Restaurant of the Week: Miznon brings playful pita pockets to Soho

In the latest column from our series chronicling the best new restaurants in London, chef Eyal Shani puts a British spin on his globally-loved pillowy pitas

By Tal Dekel-Daks

19 August 2022

You needn’t wander far into Miznon’s new London outpost to quickly see that this place revolves all around pita. “Each pita gets its own birthmark” is etched in chalk outside and a large vending-machine-esque pita oven emits a golden glow as you wander inside. But we already knew this, having dined at chef Eyal Shani's much-loved Miznon restaurants in New York and Tel Aviv (you'll also find them in Paris, Singapore, Vienna and Melbourne). The casual pita chain has garnered a bit of a cult following for its creative take on what goes in a pita and quirky regional concoctions that put seasonality and quality at the forefront. In Miznon Paris for example, you'll find bœuf bourguignon pita and ratatouille pita on the menu. In London? Expect to try shepherd’s pie or English breakfast stuffed into fluffy pillowy pitas.

But that doesn't mean that Eyal's signature Miznon dishes didn't make it across the Channel too. The menu at his new Soho outpost, printed in Comic Sans as per usual, is somewhat hard to decipher. Food items are split into “pita” and “out of pita” sections but, with titles like “magic mushrooms” and “folded burger with a golden crown of English Cheddar", we found it was easiest to ask our waiter for a translation and recommendation. For us, that meant starting with perhaps my favourite dish of the night, “naked tomatoes slaughtered in front of your eyes”, or simply put, a colourful plate full of fresh seasonal tomatoes dressed in olive oil and salt. The “slaughtering” part only happens if you're sat at the counter, mind you.

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Other extras we chose from the “out of pita” section were equally good, like the “run over baked potato” which is essentially a flattened jacket potato with sour cream, served on a baking sheet. Or the whole roasted cauliflower – a perrenial Miznon favourite. Depending how hungry you are, hummus is also a great choice. There’s also an option to top it with beef ragu if you wish, but you'll want to save room for a stuffed pita for your mains, obviously.

When it comes to pita, there are plenty of options. For a British spin, there’s fish and chips in a pita and an English breakfast pita. We opted for the “giant crystal shrimps with sour cream and tomato’s ovaries” pita which was indeed enormous, sumptuous and creamy, broken up with pickles and tomato seeds inside. The juicy lamb kebab pita with tahini and grilled vegetables was also a hit. You really can't go wrong whichever stuffed pita you pick, just prepare to roll your sleeves up before imbibing.

Speaking of imbibing, Miznon London has really upped the ante when it comes to beverages. Diners can pick from a short list of four freshly bottled concoctions that use the best of middle eastern and Mediterranean flavours and either drink those on their own or add Miznon-made liqueurs including gin, sage vodka, Anise-forward arak or tequila to create a cocktail. We opted for “Sunset”–made of pomegranate, mint, lime and barberry, mixed with Miznon gin–and "Dawn", made with lemon, lemon thyme and grapefruit, drank on its own as they were sold out of arak by the time we were there. Luckily, that's just the excuse we needed to make the return journey back to Broadwick Street for round two of pita and cocktails.

Miznon, 8 Broadwick St, London W1F 8HW, miznon.co.uk

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