The café is located inside Ibraaz, the recently launched cultural space dedicated to art and ideas from the Global South
Opened by Tunisian chef and culinary curator Boutheina Ben Salem, Oula draws on Tunisian food traditions and home-style cooking, positioning itself as both a daytime café and a place for cultural exchange.
The space itself is lovely, with warm natural tones, sharp asymmetrical tables, and bright red chairs. Designed in collaboration with South African architect Samayya Vally, it’s intentionally bold and modern, rather than offering outdated ‘ethnic’ references to Tunisia. Terracotta-coloured shelves are stocked with curated pantry products: spices, sundried peppers, and mountain herbs from Cap Bon; Deglet Noor dates from Tozeur; olive oil pressed in Mahdia; and Lamiri harissa.
Where the cafe does more literally evoke Tunisia however is in its gorgeous menu of daily-changing Tunisian dishes. We stopped by one Sunday recently for Tunisian mint tea (served traditionally with pine nuts) and a brik, a deep fried crisp filo pastry pocket stuffed with chicken, egg, capers and preserved lemon. It was exceptionally good, and served alongside omek houria salad, with heritage carrots, harissa, caraway, and tuna.
On other days you might find ablabi, a spiced chickpea soup; Bsissa, an ancient blend crafted with Deglet Noor dates, olive oil, roasted almonds, sesame, linseed and halva; or Drô Gourmand, a velvety porridge of sorghum, enriched with chamya, roasted pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, pomegranate, and Nabeul orange blossom. The menu is rounded out with sweet pastries and excellent tahini biscuits.
Boutheina herself is a passionate, smiling presence in the cafe, chatting with guests and explaining more about the dishes and their provenance. For her, Oula is not just a cafe but a way to put Tunisian food into a wider conservation, to act as a reference point for Tunisian culture in London – something she found to be lacking in the city when she first moved here.
As she explains, “I wanted to create a place where Tunisian culture could be experienced with intimacy and respect, without performance – a space that feels thoughtful, lived-in and open to gathering”.
Key Information
Address | 93 Mortimer Street, London W1W 7SS
For more information | ibraaz.org
