Holborn, Middle Eastern Restaurant Guide

“Warren Street’s loss is Bloomsbury’s gain as Honey & Co sets up in Lamb’s Conduit St on the former site of Cigala (RIP)”, bringing with it the “interesting” middle Eastern cuisine (“lots of choice for vegetarians”) that has won TV appearances and recipe-book deals for husband and wife, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich. But while this 2022 newcomer is “a good addition to WC1”, it “is now a proper and comparatively large restaurant compared to its former location and has lost its ‘special’ ambience”. And for a few regulars, this disappointment extends to the food too (“not a patch on the original… it was packed solid so others may disagree, but we felt they’re now just cashing in on their previous good name”).

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!)

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.