Test Driving Berenjak Mayfair, the Persian restaurant has really upped the glam factor

The upstairs dining room at Berenjak Mayfair

What can you tell us about Berenjak?

Founded by chef Kian Samyani, Berenjak is one of the restaurants in the JKS group, alongside other perma-hits like Hoppers and Gymkhana. It's also come an awfully long way since its original opening back in 2018, in a fairly compact space in Soho. There, they started with a Persian-inspired menu which had a particular focus on huge kebabs. Kebabs, or as they call them kababs, are still a big part of the Berenjak experience, but with each opening the menu has expanded further. This is their third restaurant in London, but they've also now opened overseas, having only recently launched in LA. 

So where have they opened this one?

This is on Duke Street, right in the middle of Mayfair, just a short walk from Bond Street tube station. It's right next door to The Barley Mow pub. 

And where should we meet for a drink first?

There is no bar in Berenjak, so if you're early, you'll have to go elsewhere for a pre-dinner drink. The most obvious place is The Barley Mow pub, which, as we've said, is right next door and a great little pub. However, if you're looking for cocktails, Le Magritte bar at The Beaumont, just a couple of minutes away, is also a good bet.  

What does the new restaurant look like?

It's a two-level affair, with a design led by studio Atelier Wren and it all looks very fancy indeed. Upstairs, the main area is dominated by large booth tables (perfect if you're going to order lots from the menu), with several more seating areas tucked away in alcoves. Much as this whole room looks beautifully designed, there's another dining room hidden away below, where you'll also find the main kitchen:

Downstairs in Berenjak you'll find this second dining room almost hidden away, and that's where most of the kitchen work is happening. 

If you do fancy sitting near the chefs, then there's one table that's the ideal one to get. At one end of the room, you'll see a little alcove with a two-seater booth, and it's one of the best seats in the entire restaurant. It would make a great date spot (if you can manage to book it).

If you really don't like people watching while you eat, you can close the curtain. 

What's on the menu? 

If you've been to the Borough Market Berenjak, the Mayfair operation has the most in common with that, at first glance anyway. You'll find their signature kababs, of course, various mazeh, including some must-have breads and dips and some excellent stews. But alongside the favourites (many of which have had some changes as they've come to Mayfair), there are some key new additions. 

First off, as you open the cocktail list, you'll see a range of snacks that are new to Mayfair. On any visit here, this should be your starting point. Examples include cheese & corn puffs and "grandma's fries" with confit garlic and ketchup. Going from our visit, we can recommend the following:

Khorak E Darya-ee - fried calamari, pink prawns and fermented red pepper dip (£11.50), like an extremely high-end fritto misto. 

Kuku E Kadu - courgette fritters with white cheese and nobis mayo dip (£11) - this was vying for top place as our favourite dish of the night, the dip in particular was fantastic. 

After a few snacks, you'll want to go for breads and dips from the Mazeh section.

The Barbari stone-baked seeded flatbread (£5) with two dips. On the right is their classic hummus (£9), which is always an easy recommendation. But if you're after something you might not have tried, go for the Black Truffle Olivie on the left (£10.50) - it's corn-fed chicken mayo salad with potato, egg, salted cucumbers and black truffle and every bit as fabulous as that sounds. 

After that you can branch out a bit, and it's around this point where you'll see some of the biggest changes to the menu, particularly with the introduction of the Makhsoos section of larger sharing dishes, with the emphasis really is on "large". These include jumbo prawns with Kashmiri chilli and roasted garlic (£45) and a whole grilled seabass, date molasses rub and sivri pepper (£80). So they're on the pricier side of things when it comes to the whole menu.

However, if your budget stretches to it, we'd very much recommend the lamb chops:

Shishlik Soltani - Double lamb chops, Aleppo chilli, garlic and dried herbs (£70) - these chops are enormous. This would be perfect for three people sharing. 

After that, the kababs really are a must, particularly if this is your first visit to Berenjak. But we also we loved this new version of their Khoresht E Ghaimeh:

Khoresht E Ghaimeh (£32) - in Borough, this is served with lamb shoulder as an option, but Mayfair's wagyu ox cheek (as well as aubergine, yellow split peas and dried lime) is a worthy upgrade.

Jujeh Kabab (£26) - Boneless chicken breast marinated in saffron, lemon, yoghurt and tomato. We still can't believe just how they get that chicken breast so tender. 

The must-have side is the Saffron Tahdig (£15) - Saffron rice served inside a crispy lavash. It's massive and will easily feed 3-4 people. 

What about dessert?

We had eaten a large amount of food at this point and honestly probably should have only had one dessert (we did end up taking a doggy bag home). So with that in mind, we suggest you focus on this new dish on the menu:

Om Ali (£10) - Caramelised brioche pudding and pecans. 

Anything else to highlight?

There is a special lunchtime menu at Berenjak Mayfair, which adds many new dishes to the menu, including Omelet Irani made with St Ewes farm eggs, plum tomato, brown onion and garlic (£10) and Koobideh Seeni Bonab Beef, chicken and lamb koobideh, kabab shop chilli sauce (£65). So if you're a Berenjak fan, you'll have to make a lunchtime trip to try everything. 

What about drinks?

While there's a global focus to the wines, you will also see lots of options from Lebanon, including their house white, a 2023 Chateau Musar Jeune White/Red (£36 for 500l, £48 a bottle). The wine list is, in general much punchier than you'll find in their other restaurants (there are many in the £100s here), but that's to be expected in this area, frankly. 

But don't miss trying the cocktails too.

Sabzi Sour (£15, muscat pisco, lemon, sabzi, lune d’abricot, egg white) and an Olive Leaf Martini (£18, olive leaf gin, vermouth, salted baby cucumbers)

Overall thoughts

Berenjak immediately feels right at home in Mayfair. The upstairs room looks particularly beautiful, while the downstairs space manages that sometimes difficult feat of being every bit as good an option, if not more so, than the main dining room. The food is also as great as it's ever been, with everything from the kababs to the snacks very easy to recommend. It is a little pricier than the other location, but for the amount of food you get actually makes it great value for Mayfair. It's been packed since day one, but you should persevere to secure a booking.