Tabun Kitchen

Middle Eastern Restaurant in Soho
Tabun Kitchen image
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6 / 10 from 1 review
Address
77 Berwick Street
Soho
London
W1F 8TH
Map
Telephone
020 7324 7767
Cuisine
Middle Eastern
Region
Soho
Nearest Station
Oxford Circus
0.25 miles

Tabun Kitchen offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, whilst treating diners to a thrillingly theatrical preparation of mouth-watering Middle-Eastern wraps cooked in the flames of a modern oven, this is a throwback to the traditional 'tabun' oven.

Tabun Kitchen is the brainchild of Hanan Kattan, an award-winning film producer who grew up in a Palestinian household in Jordan.

Tabun Kitchen Picture Gallery

Tabun Kitchen Picture
Tabun Kitchen Picture
Tabun Kitchen Picture
Tabun Kitchen Picture

All In London Review

an excellent place to grab a wrap filled with middle-eastern delights!

Review Image
Autumn is here, and winter is coming. The nights are darker and everything seems colder, so we headed out in search of some warmth and colour to brighten a November Monday evening. Our destination was Tabun Kitchen, giving London a taste of Palestine in the guise of Jerusalem street food.

The 'tabun' oven is described by their website as the "centrepiece of Palestinian cooking since pre-Biblical times". This is also the vibe in the restaurant, with the open kitchen, bar and oven dominating the space and very much centre stage. This is a great look, however, due to its size, there isn't loads of room for the tables on the opposite wall. There is however extra seating downstairs.

Once we had squeezed into our seat we ordered a mix of dishes to share, keen to try as much as possible. To start we predictably had the mini mezze, along with the Moutabal smoked aubergine, Labaneh and grilled Halloumi. All dishes were packed full of flavour, and the aim of home-cooked classics is emphasised by the rustic crockery. The salads were spiced with sumac and punctuated by little explosions of pomegranate. The standout starter was the smoked aubergine, with its accompanying grilled chilli and lemon courgette salad that shone brightest.

Next, quickly out of the tabun, was one of the Manaeesh Palestinian pizzas. We picked the Musakhan chicken: a mix of chicken, sumac, onions and pine nuts. This was an interesting concept and the most obvious street food element. While the taste was there, it was lacking something. The meat was not dry, but a dressing or a sauce was noticeable by its absence.

The main courses again were very tasty, we had the lamb Makloubeh and the mixed grill. The grill did have a garlic sauce, but could have done with more than a splodge. The selection of meats were well cooked and retained their moisture. Unfortunately, the lamb on the Makloubeh did not. The dish also came with a lot of rice, and we seemed to lose the yoghurt, cucumber and mint amongst it. Therefore, there was a bit of a theme on the sauce front, and our only gripe for the meal as a whole. However, the pistachio, pine nut and raisin garnish did compliment the lamb beautifully.

To finish we had a selection of Awameh, a type of middle-eastern doughnut, and baklava, to go with our pistachio ice cream and passion fruit sorbet. Again there was the feel of home-cooking, with flavour taking the lead over presentation, which was by no means a bad thing.

Tabun Kitchen was certainly a pleasant meal out. However, for dinner, perhaps some of the street food edge becomes lost. We imagine that at lunch this would be an excellent place to grab a wrap filled with middle-eastern delights or a Manaeesh pizza fresh out the tabun.

Reviewed by James Whiting anonymously on Nov 7, 2016
Published on Nov 7, 2016


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