• Middle-Eastern• Haggerston
Chef and founder Josh Katz doesn’t focus on one particular country for the inspiration behind the restaurant’s dishes – rather the DNA of the menu comes from all over the Levant, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Taking centre stage at Berber & Q is the kitchen’s wood-fired grill, where the team can get creative with grilled meats and vegetables in the restaurant’s open kitchen. While the meat section of the menu is always popular, the cauliflower shawarma is a must-order dish.
Berber & Q is one of a growing number of East London institutions to champion natural and low-intervention wine over the last few years. The list, overseen by co-founder Mattia Bianchi, showcases natural wine from small producers all over the Mediterranean.
You’ll feel like you’ve stumbled onto a hidden, locals-only spot. Because you have.
The bread also does excellent service on their hummus, whipped up with tahini and studded with whole chickpeas, pine nuts and slices of fresh red chilli.
Berber & Q gives me almost everything I want from a restaurant. It has bench-style group dining, but seated close enough to stay intimate.
The vibe’s like a bar or nightclub, except that here the staff greet you like old friends and guide you to a low-lit table. Their uncontrived charm is sustained for your entire visit.
Even from the outside they set the tone with a huge, rusted corrugated sheet filling the pregnant tip of the brick railway arch that the restaurant calls home.