I grabbed a street-facing bar seat at The Palomar and ended up fully entertained between people-watching and chatting with the staff. The ambiance is amazing--sexy, energetic, and paired with great house/techno beats that make the whole space feel alive. Everyone was warm, attentive, and genuinely fun to talk to. The food was amazing. The beef tartare was delicious with great flavor and texture. The octopus and all its fixings were also really good, even though I'm just not a butter bean person in general. The side of carrots was honestly one of my favorites--soooo good with crumbled feta, walnuts, and dates. Thanks for the recommendation and the amazing service, Zoey! Such a great stop in London and an easy yes from me. read more

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Cute little restaurant. Hard to get reservations but we lucked out and we're able to score a table, as long as we gave it back in 1.5 hours. Friendly service in a dark modern pub vibe space. Food for small plates and sharing, del opus food. read more

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Ahh another amazing dinner at Palomar. This has become one of my go to dining spots when I visit. We were able to sit at the kitchen bar this time which was a great experience! Our service was on point. Very attentive and the food came out at a good cadence! Standouts this time around included the hummus and falafel, chicken thighs and the layered potatoes. The ambiance is cosy but make sure to make a resy in advance as this hidden gem continues to get more recognition! read more

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Love this place! Tons of energy and a lot of fun. The food is creative and delicious. Sit at the bar if you. Great overall experience. read more

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Always a go to for us and never disappoints! Highly recommend the chicken and sitting at the chefs counter. read more

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During a recent London downpour, I took shelter in The Palomar (with a pre-planned reservation). It was a really great Middle Eastern/Mediterranean meal; with starting with the fluffy and filling kubaneh together with the labneh. The sesame chicken schnitzel followed, leading up to the tarka octopus. Flavors on everything were outstanding, as was the presentation. Service was really good as well, and it was set up nicely for a single diner. The meal closed with an ice cream sandwich which had me really excited, as the "cookies" are baklava. Unfortunately, the baklava was a bit plain, and didn't deliver much sweetness. I also thought the price point was on the higher end for a Bib Gourmand, given the smallness of the plates. Still, The Palomar greatly expanded my horizons of Middle Eastern food, and I'd gladly return. read more

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The Palomar is a wonderful Mediterranean and dining experience in London. It comes with excellent dining service and highly recommend that you get a reservation. A really great experience and is quite unique if you sit at the bar as you can see right into the kitchen and get the feel of the dynamic with the chefs and staff. You will regularly have conversations with the staff and they are more than willing to share their experiences and backstory about the food and menu. Everything is served a la carte and can be enjoyed family style. Portion sizes are a little small but the craft and the quality of the dishes more than makes up for it. This will really expand your horizons on your middle eastern food and cuisine. Everything we had was incredibly delicious and one of our best dining experiences in London. read more

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Enjoyed sitting on their patio...servers were friendly and the food was good. Enjoyed our Mediterranean meal and tried 7 or 8 small dishes. Some were great and some were just average...their Labneh was excellent and their hummus was delicious but their octopus and their chicken were just ok. Their drinks are small and a bit expensive. Worth a visit - good location and staff. read more

Amazing time at Palomar. Cauliflower fritter with a lime yoghurt sauce was incredible. Lebnah with pistachio nuts stole the show. Just incredible. They added on the house some tasty babaganoush too. The crispy cucumber dish was a hit. So fresh and unique. The charred broccoli was so flavorful. The Octopus was amazing. Everything we ate had a distinct flavor. The place was hopping and the service was great. Ready to go again. read more

Absolutely brilliant!! If I lived in London, I'd be at The Palomar weekly. We enjoyed such a lovely dinner here. Everything about this place is 5 STAR. The energy is intoxicating in the best way. The vibes were spot on from the moment we stepped through the door until the second we left. High frequency bustling energy = my fav type of energy. I usually don't comment on staff appearances but this team is smokin' hot! I dare you not to notice. We didn't have a booking and stopped in a bit after 21:30 on a Thursday evening. We were seated within ten minutes. Make a booking to be safe, we just lucked out. My bestie and I both took note of the menu and loved how they listed everyone's names down the center. This spoke to us before food or drinks even hit the table. It's such a thoughtful shout out to the people who put the work in to create such a wonderful experience. We didn't sit at the kitchen bar but I can see how that would be a fun spot too, not a bad seat in the place. I had the spicy Paloma. It was so good, I could have had two! This bourbon girl also LOVES tequila. The spiced fig old fashioned was calling my name, I'll have to have it next time. We shared the Chicken Schnitzel, Kubaneh, Labneh, Hummus and Ribeye. We had ordered the carrots but somehow they didn't make it out to us, which was no problem at all. We'd just flown in from France and had chicken with carrots for lunch, so we were not carrot deficient ;) We were plenty satisfied with our selections. Everything was mouth watering delish. We had a couple desserts on the house which was very sweet of them. The sorbet and ice cream sandwiches. We also shared a port, and two additional brownie bites arrived. I'd fly back to London this week just to dine at Palomar, it's that perfect. Highly recommend. read more

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One of the tips I got before my London trip was that I should get some Middle Eastern food here. I'm staying in Covent Garden and found Palomar in the Michelin Guide. I came here for lunch on a Friday afternoon and was nicely seated at the counter in front of the grill. The server recommended that I try the trio of dips (labneh, hummus and babaganush) and the kubaneh to start. The kubaneh was just amazing - it's an airy Yemeni bread that paired really well with all of the dips. I was torn between the lamb and the octopus but decided to go with octopus. It was really nice and tender and all the sauces in the plate just blended well. For dessert, I ordered the lemon and arak sorbet since it was hot and humid outside. I had the sirocco for my non-alcoholic pairing and that was great as well. This was just the perfect lunch on a vacation trip and cost £67. The counter seats at the restaurant were the best and I really enjoyed the music playing in the background. Highly recommended if you are in the area and just craving some good Middle Eastern food. read more

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The Palomar was a last minute dining to decision for us, and boy are we glad we 1) were able to get a reservation, and 2) able to find this hidden gem! The restaurant is on the smaller side, and while we have only been there once, I can imagine the place is usually pretty packed as it was the night we went for dinner during our travels in London. After we were initially looking to go elsewhere for dinner but were turned away because we didn't have a reservation, we found this place and a last minute reservation (the only one left for the night; must've been a late cancellation) that we were able to slide into. So grateful we did! The server we had really made the experience. I cannot remember his name, but he was a kind gentlemen who walked us through the menu, made drink and food recommendations, and was attentive throughout our time there. The drinks list was creative and I enjoyed each of the two cocktails I tried. The food itself was incredible. I highly recommend doing what my fiancé and I did - sharing a few appetizers and small plates together, vs. the traditional order separate entrees. I will particularly call out the breads and dips our server recommended (especially the white one, which I think was a feta cheese based dip). The steak was also incrediblely flavorful and cooked to perfection. If we ever get the chance to come back, we certainly would! read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

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Best meal ever in over fifty years in walking the earth. First time in London and we snuck in and had the best meal.

Great and attentive service from all of the staff. Excellent food. Everything we had tasted read more

The food was delicious. The service was great. We arrived a little early for our reservation and the staff quickly had us set up with some cocktails while we waited. The house pickles were delicious and the ribeye steak cooked perfectly. read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Lamb belly - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

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Loved this place. So small and different from any other Mediterranean type restaurant in the best way possible. All the dishes were amazing and incredibly delicious. We split everything per our waitstaff's recommendation. If in London, get a reservation ( required) and go here. You will be so pleased read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Desert trio. - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

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Great Mediterranean food.Good service and good wine selection.Generous portions.The bar was the best seats but full.

Must Try: Lamb Skewers TLDR; High class service and exemplary food in a casual space The menu - The Palomar has a variety of amazing modern Jerusalem dishes, we tried almost everything on the menu and there was nothing we didn't want more of. You can't go wrong so just pick anything that sounds good to you! The lamb skewers are particularly amazing. The staff - The servers behind the counter were attentive and friendly and even chatted us up about other places we could try and restaurants we were looking at for dinner (after lunch at Palomar). They knew everything about the menu and gave us tips on great things to pair. read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Lamb Skewer, Kubaneh (bread), Labneh (w/ pistachios), (raw) Seabass Kubeniah - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

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kitchen bar seats were the best! i enjoyed watching Eliseo (in our line of site) carefully prepare each dish. Karin was amazingly attentive and willing to help me find just the wine i wanted as well as packing up our take away food as we tend to over order. Fernando was the perfect person to welcome us and get us a drink while we waited (we were early). the pork chops, hummus, yummy bread with tahini,chicken and more (you literally cannot order wrong) were all delicious. a wonderful experience watching the chefs prepare our food and of course enjoying the fruits of their labor. btw, i didn't name each dish correctly because i am happily full and tired from traveling so you will have to read between the lines. hope to revisit The Palomar again one day. read more

I have to be honest and say that I don't know anything about traditional Middle Eastern food and flavors. However, the Palomar provided me a wonderful experience of the "food of modern Jerusalem" as they suggest on their website. Being a foodie myself, I am always interested in trying new flavors, new style of food, or new cuisines. I was very impressed by the food and experience I had at the Palomar. We made the reservation in advance for their dining room. The waitress was super nice and walked us through some of their popular items on the menu. Everything on the menu is a sharable plate for the table. I love this concept since we get to try more flavors and dishes. We started the evening with the popular Kubaneh which comes with tahini and fresh tomatoes. Kubaneh is a traditional Yemenite Jewish bread, which reminds me of English popover. It's fluffy and light bread. Their tahini is delicious! It's nutty, but very smooth. We picked a few dips, Harissa Carrot and Labneh with Za'atar and roasted pistachios. Their Labneh is absolutely delicious! The roasted pistachios were perfect with the labneh and kubaneh. The Harissa Carrot was slightly spicy. This is my least favorite item because I was expecting more layers of flavor than just spicy. My favorite item of the evening was the Spiced Lamb Cutlets with Confit Garlic Yoghurt. It's mind-blowingly delicious. The lamb was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The garlic yogurt added an additional layer of flavor to the lamb. I can definitely eat the whole plate myself. Another meat dish we had was Persian Lemon Chicken. The flavor of the lemon chicken was heavier than expected, but it's tender, juicy, and delicious. We had a side of Skewered Vegetables with date glaze. The grilled cabbage was perfect with the date glaze. The grilled onion was sweet and excellent choice with the meat. To complete the evening, we tried their Sesame cream brulee. It's not exactly the traditional cream brulee, but it's better! The sesame crust was delicious with the cream underneath. Overall, I see why the Palomar holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand because of their excellent quality of food and service. read more

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Michelin quality food and experience. Super casual (we sat at the bar, and that was amazing). Every bite was amazing.

We entered into a mostly empty restaurant @ 12:30; by the time we left it was hopping. 3 types of bread. The Kubaneh was too cakey, but the pita was warm, freshly baked and unique. We opted for the humus and "spicy experience". The seabass tartare was fresh and had a zing. Mackerel was savory. For dessert we opted for the Tahini tart. The friendly & helpful staff helped to select our options. The combo was fabulous. I would def return. read more

This was outstanding. We ordered a ton for two people: m'sabacha, zucchini tahini, green olive labneh, the spicy experience, baharat bread, kubaneh bread, pitas, octopus, steak, cumin broccoli, aubergine, and then finished with the lemon tart. All the dips were great, with the zucchini tahini and spicy experience being particularly amazing, and we loved all of the breads as well. Among the sides and mains, we really loved the aubergine, and the octopus was among the very best I can remember eating. The lemon tart is pretty close to a must as well on a future visit. read more

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A small crowd began forming in front, an hour before they'd open. It began drizzling and to escape it I went to a nearby pub but only for a quickie; the urge to mill around Palomar's door until it opened was intense. It was my final night in London and I needed to eat at Palomar despite having no reservation. Back outside Palomar, the crowd grew more disorganized; instead of queueing, people were gathering in little groups near the front of the line and it took every ounce of reserve for me not to start barking at them. I engaged them instead only to learn that they were the planners; they had reservations. Engaging them was smart though as one woman told me she'd been to their flagship restaurant in Jerusalem (they have several others there also) and she advised me to try the unusual things, not the standards. Point noted. When the doors opened and the wheat separated from the chaff I was offered a place in the intimate, dimly lit dining room if I could vacate by a specified time at which my table had been reserved. Not a problem, I'm in, though this is a place I'd also have enjoyed greatly if seated at the bar/counter. It was at this table though that I met the diners at the table to my left, diners who happened to live 20 minutes from my home in California. Small world. My table grew littered with selections, each exquisite, several quite unique. The dishes are intended for sharing. Little makes me happier than a table filled to capacity with little plates of this and that to choose from. I was happy here and I'd embrace and enhance what I was told while queuing: split your choices between the unusual things and those tried and true. Though fully sated I had to leave (theater tickets) before I was quite ready. Palomar is a place I'd have enjoyed lingering at and really taking my time with each dish. I have no official bucket list but one of the places I do hope to someday visit is Jerusalem. When I do I'll be sure to dine at Palomar. It's that good. read more

The Palomar Restaurant - A little of everything begin to arrive at my table. Joy inducing. - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

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Palomar is a trendy and fun Israeli restaurant in hopping Soho. The restaurant exudes the vibe of Soho itself--bustling and active, chefs shouting back and forth to one another, always a new dish coming up. The cuisine is equally refined and unique, with a precise attention to detail and modern flair. We sat at the bar, where you're directly across from the chefs while they work their magic. If you're trying to have an intimate, private conversation, this isn't the seating arrangement for you (but they do have individual tables in the back). Instead, expect eavesdropping chefs who are happy to answer questions, provide recommendations, and quip back and forth about whatever topic happens to be on the table at the moment. Food-wise, the "rip and dip" section is the most fun and delicious, so don't skimp on it. The kubaneh is a large specialty brioche, which wasn't my fave, but my friend enjoyed it. The white bean m'sabacha, though, was excellent and a must-try. The zucchini tahini looked excellent too, but we didn't try it (one of the joys and curses of watching every item get made--you see what looks great but can only eat so much yourselves!). From the mains, the beef tartare was very good. The Yemeni crab lahoh was just ok--we regret not getting the glazed octopus instead. For something green, the josperised aubergine was good, but expect a twice-baked, mushy aubergine with lots of sauce. If you want something fresh and light, get the fattoush salad instead. For desert, the surmac & lemon tart was ok but not remarkable. Overall this is a fun place to try unique new dishes and enjoy a lovely atmosphere. If the cuisine interests you, give it a go! read more

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Very good food and service ; chicken is a standout ; good cocktails; great ambiance and location;

A couple of things to keep in mind with this review: 1) It has been exactly one year since we dined here during our trip to London (thanks Timehop) 2) we didn't have reservations so the wait was long (like ~2 hours which we killed by walking around) 3) It has been one of our *all-time* favorite meals we have had in all our travels so far With that said I can't recall each dish but the plates are small and meant to be shared. My husband and I often joke that we'd come back to London just to have their food all over again. So do yourself a favor and stop in if you're in the area, because I'm jealous you can and I can't. read more

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Very much enjoyed our meal here! The ambiance is very relaxing and classy and the service was very kind. The starters are decent though perhaps not the most stunning example of hummus or falafel I've had for the price; however the mains are stunning! I had the slow roasted carrots and I'll dream of them for years to come -- highly recommend trying as many of the mains as you can! read more

Absolutely amazing! We had a reservation for 05:30 pm, got in on time, the staff were super nice and professional. We were sitting in the bar, was very nice to see the open kitchen and the way they make everything. Omri the head chef was very friendly and kind. There is no other words to describe the food except perfect, Highley recommended read more

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Probably our best meal that we have had London. Every morsel from breads to the desserts were an explosion of flavor. Extremely knowledgeable staff that provided wonderful service. Highly recommended read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Chicken and Fish - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

This was a really fun spot in Soho which I would recommend if you want great middle eastern food. The Kubaneh bread and spicy experience was really nice and the Yemeni Crab main course was delicious. Overall, I would absolutely go back. read more

The food was incredible and I loved our server. We had the mixed grill seafood platter. Would definitely recommend.

The food was delicious and the service was superb. Very happy with the meal we had here! read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

We were fortunate to get an early dinner reservation on our 2nd to last night in London. This was our favorite restaurant in our 3 week European tour. Middle Eastern small plates in lower Soho area. Kiki, our server, delightfully helped navigate us through the unfamiliar menu. Started with Kubaneh bread and two hummus dips. Sesame chicken starter, followed by fattoush salad, oyster mushroom polenta and grilled chicken. The seasonings, preparation and quality were amazing! Kiki recommended a Chablis that perfectly paired with our meal. We finished with "Jerusalem Mess" and a recommended Sauterne. Heavenly. read more

Delicious and fresh unique dinner. Sat at bar and watched the staff make drinks and prepare dishes. Cocktails were tasty and meal was memorable. read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

Memorable, phenomenal food; great service. Reservations a must. Sit at bar at front window.

Lovely lunch at the bar. We enjoyed the polenta, labneh and crab kofte. The drinks were also great. Watching the chefs as you eat is also fun. read more

The Palomar Restaurant - Sour and polenta - Middle Eastern Near Me - London, XGL

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Had an impromptu meal here after seeing a matinee around the corner, having had Palomar recommended to us by some friends. Host was gracious enough to offer us two corner bar seats with the promise we'd only be 90 minutes or so. We were warmly greeted by Will, one of the barkeeps. In addition to fetching us a 1/2 carafe of nice, reasonable Chianti, he ran through the menu, including favorites and recommendations. We placed orders for bread, salad, and a tartare with no pressure to quickly select a main. The bread, a Yemeni kubaneh, was fresh out of the over and lighter, but just as delicious as a good brioche. To go with it we ordered a labneh drizzled with oil and topped with za'atar and pistachios. The Palamar salad was equally nice, the tartare quite good, and the chicken--richly spiced and sitting in a pool of labaniah, drizzled with orange spice oil--was amazing. We quickly met other servers behind the bar--Dionne and Shia--both of whom were super attentive, friendly, and quick to share stories and ask questions. The space itself is mostly taken up with a long bar, with a few tables at both the front end and more in the back. If you like to cook, you can request bar seats overlooking the kitchen area, which is what we will do next time in London. We finished our meal with their ice cream 'sandwich'--pistachio ice cream layered between two thin but rich, crisp layers of baklava. Overall, an exceptional meal. read more

One of the best meals we had our entire trip! The tahini was the best I've ever had!! Even our kids couldn't get enough. Don't miss out on this hidden gem. Tiny but mighty. read more

Palomar is such a fun place to have dinner especially at the kitchen bar. My friend and I made reservations a month in advance for the kitchen bar. They take reservations for 5:30PM seating and it's walk-ins only after that. The menu is small plate style and they recommend ordering 5 to 6 to share between two people. The food is modern middle eastern inspired and everything was delicious! Go with the Scallop Roe Taramasalata and some home made pita for starters. It's super creamy and flavorful you'll want to get more pita for it. All the seafood items on the menu sounded so good, so we went with the Tel Aviv Mix to get a bit of everything (squid, prawns, octopus). The Shakshukit was also amazing. It was a beef and lamb mix almost like a deconstructed kebab. They gave us more pita for this too, yum! For sides, we were really impressed with the Beetroots. The combination of the beets, goats cheese, pomegranates and herbs were delicious. The Chargrilled Aubergines were perfect to round up the night. I also recommend eating at the kitchen bar. The staff and chefs were very interactive and we were right in front of all the kitchen action. The atmosphere was lively and it was almost like watching theater while having a delicious meal! read more

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