Anatolia GrillCharcoal grill · AberdareCharcoal grill

The team

Father, son and a charcoal grill.

Mehmet came to Wales in 1998 and opened Anatolia Grill in 2008; Deniz started on the counter at fifteen and now runs everything in front of the grill.

Skewers of lamb and chicken shish and kofte over glowing charcoal with flames and smoke
Mehmet Yılmaz, a broad man of about fifty-five with a thick grey moustache, in a black t-shirt and white apron at a charcoal grill holding skewers

Mehmet Yılmaz

Owner and grill. The spit every morning, the charcoal every night

Grew up in Adana, where the kofte is named after the town, and grilled at his uncle's place there before coming to Wales in 1998. Worked in kebab shops in Cardiff and Pontypridd for ten years and opened Anatolia Grill in 2008 because he wanted a real charcoal grill and nobody would let him have one. Builds the doner spit at nine every morning and is on the grill until midnight; his Adana spice mix is not written down anywhere.

Deniz Yılmaz, an athletic young man of about twenty-eight with short black hair and a beard, in a grey t-shirt and black apron behind a counter with a salad bar

Deniz Yılmaz

The counter, the oven, the drivers and the website

Mehmet's son, born in Aberdare, went to the comprehensive on the hill and started on the counter at fifteen. Runs the front of the shop and the drivers, started the pizzas in 2015, and built the meal builder and the late-night times on this website. On Friday and Saturday he is on until three; he knows most of Aberdare by their order.

  • 2,008the year Mehmet put a charcoal grill into 11 Cardiff Street
  • 3amlast orders at the counter on Friday and Saturday nights
  • 18kgof lamb on the doner spit on a Saturday, built in the shop that morning
  • 4.6average from 1,142 reviews
A small kebab shop at night on a stone-built street, a bright window with the doner spit and the counter inside

Cardiff Street

A charcoal grill nobody would let him have.

For ten years Mehmet worked in kebab shops in Cardiff and Pontypridd that cooked shish on a gas griddle and bought the doner in frozen cones. In 2008 he took the lease on a former bookmaker's at 11 Cardiff Street, put a charcoal grill under a proper extraction hood, and started building his own spit. The neighbours complained about the smell for a month and have been customers since.

The drivers are Gareth and Liam, with Sam on Friday and Saturday. The Adana spice mix is not written down.

Finding the shop

Build it, see the price, then ring.

Pitta, wrap, lahmacun or a box; doner, shish, kofte or falafel; two sauces and chips. The builder gives the price before you pick up the phone, and it is the same at 2am as at 4pm.

Build your orderRing 01685 496 0136