You might have heard of Berenjak, the Persian-inspired late-night Soho restaurant where Londoners flock to enjoy bottomless – yes, bottomless – kebabs and sip on cocktails.
If you haven’t, 1) how? 2) let us help you rectify that with a quick refresher, before telling you about their newest venture over at Borough Market, shall we? Good.
Berenjak is the name, and the peerless kebab deal runs from Tuesday – Saturday, and it’s every bit as good as it sounds, presenting plates and plates and plates of beautifully marinated chicken, minced lamb shoulder, tasty Angulum cheese and much more. Guests can also tuck into the equally divine à la carte and feast menus, which we’ll get to in a moment.
As of May 2022, Berenjak have a second site over at Borough Market, which aims to invoke the feel of stepping out of the mountainous terrain and into a townhouse in Tehran.
Both the à la carte and feast menus are available at the new location, and even though the bottomless offer is reserved for the original Soho site, there’s brand new plates on offer at Borough, inspired by the dishes enjoyed at childhood family gatherings by the owners, as well as a greatly expanded wine list.
Guests can also be treated to the spectacle of watching masters at work, with seats viewing the open kitchen; but there’s also the option to eat in the ‘Iranian dining room’ which is perfect for group feasts.
Talking of feasts, we’ll tell you about that menu now. The Townhouse Feast feels like something that has to be seen to be believed, with a truly eye-watering amount of food ready to hit your tables. *Deep Breath* You get your taftoon and barbari (two kinds of flatbread); you get your Zaferan Polow (saffron rice), salad shirazi and your torshi phel phel (chillis malt vinegar, mint and golpar); and then each person will choose a main dish (lamb, chicken or poussin based) and a garnish – ranging from from Panir Sabzi (Persian feta, radish, nuts and herbs) to mirza ghasemi (coal cooked aubergine, whey, walnuts and onion) – each. Piece it all together and not only do you have killer kebabs, but your table will look absolutely incredible… if you can wait just a moment before pouncing on it to take a photo. Oh, and the feast is topped off with a Napeloni dessert; which involves puff pastry, orange blossom custard and jersey cream.
There’s also the à la carte menu to pour over, offering a wide-range of delights that certainly warrant repeat visits to Beranjak. My attention has been firmly grabbed by the Meygoo Jonoobi (giant tiger prawns, stuffed sivri pepper, salad and burnt tomato yoghurt) and the Chelow Kabab Chenjeh (Herdwich lamb fillet kabab, grilled garlic salad and potato tahdug), but it’s imperative you check out all their menus in full on their website!
Berenjak Borough can now be found at 1 Bedale Street, SE1 9AL (nearest station is London Bridge).