Kebab shops and family-run Turkish and Greek restaurants have been a fixture in the UK for decades, but over the past 10 years or so the country’s Middle Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean dining scene has broadened considerably. Chefs including Yotam Ottolenghi and Honey & Co’s Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer have brought the breadth of the region’s cooking to a wider audience, taking diners beyond supermarket staples such as hummus, falafel and pitta bread.
More recently, the region has inspired a new generation of independent restaurants, including some of central London’s most high-profile openings of the past few years. Among them are modern Turkish restaurants KID and Kismet, Greek-influenced Oma and Agora, and Egyptian-inspired Impala.
In the branded market, the kebab still dominates by site count. German Doner Kebab is by far the biggest operator, having recently passed the 150-site mark after making its UK debut in 2015.
Casual dining brands Comptoir Libanais and The Real Greek have helped introduce a wider audience to Lebanese and Greek cooking respectively, but both have had their ups and downs through the casual dining crunch and the pandemic. Because of this, much of the recent expansion among sit-down brands has come from smaller operators, with Brother Marcus, Berenjak, Ottolenghi and Bubala all adding sites.
These UK-born operations are now being joined by Middle Eastern-based operators, including Eyal Shani’s Miznon, Turkish bakery chain Simit Sarayı and Nusret Gökçe’s Nusr-Et. Last month, long-established Turkish kebab restaurant İskender quietly opened in Knightsbridge, and last week Beirut-born Loris confirmed plans to open in London.
German Doner Kebab
German Doner Kebab launched its first UK site in 2015 (©GDK)
Founded: 2013 (UK launch: 2015)
UK sites: 155
Established in Dubai in 2013, German Doner Kebab (GDK) takes its inspiration from Berlin’s kebab scene. Hero Brands founder Athif Sarwar acquired the international rights shortly after its launch, and the first UK site opened in Birmingham in 2015. The UK is now the brand’s home market, and GDK also operates in Sweden, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the US. GDK has expanded rapidly in the UK over the past decade to become a major player in the quick-service sector. Earlier this year, it opened its first railway station site at London Victoria.
Comptoir Libanais
Comptoir Libanais aso operates Yalla Yalla
Founded: 2008
UK sites: 24
Comptoir Libanais, which translates as ‘Lebanese counter’, was founded by Tony Kitous. After a four-year pause in expansion, the brand returned to growth in 2023 with a restaurant in Ealing. Comptoir Group has since continued to expand the brand overseas, including opening its first restaurant in Abu Dhabi. Chaker Hanna also returned as CEO of Comptoir Group after being forced out by Kitous in 2022. The group also operates the smaller Yalla Yalla brand and two sites under its spin-off kebab concept, Shawa. Comptoir Group recently reported narrower losses, which it attributed to operational efficiencies and a renewed focus on attracting more customers.
Megan’s
Dishes at Megan’s (Jamie Orlando Smith)
Founded: 2002
UK sites: 22
Megan’s started as a small antiques shop on King’s Road and later became a café. A regular customer bought the business in 2014 when its namesake owner moved to New Zealand. Head chef Sercan Ugurlu introduced an Eastern Mediterranean-inspired menu of open kebabs, mezze bowls, koftes and grilled dishes. The brand recently continued its expansion with a restaurant in Windsor. In Parsons Green, the group closed its original Megan’s and reopened the site as Ollie’s House, its pan-Asian spin-off. Megan’s returned to the neighbourhood shortly afterwards, taking over the former Le Pain Quotidien on Parsons Green Lane.
The Real Greek
The Real Greek was launched by chef Theodore Kyriakou
Founded: 1999
UK sites: 19
Created by chef Theodore Kyriakou, The Real Greek serves hot and cold mezze alongside grilled souvlaki and wraps. Earlier this year, Karali Group, which also operates Côte Brasserie, acquired 19 of The Real Greek’s 28 restaurants from Fulham Shore, which is owned by Japanese group Toridoll. The deal saved 358 of the brand’s 509 jobs.
Ottolenghi
Ottolenghi’s Chelsea site
Founded: 2002
UK sites: 9
Founded by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi began as a small shop in Notting Hill and has since become one of London’s most recognisable and influential restaurant brands. Expansion was relatively gradual for much of the group’s history but has picked up with launches in Edinburgh, Geneva and Amsterdam. The group is also behind standalone central London restaurants ROVI and NOPI.
Brother Marcus
Brother Marcus founders Tas Gaitanos and Alex Large (©Brother Marcus)
Founded: 2016
UK sites: 8
Tasos Gaitanos and Alex Large founded Brother Marcus in Balham as a daytime café inspired by the Eastern Mediterranean. It moved to an all-day format with the opening of its Angel restaurant in 2018. The brand has since expanded across London, opening in Covent Garden, Canary Wharf and Soho, and most recently in Victoria. The group also introduced Kamara, a cocktail bar at its Soho site inspired by Eastern Mediterranean drinking culture.
Go Falafel
Founded: 2012
UK sites: 8
Founded in Manchester by Rajab Shamallakh, Go Falafel serves falafel, salad boxes and hummus alongside fresh juices and smoothies. It operates three sites in Manchester, four in London and one in Liverpool.
The Athenian
Founded: 2014
UK sites: 7
Founded by Tim Vasilakis, The Athenian grew out of a market stall and serves pitas, gyros, wraps and salad bowls inspired by Athenian street food. The brand’s estate halved after co-owner Neo Christodoulou left to launch rival concept Smashing Plates. The following year, The Athenian partnered with Growth Kitchen to open 10 delivery kitchens in London.
Pilpel
Founded: 2009
UK sites: 7
Pilpel started on Bushfield Street with a menu built around falafel made to founder Uri Dinay’s grandfather’s recipe. The falafel comes in pitas or bowls with toppings including egg, feta, guacamole and aubergine, plus a choice of sauces. More recently, the brand partnered exclusively with Just Eat for Business to deliver Middle Eastern street food to offices across London.
Maroush
Founded: 1981
UK sites: 6
Marouf Abouzaki and his wife Houda opened the first Maroush on Edgware Road, one of London’s main destinations for Middle Eastern food. Inspired by the cafés, restaurants and homes of Beirut, its Lebanese menu includes chargrilled aubergine moutabal with tahini and lemon, grilled halloumi and sharing platters.
Gökyüzü
Founded: 1999UK sites: 6
Gökyüzü, which means ‘sky’ in Turkish, opened on Green Lanes in Haringey, the heart of London’s Turkish restaurant scene. It serves charcoal-grilled kebabs, seafood, Turkish pide and vegetarian dishes, alongside breakfast and brunch. It was named best kebab restaurant in north and west London at the 2017 British Kebab Awards.
Honey & Co
Founded: 2012
UK sites: 4
Founded by Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, Honey & Co serves Middle Eastern-inspired dishes including Persian-style ghormeh sabzi, a stew of black beans, butter beans and chard, and lamb siniya, made with spiced minced lamb, cauliflower, a tahini crust and pine nuts, served with tomato salad. Srulovich and Packer have also written several cookbooks.
Bubala
Founded: 2019
UK sites: 4
Founded in Spitalfields by Marc Summers, the quietly vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant group serves dishes including halloumi with chamomile and fennel honey and crispy confit latkes with toum. Bubala recently opened what Summers described as its ‘most ambitious’ site to date in Covent Garden.
TAS
Founded: 1999
UK sites: 4
Founded by Onder Sahan, TAS specialises in Anatolian Turkish cooking, serving hot and cold mezze, sharing plates and its signature hummus with freshly baked pide. The charcoal mangal grill turns out shish kebabs, other grilled meats and fish, with traditional casseroles and seasonal dishes also on the menu.
Delamina
Founded: 2018
UK sites: 3
Founded by husband-and-wife team Limor and Amir Chen, Delamina serves Eastern Mediterranean dishes, with an emphasis on grilling and roasting and a wide choice of vegetarian options.
Miznon
Founded: 2011 (UK launch: 2022)
UK sites: 3
Israeli chef Eyal Shani opened his first London Miznon in Soho in 2022, followed by a Notting Hill site a few months later. The Notting Hill restaurant recently introduced an evening menu of small plates, including lamb Turkish tacos and salt-baked baby beetroots with sour cream.
Berenjak
Founded: 2018
UK sites: 3
Founded by chef Kian Samyani in partnership with JKS Restaurants, Berenjak began as a hole-in-the-wall kababi on Soho’s Romilly Street. The Persian restaurant brand recently opened its largest site to date in Mayfair. It has also become JKS Restaurants’ biggest overseas success, with nine sites across the UAE, Qatar and the US.
Le Bab
Founded: 2015
UK sites: 2
Stephen Tozer, Ed Brunet and Manu Canales founded Le Bab in Soho’s Kingly Court. It serves mezze and kebabs, with meat cooked over a wood- and charcoal-fired robata grill and served in flatbreads made in-house. Its larger Covent Garden restaurant is home to Kebab Queen, a tasting-menu restaurant.
Dining and Cooking