SITTING on a Turkish rug in the restaurant window, a young, woman rolled out bread dough on a floured surface.

Passers by rubber-necked as she carefully prepared a classic Anatolian dish not too dissimilar to savoury pancakes.

As unique selling points go, this is a good one. In fact some of the diners in Pera Rose last Monday night had been seduced into the restaurant by this woman’s activities and all eyes were on her.

Particularly mine; the dish she was rustling up was destined for my belly.

Dubbed Gozleme, this traditional Turkish starter is made of flat bread that is folded around a choice of fillings; I had opted for ground minced lamb while my better half plumped for cheese and spinach.

They only take a few minutes to prepare and another five to cook on the griddle, so they were delivered promptly.

Our flavour-hungry palates revelled in the subtle spices of the lamb, the rich cheese and spinach filling and the soft flat bread. They were, frankly, delicious. So too the humus, which we had ordered to accompany our Gozlemes.

Contentedly we waited for our mains – Et Sote (diced lamb, green peppers and onions cooked in a tomato and red pepper sauce) and Iskender (grilled lamb kofte on bread with yoghurt and paprika sauce) – and admired our surroundings.

I love what they’ve done with the place; the Turkish lanterns, the ornate candleholders, the warm orange hues and the dark wooden tables. And I particularly like the restaurant’s open plan kitchen with its ostentatious copper cooker – a sign, surely, that the chef means business.

By the time our mains arrived, the restaurant had started to fill up and for a Monday night Pera Rose was pretty busy. It looked like we’d arrived just before the rush – impeccable timing.

My Et Sote dish (which was served with rice) was superb. The lamb was tender and the thick tomato and pepper sauce it came swimming in was rich and flavoursome.

More than once I had to fend off a fork from the other side of the table. However, once I’d tried Liz’s Iskender I was open for business. Although the lamb was a tad dry, the creamy yoghurt and paprika sauce was beautiful and, unlike other Iskenders I’ve tried, the bread hadn’t gone soggy.

A statement on the menu reads “life’s too short for average food” and there was certainly nothing average about our meal.

Our bill came to £44.45, which included a couple of bottles of Turkish beer, a glass of house red and a warm milky drink called Sahlep. Top value and top nosh.