Akub, tucked away down a Notting Hill backstreet.
What can you tell us about Akub?
Akub comes from top Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan, originally behind Fawda restaurant in Bethlehem and now in London with Akub (having previewed it in Carousel pop-ups beforehand).
Here in London, he's taking a modern approach to the culinary history of Palestine. The chef has teamed up with Fairtrade co-operative Zaytoun to bring in Palestinian produce and he's brought that together with local, seasonal UK-grown produce. Kattan himself says Akub is named after the "short-lived flowering thistle which embodies the essence of Palestine and the quick tempo of the shifting seasons" so expect the menu to evolve regularly.
Where is it?
It's in Notting Hill, about a five-minute walk from Notting Hill Gate station, an area blessed with notable local restaurants like Suzi Tros, Kuro Eatery and Eggbreak all just around the corner.
Where should we meet for a drink first?
We stopped for a drink in the nearby The Hillgate pub and that's definitely worth trying, but expect a fair few tables to be booked up on a busy night. If you're after cocktails then the bar at nearby Los Mochis is also worth a look for their own bar, Viajante 87. As for Akub, there is a small bar in the basement, but that's not being used at the moment (we'd expect that to be an overflow bar on busy nights).
The first (middle) floor (note the glass roof).
Where should we sit?
One thing is for sure, there's a very welcoming vibe about Akub. The restaurant is divided into three floors and if you're coming in for lunch, the first floor (pictured above) with a glass roof will no doubt be the place to be. But all of the rooms feel pretty cosy, particularly in the evening. So if you can't get a space on that 1st floor, we'd say some of the best tables would be by the window on the second floor. But generally speaking, anywhere is good.
So onto the food - what can we expect?
The menu is divided into Ard (land, aka veg dishes), Bahar (sea) and Lameh (meat). Generally speaking, it's a small/sharing plates affair with the meat section offering slightly larger dishes. So you're going to want to get four or five sharing plates, coupled with one or two larger meat dishes. Everything arrived pretty quickly when we visited on a busy evening, so we'd suggest ordering two to three dishes at a time (between two people).
The largest section is Land, so it caters particularly well for vegetarians. As for what we went for, here's a taste:
A special mention for the bread - which has its own section on the menu. This is the spiced focaccia (£3) but you can also order a selection of all of their bread, including zaatar and nigella seed crackers (£8). We'd recommend matching that with their red lentil moutabal (£7) but also to hang onto some bread if you're planning on getting the lamb dish below.
Arak cured seabass with sumac (£14)
Grilled homemade Nalbusi cheese with nigella seed oil (£12)
If you love a tomato salad as much as we do, then you should definitely order these winter tomatoes with green chilli, garlic, dill and lemon (£8)
Lamb shank, mahlab, mistaka (£12) It may be a cliché to use phrases like "you could eat with a spoon" or "it just falls off the bone" but both really do apply here. Note - this doesn't come with anything on the side, so you should save some bread to mop up the sauce.
The star dish - the absolute must-order Bukjet Mousakhan - a "bread parcel" filled with a dense mix of shredded chicken, onion and sumac. It is astonishingly good.
The Bukjet Mousakhan comes with a sharp knife to help you cut it open nice and neatly. We, however, completely forgot we had it and thus made an absolute pig's ear of cutting it open. So yes, we made a mess - but it tasted AMAZING.
Yes, you should definitely save room for dessert. We've heard good things about the baked spiced cheesecake, but this dead sea salted caramel chocolate cake (with Tahina ice cream, £9) is pretty great too.
Unquestionably though, the must-order dessert is the Hilbeh Baba (£9) - Fenugreek and cardamom baba topped with whipped cream and pistachios.
What about drinks?
Drinks-wise, there's a short wine list with bottles starting at £28 (that's a 2021 La Marina Codes de Gasgogne). That's primarily European, with a few Lebanese wines and a Taybeh Cabernet Grand Reserve from Palestine at the upper end of the menu at £85 a bottle. There's a Palestinian artisanal arak on the drinks list too.
Overall thoughts?
Fadi Kattan has landed in London with an extremely welcoming restaurant in Notting Hill. The updated approach to Palestinian food works very well and it already feels like a neighbourhood restaurant that's been around for a while. It's clearly become an immediate hit and we'd expect this to only get better from here.
More about Akub
Where is it? 27 Uxbridge Street, London W8 7TQ
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @akub.london
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Akub. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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