Esra

Great British Menu winner Selin Kiazim cooks whatever she feels like on Sporenburg, and what she feels like is usually exactly right.

Selin Kiazim ran the acclaimed Oklava in Shoreditch, won Great British Menu, wrote two cookbooks, then closed it all down and moved to a corner building on Sporenburg with her partner Steph de Goeijen. Amsterdam won that trade. Esra is small, warm and handwritten: the menu changes daily depending on what the farmers dropped off, so in summer you get one set menu at 55 and you trust the kitchen. That trust gets repaid in courgette and feta meze with pistachios, fried vegetables with confit garlic yoghurt, and a house sucuk and grilled cheese bun with Old Amsterdam cream cheese that reads like a joke and eats like a keeper. Gault&Millau walked in and handed over two toques on the spot. The wine list wanders through Turkey, Georgia and Croatia. Steph runs the room like she has known you for years. Sit at the counter if you enjoy watching people who are very good at their jobs.

Saturday is the only lunch service and the easiest booking. They take real holidays: closed 23 August to 9 September 2026, so check before you cycle out.

Photo: Your Little Black Book