Civan Er

The Climb

Formal training at Leiths gave Civan Er a base to build on before the move into chef patron work at Yeni Lokanta in Istanbul from 2013. That structure shows through in the later career: technique first, then identity, then a kitchen of his own where both could be expressed without strain. The progression reads as deliberate rather than loud. By 2019, the same line continued at Yeni, with Civan Er as chef patron. The role suggests continuity as much as authority: a career still working through the same flavours, but in a new setting and with a wider platform.

Today

In Soho, Yeni has been the London home for Civan Er since 2019. The move from Istanbul to London does not read as a reset; it extends the same conversation between heritage and the present tense. The cooking remains Modern Turkish cuisine, carried into a new room without losing its centre. Taken together, Istanbul and Soho make a clear map of the career: one post in the city of birth, one in London, both held by the same chef and both speaking the same culinary language. The consistency is what is notable.

Signature

Civan Er’s signature dishes include manti, My Sunday omelette with kuru et (dried beef), leek and potatoes, manti with dried aubergine, and muhallebi. The list points to a repertoire grounded in memory, texture and ordinary precision, with each dish carrying the kind of specificity that comes from knowing exactly what belongs on the plate.

In Their Words “Cooking has my biggest passion ever since I was eight so if it’s not restaurants, I should be in a kitchen at least!” “My Sunday omelette with kuru et (dried beef), leek and potatoes - so good.”

Recognition

The career silhouette is marked by the roles Civan Er has held: head chef at Changa in Istanbul, chef patron at Yeni Lokanta from 2013, and chef patron at Yeni in Soho from 2019. Those positions chart the movement of the work from one city to another without changing the underlying language of the cooking. Read as a whole, the record is straightforward: an Istanbul-born Turkish chef, trained at Leiths, working across Istanbul and London through a Modern Turkish repertoire. Leiths, Changa, Yeni Lokanta and Yeni are the fixed points in that line.