Akub Notting Hill

Two for two with my restaurant guide book and I may have been converted to a brunch person. Got very lucky with a walk-in table, also, apologies, next time I go I will take better pictures of the interior. It is warm and elegant, with smart simplicity. Clean colors, beautiful pottery, dishes engraved with tiny flowers. There wasn’t a thing on the menu that didn’t sound good but eventually we settled on a spread of smaller savory plates to share. I’m picky about pickles and all about details and these I would absolutely call an essential order. And the focaccia. My god the focaccia. We also got the Arabic bread which, don’t, it was tough and dry and didn’t bring much to the table- so definitely skip that for this because THIS. Was one of the best breads of my life. and I love bread, so I’ve had a lot of it. It was plush and soft and spiced to perfection, great by itself but an excellent companion for the other things we got: zaatar labaneh (on the thicker side, might get hummus next time), the maftool and batikh salads (100000/10 no notes perfection. Watermelon and mint, I don’t know if we’ve managed to top that) and the grilled nabulsi cheese- I don’t know exactly what the black spice rub on top was but we mopped it off that plate. That with the bread and the watermelon, a perfect meal, I’d be damn happy to have it everyday. So brunch is a must, but I’m very excited to come back for dinner. They have a cheesecake that’s gonna be sorry it met me.

Tasty food, a helpful waiter and a lovely red to wash it down with. Highly recommend the baked cheese, prawns, coriander dip and the lamb neck. Prices were a bit steep, but overall a good experience. The benches could also use a few cushions for vertically challenged folks. :)

Wow. Just wow. I can’t recommend Akub highly enough! Everything on the menu looked delicious. Thanks to suggestions from the very helpful staff, we chose the sea bass (finely sliced, cured in arak and beautifully spiced with sumac) and a selection of vegetable dishes. All were expertly prepared and presented. To finish, even though we were full, we had to try a dessert. Again, flawless! A cross between a chocolate mousse and ganache, with crushed biscuit and ice cream on the side. This is a true local gem, tucked away on a little Notting Hill side street.