Where smoke, saffron and centuries of culinary tradition meet the capital’s most exacting tables.
London’s relationship with Middle Eastern cuisine has moved well beyond the era of takeaway shawarma and supermarket hummus. Today, the city’s finest dining rooms are drawing on the Levant, Persia, the Gulf and North Africa with real scholarship, sourcing rare spices, mastering live-fire technique and pairing it all with a level of design and service that would not look out of place in Beirut, Tehran or Marrakech itself. This is cooking with heritage behind it, interpreted by chefs who understand precisely what they are honouring.
The difficulty, naturally, is discernment. Not every restaurant claiming Levantine inspiration has earned the right to it, and a capital this large rewards those who know exactly where to book. We have eaten our way through the city’s grill rooms, mezze tables and Michelin-recognised institutions to compile the addresses genuinely worth your evening, and your appetite.
What follows is our considered edit: from a Michelin Bib Gourmand kebab house in Soho to a Beirut import inside Harrods, by way of railway arches, souk-inspired dining rooms and one very serious Turkish meyhane. Each has been chosen for the same reasons: exceptional cooking, a sense of place, and the kind of atmosphere that lingers well after the bill arrives.
At a Glance
- Best for an occasion: Em Sherif
- Best for connoisseurs of Persian cooking: Berenjak
- Best for theatre and spectacle: The Palomar
- Best for an intimate evening: Akub
- Best for serious live-fire cooking: Berber & Q
- Best for a considered lunch: SHUK
- Best for a long, unhurried evening: Yosma
Our Criteria
Every restaurant on this list has been visited in person, several more than once. We assessed the cooking first, but weighed it against service, design, provenance and whether the experience as a whole justifies its price point. The result spans considerable range, from a £15 Damascene feast to a five-star Lebanese dining room inside one of the world’s most famous department stores, because true luxury is as much about precision and integrity as it is about spectacle.
1. Berenjak, Soho
Best for: an authentic evocation of Tehran’s grill culture
Price: mains from £10 to £18 Address: 27 Romilly Street, Soho, W1D 5AL
Why we love it: Awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for two consecutive years, Berenjak distils the spirit of Tehran’s celebrated kabab houses into a compact Soho address, all exposed brick, mosaic tiling and a mangal grill positioned so every diner can watch the theatre of it unfold. The kitchen deals in precision rather than nostalgia: coal-cooked aubergine arrives with tomato and egg for scooping with sangak, baked on hot pebbles in the traditional manner, while the minced lamb shoulder kebab is paired with saffron rice of exceptional lightness. A glass of sharbat, a fragrant Persian cordial infused with herbs and rosewater, is the correct way to finish. Understated in price, uncompromising in craft.
2. The Palomar, Soho
Best for: an evening of spectacle built around modern Jerusalem cuisine Price: dinner for two with wine, from £90Address: 34 Rupert Street, Soho, W1D 6DN
Why we love it: Few dining rooms in London offer quite this degree of theatre. Seated at the long chrome counter, guests watch a brigade of chefs work in close choreography, drawing on the culinary traditions of Jerusalem, southern Spain and North Africa in equal measure. The signature Polenta, Jerusalem Style, silken and truffled beneath a mushroom ragout, remains one of the most technically accomplished small plates in the city, while the shakshukit, spiced lamb mince over cold yoghurt with tahini, demonstrates the kitchen’s gift for contrast. Reserve the counter seats well in advance; this is not an experience to be had from a quiet corner table.
3. NOPI, Soho
Best for: Yotam Ottolenghi’s most refined expression of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking Price: average spend around £35 at lunch, £50 at dinner Address: 21-22 Warwick Street, Soho, W1B 5NE
Why we love it: White marble, brushed brass and a menu of considerable range define NOPI, the flagship restaurant from the chef who did more than perhaps anyone to introduce London to the flavours of the Levant. The kitchen moves fluently between Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Asian influence, from a morning shakshuka finished with smoked labneh to an evening menu built on soy-glazed pork belly with pear mostarda and roasted sea bass with a delicate coconut sauce. The downstairs communal tables, positioned beside the open kitchen, remain the most coveted seats in the house.
4. The Barbary, Covent Garden
Best for: an intimate, fire-driven tasting experience Price: approximately £40 to £50 per head Address: 16 Neal’s Yard, WC2H 9DP
Why we love it: Deliberately unmarked and seating only twenty-four at its horseshoe-shaped zinc counter, The Barbary draws its inspiration from the historic trade routes of the Barbary Coast, harissa, zhoug, dukkah and chermoula, all filtered through a robata grill and clay tandoor visible from every seat. The fried pastry cigars, filled with salt cod and gently spiced, are worth the wait alone, as is the chicken msachen, marinated for a full day in yoghurt, sumac and baharat before it meets the fire. There is no substitute for being close to the heat; book accordingly, or arrive early with patience.
5. Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, Soho
Best for: an exceptional value expression of Damascene home cooking Price: most dishes under £15 Address: 2.14-2.16 Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, Soho, W1B 5PW
Why we love it: Chef Imad Alarnab’s story, from restaurateur in Damascus to Soho institution, informs every dish on this menu, and the restaurant carries that heritage with genuine dignity. The baba ghanoj, smoked and finished with tahini and pomegranate molasses, ranks among the finest in London, while the slow-cooked lamb shoulder is a study in patience and technique. A portion of every bill is donated to a refugee charity, a detail that elevates the experience further still. Modest surroundings; extraordinary generosity of flavour.
6. Akub, Notting Hill
Best for: an intimate evening of Palestinian fine dining Address: 27 Uxbridge Street, Notting Hill, W8 7TQ
Why we love it: Set discreetly away from the bustle of Portobello Road, Akub presents Palestinian cuisine with considerable refinement, each dish designed for unhurried sharing. The Arak-cured seabass is a particular triumph, delicate and precisely balanced, while the mansaf and shish barak with beetroot each offer a distinct expression of Palestine’s culinary heritage. The Dead Sea Chocolate Cake, dense and richly spiced, has become something of a signature. An address for those who prefer their discoveries quiet.
7. Al Waha, Westbourne Grove
Best for: classic Lebanese cooking of real consistency
Why we love it: Al Waha has earned its long-standing reputation through quiet excellence rather than spectacle. The foul medames is prepared with evident care, the sautéed chicken liver is a menu highlight too often overlooked, and the shish taouk arrives with the charred edges and tenderness that mark it out from lesser versions across the city. A considered Lebanese wine list rounds out an evening that feels, above all, unfailingly reliable.
8. Em Sherif, Knightsbridge
Best for: the definitive Lebanese fine-dining occasion Address: inside Harrods, Knightsbridge
Why we love it: Arriving in London from Beirut with its reputation for elegance fully intact, Em Sherif has made its Knightsbridge address, within Harrods itself, entirely its own. The fish shawarma is exquisitely composed, while the wagyu hummus exemplifies the kitchen’s talent for reinterpreting tradition through a distinctly luxurious lens. Service here is formal, attentive and unerringly gracious, in keeping with a room designed for the most significant of occasions. Reserve this for the evening that calls for genuine ceremony.
9. Bala Baya, Southwark
Best for: ambitious, design-led Eastern Mediterranean cooking
Why we love it: Chef Eran Tibi describes his cooking as “adventurous eating,” and Bala Baya delivers on that promise in full. Bauhaus-influenced architecture, a dedicated pita oven and house-made Gazoz, a fragrant, effervescent Israeli soft drink, establish a sense of occasion from the moment you arrive. The prawn baklava, wrapped in karaifa pastry with bitter lime syrup, pistachio and rose, is among the most inventive dishes on this list, while the Midnight Malabi dessert, layered with black tahini and morello cherry, closes the meal on a note of genuine ingenuity.
10. Arabica, Borough Market and King’s Cross
Best for: an accomplished weekend brunch with distinctly Levantine flourishes
Why we love it: Now in its twenty-fifth year, Arabica has built a devoted following on velvety dips and expertly grilled dishes drawn from across the Eastern Mediterranean. Weekend mornings reveal the kitchen’s more playful register, with Arabic coffee French toast and sumac-dusted eggs served alongside Akub bread. Both London addresses maintain the same considered balance of energy and polish.
12. Berber & Q, Haggerston
Best for: serious live-fire cooking in an atmospheric East London setting Address: Arch 338, Acton Mews, E8 4EA
Why we love it: Established within a converted railway arch in 2015, Berber & Q was among the earliest London kitchens to commit fully to live-fire cooking, and remains one of the finest examples of the craft. The smoked lamb mechoui, rubbed with cumin and harissa, exemplifies the kitchen’s command of slow, considered technique, while the merguez sausage buns and chermoula-stuffed sardines reveal a genuine command of North African flavour. Industrial in setting, exacting in execution.
13. Yosma, Marylebone
Best for: an evening built around Turkish ritual and hospitality
Why we love it: Modelled on the meyhane, Turkey’s tradition of unhurried conviviality where raki and conversation are given equal weight, Yosma is designed to be lingered over rather than rushed. Grilled meats and an extensive meze selection anchor the menu, best accompanied by the aniseed-scented raki, which turns cloudy the moment water meets it, in the traditional manner. This is an evening of considerable duration, best reserved for company worth the time.
14. Noreen, Marylebone
Best for: the most compelling recent arrival on the scene
Why we love it: Taking its name from the Arabic for “two lights,” Noreen draws on the culinary traditions of the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant with evident ambition. The interior, defined by earthy tones and curved tadelakt walls crafted by Syrian and Lebanese artisans, sets a tone of considered luxury before the food even arrives. Chef Mehdi Hani’s menu moves from badenjan aubergine purée and whipped feta with chilli through to fire-kissed grilled mains of real accomplishment. A newcomer, certainly, but one already operating at the standard of London’s more established names.
Fourteen addresses, and each earns its place through genuine craft rather than passing trend. London’s Middle Eastern dining scene continues to deepen in ambition and sophistication, and this list will evolve alongside it. For now, consider it an authoritative starting point, and reserve accordingly.
