He previously lived in Kettering before returning to Gaziantep in Türkiye to run a restaurant, but is now back and can’t wait to get going.

The 44-year-old said: "I lived in Kettering for 15 years and I like the town. When I returned from Türkiye I couldn’t find anyone in Northamptonshire doing lahmacun, just kebabs, so I wanted to bring it here.”

Lahmacun is a thin flatbread topped with minced lamb, vegetables and herbs, while pide is a baked boat-shaped bread that comes stuffed with a variety of toppings including cheese, sausage and peppers.

Kevok, which will run as a restaurant and a takeaway, will also sell a variety of hot and cold meze, kuru fasulye (a white bean stew), karnıyarık (stuffed aubergine), gözleme (stuffed crispy flatbread), menemen (Turkish scrambled egg with tomatoes and peppers) and more.

For those with a sweet tooth, desserts on offer include baklava, sütlaç (Turkish rice pudding) and trilece (Turkish milk cake).

Kevok has created five jobs and will be open seven days a week from 11am to 10pm.

Ersin, who is being supported by his cousins ahead of the opening, said: "If people are happy with my food, I will be happy too.”