Clerkenwell, Middle Eastern Restaurant Guide

The “lovely Moorish/Spanish sharing food” at the little sister of Sam & Sam Clark’s Moro next door in Exmouth Market – and also its spin-off in Hackney Road – makes them “a go-to place when you don’t know where to go”: “an all-round crowd-pleaser, good for meat and non-meat- eaters alike”.

“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!”

Yuma Hashmi’s latest venture is a seventies-styled wine bar (complete with a peacock rattan chair, famous from 1974’s X-rated film Emmanuelle) directly opposite Tehran-Berlin (fka The Drunken Butler), his Persian restaurant in Clerkenwell. The wine list is modern, with natural and biodynamic options, and is backed up by French and Iranian snacks and small plates.

2023 Review: “Outstanding delicious falafels” – “some of the best in London” – are the star turn at this Jewish-Moroccan veggie spot in Temple Fortune. “Don’t be put off by the strip lighting aesthetic, although there’s possibly better ambience in the street outside”. In the last couple of years the three Sabbo brothers have opened follow-ups in High Barnet (selling meat) and Clerkenwell’s Leather Lane (and also in Lakewood, New Jersey!)