The story
In the heart of London’s Theatreland, The Palomar brings the flavours of Southern Spain, North Africa, and the Levant to a single open kitchen bar. This Soho restaurant is the first venture from siblings Zoë and Layo Paskin, who opened its doors in May 2014 after years of planning. It was an immediate success, and has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand every year since opening.
The space is designed around a long counter that runs through the restaurant, merging indoor and outdoor areas. The result is a vibrant, energetic experience where warm hospitality takes centre stage. The name Palomar comes from the Spanish word for dovecote, a reference to the dovecotes found across the regions that inspire the menu.
The Palomar’s Middle Eastern-influenced cooking draws on the rich culinary traditions of the Levant, North Africa, and Southern Spain. Ingredients are sourced with care: organic, free-range meat from UK farms; fresh seafood from Cornish day boats; bread and pastries baked daily in-house. The kitchen works to respect quality and freshness, while the wine list features small-scale, artisanal producers, many organic. Even the house spirits are bagged rather than bottled to reduce carbon footprint.
The open kitchen bar is the heart of the restaurant, allowing guests to watch the chefs at work. For groups of 7 to 14, a feasting menu is served for sharing. The wood-panelled dining room also accommodates private events. The Palomar offers weekday prix fixe lunches and pre-theatre menus, making it a popular choice before a show.
With a Michelin Bib Gourmand recognising its good quality, good value cooking, The Palomar has become a Soho staple – a place where the energy of the kitchen meets the bustle of the street.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
good quality, good value cooking
Although it's been refurbished to extend the eating counter for groups of four, provide velvet-lined booths for couples who want privacy and add larger tables for up to 10, the real energy at this buzzing Israeli-inspired joint in Chinatown nevertheless centres on the stools at the counter facing the open kitchen. The easiest way to decide what to eat is simply to watch the procession of dishes being assembled in lickety-split time for neighbouring diners and choose whatever looks tastiest. Otherwise, graze on a couple of snacks – nuggets of zaatar chicken schnitzel or bitesize lamb skewers with carob molasses, say – while perusing the menu. The kubaneh is an essential accompaniment whatever you order, a puffy dome of golden-brown bread that could be the perfect embodiment of 'tear and share'. Dunked into tomato and tahini sauces, it is a course in itself but it’s also an essential conduit for mopping up the last morsels from any plate: the confit garlic yoghurt beneath a fleshy pair of spiced lamb cutlets, say, or the sunset-orange chimichurri pooling around slices of rare ribeye. Vegetables are a good shout: aubergine served as baba ganoush or as a carpaccio with white miso; a risotto made with freekeh and stirred with kale and dukkah. However, most of the fish and meat dishes come with some intriguing interpretation of greenery: an Israeli spin on kimchi with bream, or a jumble of kohlrabi, molasses and feta beneath dusky-pink chunks of tender glazed octopus both get a big thumbs-up. There’s wine to drink – the Lebanese house Cinsault rosé from the Massaya Winery is lovely – but cocktails are arguably even better: try the Bumblebee, a food-friendly mix of gin, honey, ginger and lemon. The Palomar may no longer feel like the hippest venue in town, partly because so many places have copied the formula – not least its Covent Garden sibling, the Barbary. But when the flames are shooting up behind the counter and your new-best-friend chef is offering a shot, there are few more thrilling perches around Soho.
Location
Facebook
Instagram