A Middle Eastern Jewel in the heart of Warren Street..
This week I ventured with food loving friends Feel Good Foodbook, Mondomulia & Felcity Spector to the popular quaint joint called Honey & Co. Based in the quiet back streets of Warren Street, this small restaurant/cafe light and airy, already packed when we reach there having had to make a reservation to secure our place.
Perusing the menu, whats not to like? Dishes such as falafel, lamb humus, pomegranate chicken stew on cracked wheat to the devilishly amazing looking homemade cakes perched overlooking the counter.
Wil a simple one sheet A4 menu, with starters priced from £5 to mains on average £10 the flavours of Middle Eastern spices waft around the room. Hot mint tea is enough to heat the soul after another blustery UK day, we chose falalel for starts with hummus dip with feta drenched in olive oil, red speckled paprika and the fluffiest pitta bread to dip and scoop.
The falafel crisp, hot fresh from fried its spiked with strong cumin, perfect for the hummus. The feta crumbled with the paprika on those fluffy warm white pitta were a pleasing starter, all eaten none left, unavoidable to dip and soak the last of the olive oil on the bowl.
Deciding to share dishes, rather than be greedy with one dish, we order another three mains; the roasted cauliflower topped with tahini, pomegranate molasses skewered chicken on cracked bulgur wheat and lamb mince on humus accompanied with a green sauce (that reminded my alot of the coriander satini I make at home)
All dishes presented wonderfully, vibrant in greens, pinks, colours you may associate with the flavourful vibrancy of spices and fresh ingredients used. It was an amalgamation of some of the best freshest tasting Middle Eastern food I’ve had in a long time. I could have eaten more, in fact if I was not careful I would have eaten my friends’ share.. as we battled for the last bits on the plates. None was left.
The chicken molasses was so tender and soft, with jewels of pomegranate sweetness, with fresh coriander, cumin and a haze of other spices running through the cracked wheat. Its healthy and amazing.
The roasted cauliflower intrigued us all, sometimes not always getting exciting dishes from this vegetable, the combination was surprising. Doused in lashings of tahini sauce, dusted with herbs and spices a great vegetarian dish.
The lamb mince dressed the fresh hummus on a sizeable plate, with a green coriander style sauce on the side, adding a fresh zing of herbs and colour to the dipping plate, accompanied with more fluffy pitta, you can’t go wrong!
Finally after eyeing up the cakes from the beginning of the meal we had the luxury of deciding which to delve into. We went for a marzipan cake topped with cream and beautiful sweet, tart rhubarb. So moist, syrupy, divine this cake was beautiful.
We had to go for the chocolate marbled bread like cake perched on the counter, which I now have found out is called a Chocolate Krantz cake from Jerusalem. A must try, swirled with decadent dark chocolate marbled into the bread, its addictive, indulgent.. but you just cant stop. We left no traces of it ever being there..
I highly recommend to go or a re-visit is a must!
25a Warren Street, London W1, 020-7388 6175. Open Mon-Sat, 7.30am-10.30pm. Three-course meal with drinks and service, around £30 a head.
