Harden's survey result
Summary
“Never had a bad trip here!” – a common experience at these impressively consistent hipster grills where the “great and tasty mezze and flatbreads” are inspired by North Africa and the eastern Med: “delicious dishes with explosive flavours” that are “well-priced and extremely fresh tasting”. They “can get very noisy” (“it was as easy to talk as sitting in a rock concert!”) “but an excellent meal is your reward!”
Summary
“Smoky perfection!” – Josh Katz’s “yummy and very moreish” Middle East-inspired grills in a vibey Haggerston railway arch and on Exmouth Market have won a massive reputation since he launched his take on ‘live-fire cooking’ in 2015; and the “buzzy, intimate atmosphere” of both locations is also a big winner. Top Menu Tip – “the flatbreads, chicken and cauliflower shawarma are standouts”.
Summary
“Fabulous starters and dips with full-on heat and unmissable shawarma (both meat and vegetarian)” is the run-down on Josh Katz’s Tel Aviv-meets-North Africa grill in Exmouth Market. Here and at his original venue from 2015, a Haggerston railway arch, Katz and his team conjure up a “reliably great range of quality melanges” – he’s not fussy about where he’ll find ideas and ingredients (the Balkans, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Yemen are all mentioned on his menus). It’s all very more-ish – “so good I went twice in one week!”.
Summary
The tang of Tel Aviv-meets-North African tastes infuse the lipsmacking charcoal-grilled meats (and also the veg) at Josh Kat’s Haggerston railway arch, which is mostly a walk-in style place (though there are a few tables for bookings). But, in fact, it’s the more recent Exmouth Market spin-off that inspires more feedback nowadays: “Having Shawarma Bar in the title might make it sound like a kebab-shop but, it’s actually an unassumingly intimate restaurant, with great sharing plates and grill dishes that don’t break the bank”. And “it really punches above its weight in terms of the seriously delicious Israeli/Eastern Mediterranean dishes it turns out (the rotisserie chicken is amazing) complemented by an exciting, low-intervention wine list”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
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Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £33.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £2.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £1.50 |
| Service | 12.50% |
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Thursday | 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Friday | 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Saturday | 11 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Sunday | 11 am‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
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