Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, the tiny West End restaurant founded by a refugee from war-torn Damascus, is expanding into bigger premises to offer a wider range of dishes. Imad Alarnab fled his home in 2015, leaving a flourishing restaurant business behind, and cooked for fellow refugees before rebuilding his career as a restaurateur in London. His […]
An upmarket Armenian restaurant is set to launch in Mayfair later this month. Lusin, meaning ‘moon’, opens its doors in Hay Hill on 31 October and will accommodate up to 100 diners on two floors. The restaurant originated in Riyadh in 2011, and now has three further branches in Saudi Arabia; this will be its […]
John Javier’s Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant The Tent (at the end of the universe) at members’ club 17 Little Portland Street in Fitzrovia will open to the public next Wednesday, 17th August. Ex-Noma chef John Javier launched the restaurant in February, serving tabbouleh, humus and taramasalata to guests sitting on low stools under canvas-hung ceilings, accompanied […]
Israeli chef Eyal Shani is bringing his international pita brand Miznon to London with the launch of his new restaurant in Soho next week, adding to the capital’s booming Middle Eastern dining scene. He opened the original Miznon in Tel Aviv in 2011, and has followed up with branches in Paris, Vienna, New York, Melbourne, […]
Highly rated Middle Eastern vegetarian restaurant Bubala will open a second branch in Soho on Monday 11 July. The original, in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, was opened three years ago by founder Marc Summers and head chef Helen Graham (pictured) to general acclaim – and not just from vegetarians. The current Harden’s guide hails its “Tel Aviv […]
Honey & Co, the small cafe-restaurant in Fitzrovia that helped propel the popularisation of Middle Eastern cuisine in London, is closing down after 10 years following the landlord’s refusal to extend its lease. Israeli-born couple Sarit Parker and Itamar Svrulovich, both alumni of the original Ottolenghi in Notting Hill, launched Honey & Co to general […]
Israeli-born Australian chef Roy Ner opened his first restaurant in Europe this week, Jeru in Berkeley Street, Mayfair, bringing his luxurious interpretation of Middle Eastern cuisine to London. The smart restaurant was designed by Melbourne’s Studio Y and has a downstairs cocktail bar, Layla, along with a bakery at the front producing such delicacies as […]
Chef Josh Katz (above), his brother Paul and business partner Matt Bianchi are to open their third restaurant on Thursday next week. Carmel, in Queen’s Park, will continue along the Eastern Mediterranean trail they have blazed successfully at Berber & Q in Haggerston and Shawarma Bar in Exmouth Market. The new restaurant features an open […]
Qavali, a glamorous Indo-Persian restaurant, opened this month in Birmingham’s Brindley Place, inspired by the ecstatic Sufi singing tradition (also known as qawwali) whose adherents stretch from Turkey across Iran and Afghanistan into India and Pakistan. With a menu that takes “the best dishes from each cuisine” in this region, the 250-seat venue features a […]
A Syrian refugee chef who escaped to Britain is to open a two-week pop-up in Bethnal Green this month, in the hope of re-launching his career. Imad Alarnab had two restaurants in Damascus before Syria’s civil war, but more recently has catered for hundreds of fellow refugees. Imad’s Syrian Kitchen will run from Thursday March 9 to Friday […]
