Best middle eastern restaurants in London

“Having been ordering from here for years now, since they opened! I am half Persian so know about good Persian food as my dad is an amazing cook and this restaurant has top quality food and it’s always cooked to perfection every time I order or dine in. The koobideh and joojeh is my favourite but for a stew I always have gormeh sabzi. The chips are really nice too. I have also had catering from them for a party and as usual they gave a great service! Highly recommend.”

“food were served hot & scrumptious! so nice to eat during cold season. The staff was really nice & has great customer service skill. the shop was a bit hidden. but very close to Queensway station. totally recommended.”

“To start with I don’t usually leave reviews unless I find it necessary. But I passed by today and noticed a new shop near where I live. I said: I’ll try this tonight. The experience started from second 1. Staff were so polite and friendly! what I thought it was a take away shop is actually a restaurant (you can Take Away too), decor is outstanding. Opened a month ago so everything looks new and shinny, on top of that they also have a patio that you can use once its refurbishment is finished. I decided to get take away but I will come soon and sit in the restaurant soon. My food was excellent, the lamb shawarma is to die for, I can’t wait to try other items of the menu. Already forgot the names of the staff I met but very lovely people. Will visit soon as I live in the neighbourhood. Also they open til late. Highly recommended”

“Great Afghani hostmanship coupled with uniquely Afghan food. Had vegetarian Afghan food - awesome new experience for my palate!! Kudos to the Manager for retaining his Afghan hostmanship in lovely London!!”

“We had an incredible dinner! Everything was so tasty! Highly recommend and will definitely be back cause the menu had so many interesting dishes! Highlight was the complimentary semolina syrupy cakes pieces that came with the bill”

“Found this via Google whilst staying in the area and took a gamble as I didn't fancy a regular pub, Chinese or Indian for dinner. Booked over the phone no problems. On arrival we had a friendly greeting and were shown to our table. Staff were fantastic through the evening with nothing being too much trouble and their attention to detail was fantastic. Now to the food. The menu had a good variety to it and was reasonably priced with a good selection of both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks we can recommend the homemade lemonade (very refreshing) . When our food arrived we were not disappointed everything was fabulously fresh and was full of flavour and of a decent portion size . Don't be put off by the low number of reviews as the restaurant is relatively new. Five star review a must visit if you are in the area. Thank you for a lovely evening Lebanese Please.”

“This was our first visit as we were just visiting the area for a few days. It was absolutely fantastic. The ambience of the place is amazing and the food is so delicious, fresh and authentically Lebanese/Arabic. The portions were very generous and we just could not stop eating. The bread was freshly baked and so tasty. Amazing service from the lovely staff Levi and Ali who were very welcoming and professional. A very special thanks to the chef, Hani. We wanted a couple of things changed on the dishes we had ordered and we did not mention this before until we were served with our food. However, the chef gladly accommodated this and brought back our dishes exactly like we wanted and with a smile. Couldn't have had a better meal. He even made a special dessert for us which was just so tasty and mouth watering that we ordered another portion to take away with us. Please make sure you add this to your menu? Highly recommend.”

“Delicious food, welcoming staff and a delightful atmosphere. Authentic Somali cuisine. Would recommend 6 stars if I could.”

“Delicious rotisserie chickens and shawarma!!!!”

“Had an amazing time! The host gives the best recommendations, which we went with no regrets. Highlights were the mezze board and the carrot and ginger juice! Will definitely be back soon.”

“The last evening of our trip and our search for Persian food paid off. Best service, best suggestions, best owner, and by far the best Persian food I’ve ever had. When we return to London, this will be the reason. I forgot to take a photo of the meal before we began eating. But as you can see, we savored it.”

“Decided to walk in to this place on a Wednesday night without a reservation but we weren't turned away. The friendly man managed to find us the perfect table until our food arrived. The food was incredible. Fresh and flavorsome. Will definitely be a regular here from now on! The service, atmosphere and food was top notch!”

“One of the best Xinjiang restaurant I have ever been! The big plate chicken with handmade noodles is the best. The skewers are also very tender and full of flavour. Definitely recommend!”

“Service was great, very attentive servers. I had succulent lamb chops with incredible side dishes. Best Turkish restaurant in Lewisham.”

“Absolutely love this place, I go there on my lunch breaks at least 3 times a week specifically for their lamb shawarma! They’ve got the best lamb shawarma I’ve had and the guys that work there are very kind and respectful. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. 10/10, highly recommend”

“Had coffee and brownie with my baby sleeping in the pram. Staff were lovely and welcoming, really nice atmosphere, thank you!”

“We have ordered from here many occasions and this place just impresses me every time. Their packaging is such high quality and their flavours are amazing! I’ve never had food ordered in be as tasty as grill cartel. Always cooked to perfection, fresh ingredients and worth every penny!”

“Food is amazing, kebab koubideh and hummus was delicious! It's great to have traditional middle eastern food here in Walton that's actually made well! Waitress even served some complimentary tea and freshly made baklava! 100% would recommend”

“Typical libanese's delicious food and smiling staf. All good.”

“I've never tried Iraqi food before but Ya Hela has introduced me to how wonderful it is. I say wonderful because it was a true meat feast! Their most popular item, the lamb kofte kebab had a lovely outer crust yet absolutely broke apart when trying to pick it up. I finally found something more sensitive than vegans. This alone was great however they have speciality lamb dishes with 3x more meat. Now we talking. Lamb shank - Pure, served with rice, no sauces or spices as such. Just tender, beautiful meat falling off the bone and you'd never complain for wanting more even though it's hella simple. Lamb neck - now this I could relate to a desi dish because it was another massive chunk of lamb but sat on top of a bed of broken up naan which has soaked up spices. Wow, this was almost like when I have Nihari, naan soaked up except this meat is on another level! Arabic Shwarma was pretty good though just needed more sauce inside but they have sauces provided anyway so that was fine. The chicken wings were a little dry for my liking. Service and atmosphere were fantastic, it was pretty busy and loved seeing massive pieces of lamb being eaten up. Very much liked this spot guys, try those lamb dishes and kebabs and you will not be disappointed! Taste: 9, Quality: 9, Value: 9”

“Great little Turkish discovery in the area. Run and managed by the owners, this restaurant offers up a range of culinary Turkish treats cooked perfectly. Service is excellent and highly commended. Parking is a little challenging in the area but it is well worth the trouble. Highly recommend if you're in the area.”

“I went to this restaurant with some friends and we were here for 5 hours! I chose this restaurant out of the other west African restaurants because they do not use Crayfish and every African restaurant seems to use it. Auntie was so kind and endearing, she was very funny also! The night ended with a wonderful discussion and rather heating discussion in a good way it was nice to have the restaurant with ourselves to converse with auntie I had Nkanenskwan with emu too, red red and plantain. It was very filling and delicious, the spice kicks the throat really quickly! I do plan to come back again it was just so cosy, cultural and nice”

“Delicious food! We are still talking about this restaurant weeks after the experience! Fabulous service. Worth the two hour drive just to get there (lucky folks live nearby!). Will go again and highly rated/recommend.”

“Such a lovely restaurant for my Mums birthday. Vani was an amazing waitress and everyone was really friendly. The food was so yummy and a great variety on the menu.”

“We went here for our work Christmas meal and were blown away by the service and food! Jon was fantastic throughout, greeting us, taking orders and even bringing out the food! Every plate of food was delicious and for drinks/food to come to £50 per head was mind blowing (we had the 6 dish tasting menu + beers/wine). Get yourself down here to a hidden gem - I can’t wait to visit Jon and his team again soon.”

“Exceptional food and customer service, the best Lebanese food I've had on Edgeware Road, and I've tried almost all of them. Give them a try, it was incredible”

“Very tasty Algerian dishes. The owner was very friendly and welcoming. I'll be back when in London for sure inchallah and I recommend this place 100%”

“Went to Mezzet Dar for dinner. The food was amazing had tapas and I was impressed with the sizes you get more than enough for the price you pay, the fish was fresh and delicious as well as the prawns which were my favourite the lamb was also very good. W e tried several plates/tapas and all were well presented and taste divine. The staff was extremely helpful and kind especially Jonás the Manager who helped and advise with the dishes choices, he is always smiling and very pleasant will definitely come back and 100% recommend it !”

“We had dinner here last night, and it was really good! The place is away from the crowded area and it’s cozy and very comfortable. Feels like home! The staff was very nice and friendly! The food was delicious and the bread was freshly made and it tasted really good. I really recommend this place! Congratulations to the restaurant owners for having such an amazing restaurant!”

“Nice place with really tasty food and oriental flavors! The portions could have been slightly bigger, but we enjoyed every bite! Service was quick and kind! A big plus for the Ayran, which is blended with mint and has a nice flavor!”