Six of One: Shawarma and the City
Lahm bil’ajeen on Edgware Road, the best chicken shawarma Ciaran Thapar has ever eaten, banana pudding worthy of 'Sex and the City', and more
Hello and welcome back to Vittles Restaurants.
Six of One is a column dedicated to London restaurant recommendations. In each issue, six writers will share a restaurant, bakery, cafe or takeaway spot that they believe deserves to be better known. You can find the full Six of One back catalogue here.
Today’s Six of One recommendations are from N.A. Mansour, Siqi Chong, Shekha Vyas, Ciaran Thapar, Hanna Pham, and Montague Ashley-Craig. To read all the recommendations, as well as the back catalogue, please subscribe below.
1. Habaybna
Every time I come to London, I get breakfast at Habaybna, a Lebanese spot on Church Street, almost always alone. I flirt with the menu but I order tea and lahm bil’ajeen every time.
I wish I could say I come just for the finely-minced lamb on flatbread – Habaybna’s lahm bil’ajeen is light yet celebrates animal fat, which glistens on the surface of my tea as I eat. It is just as good hot and enveloped in steam as it is when it’s cooled. The bready base and thick puffy crust holds its shape.
I wish I could say I come just for the atmosphere: Habaybna reminds me of many of the breakfast spots in Palestine from my childhood. The tables crowd the dining area, only separated from the kitchen by a glass case piled high with pickle platters and all the fixings for fuul, hummus and falafel. I even wish I could say I come to be comforted by the other patrons; loudly outraged by genocide in Lebanon and Palestine. Al-Jazeera Arabic blares from a television above the cashier.
Along with everything else, I come for the service: The cashier/server/baker does not smile nor offer suggestions. He barely looks at me as I order, but nods respectfully. He pushes my order to the head of the line, quickly turning dough with his hands before it goes into the oven. When I ask for mint to drown in my cup of red tea, he wordlessly gives me more than I need. My second cup comes full of mint along with a stack of napkins. I use them all.
I alternate bites with sips of tea and pickles. When the pickles run out, I fold the leftover mint into my lahm bil’ajeen.
When I pay, the cashier’s quick whisper of thanks is immense. N.A. Mansour
55 Church St, NW8 8EU
Behind the paywall: Appreciating omoiyari at a 14-seater izakaya on the Isle of Dogs, the reincarnation of an international chain in East Ham, shawarma security in the Wembley rain, banana pudding worthy of Sex and the City on Broadway Market, and an exciting new Filipino bakery off the Holloway Road.