One Star Doner Bar | Escape to Freight Island

Doner kebabs from a Michelin star chef. Street food stall One Star Doner Bar from acclaimed Birmingham chef Brad Carter is surely one of the coolest projects to emerge from the forced shutdowns of lockdown.

It started life when Brad’s much praised Birmingham restaurant Carters of Moseley was closed due to Covid. And happily for us it’s now a permanent fixture at Escape to Freight Island.

The menu is short and to-the-point, focusing on five kebabs (two of which are shawarmas) all made with premium British produce. (There’s no mystery meats here – these are the same suppliers Carter uses in his restaurant).

Go for a Tamworth Mortadella sausage served in soft pockets of pide flatbread sourced from a Turkish bakery in Manchester, with shredded white cabbage, cavolo nero and a lick of margarita hot sauce.

Or try the lamb doner, served with kebab van salad, smoked chilli sauce, minted yoghurt and grilled pointed pepper. You can get Brad’s signature potato smileys as a side (the smiley face is a reference to his love of rave culture, as is the bright yellow ‘technoslaw’).

The Streets’ Mike Skinner said One Star Doner Bar makes the best kebabs he’s ever had, and nobody is arguing with that here. While a shawarma used to be an afterthought to a night out raving, it’s now the main event.