Arabica Bar and Kitchen has recently opened a permanent restaurant at Borough Market, having had a popular stall there for nearly 15 years. Great news for those that need a fix of Middle eastern plates without facing the crazy crowds on a Saturday morning.
The menu is split into a quite a few different sections (deep breath): Dips; Fried; Clay Oven; Grill; Charcoal; Salads; Raw/Cured; and Veg/Pulses. It’s all a bit bewildering but as the plates are all fairly small we’d recommend picking a couple from each to get a good feel for what’s on offer.
With this style of food, good old fashioned DIPS are always a winner and you can’t go wrong with hummus and smoked aubergine, served with warm flatbread from the oven. Moving on, we tried Lamb Kibbeh – bulgar wheat croquettes stuffed with spiced lamb, onions, pine kernels and sumac – and Sujuk Pide, a Turkish pizza cooked in the clay oven and topped with spicy sausage and halloumi cheese. Both absolute winners. Fattoush salad, probably our favourite of all salads, was also spot, finished with a nice dash of pomegranate vinegar.
Overall Arabica is serving up some great dishes and some interesting wines, and with so much to choose from it’s definitely worth a visit (or two).
Arabica Bar and Kitchen, 3 Rochester Walk, Borough Market, SE1 9AF
www.arabicabarandkitchen.com