
We here at Secret London are big fans of bottomless feasts – truly, they’re the ideal way to spend a Saturday. However, we wouldn’t say no to limitless food at any time of day, which is why Berenjak and their new bottomless offering has piqued our interest. For this Persian-inspired Soho restaurant has a devilishly delectable late-night trick up their sleeve: bottomless kebab nights, running every night at 9:30pm, from Tuesday to Saturday. [Featured image: @berenjaklondon]
Yes, you are reading that right: kebabs upon kebabs upon kebabs, as much as you can eat for 90 minutes of gluttonous joy. Don’t confuse these with your classic end-of-night snack, either – Berenjak is modelled on the hole-in-the-wall eateries of Tehran, and chef Kian Samyani takes pains to reinterpret signature dishes using seasonal British produce. As Persian food is designed as sharing food, splitting the kebabs between everyone is highly recommen… you’ve stopped listening, haven’t you? Fair enough, because sharing food like this requires an iron will, something which I do not possess.
The bottomless kebab nights feature a trio of kebabs, each of which will tantalise your tastebuds. The jujeh kabab features chicken breast marinated in saffron, lemon, yoghurt, and tomato, whilst the koobideh kabab is minced lamb shoulder with onions and black pepper. To break up what’s rapidly turning into a meat feast, there’s a wrap made with Anglum cheese (a British riff on halloumi from North London dairy Kupros), hummus, salad, and house-made sacues – personally, I could happily bounce between all three for a lot longer than 90 minutes, but I suppose they’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
Happily, you can enjoy limitless kebabs for as little as £20, although since Berenjak provide the option to pair this menu with bottomless drinks, it’s most likely going to wind up as £35 each. Choose between the Berenjak Lager, brewed specially for them by Cornwall’s Harbour Brewing Co, or the fragrant Spiked Sharbat (gin, lemon, elderflower sharbat, and soda). You may need a kebab to sober up at the end of all this – luckily, you’ve come to the right place.
It’s just one (admittedly rather enticing) aspect of Berenjak, whose rustic, plant-filled interiors also earned it a spot on our prettiest restaurants roundup. Should you want to cap your kebabs at a level below “total glutton”, their a la carte menu is stuffed with deliciousness, whilst the feast menu mixes meat-heavy mains with the likes of black truffle olivieh and mirza ghasemi (coal-cooked aubergine with garlic, tomato, and cacklebean eggs), best mopped up with an array of flatbreads and sourdoughs.
Berenjak do an excellent line of cocktails with a Middle Eastern twist – I’m currently torn between the Amber Negroni, flavoured with amber wine, verjus, and suze, and the Preserved Lemon Margarita, in which mezcal and tequila are joining forces. It’s all very exciting stuff, and on a slightly nerdy note, their website is jolly good fun to play around with too. Really, Berenjak is a prime example of a restaurant that doesn’t need a bottomless kebab feast to be successful – but we’re bloody glad they’ve got it anyway. Plus, it’s made it to our list of the very best restaurants in Soho – if that’s not a glowing endorsement, we don’t know what is!
And, in some news that will delight fans of Berenjak, it’s been confirmed that the beloved spot is expanding. Borough market x Berenjak is happening this year people, and it’s a combination that’s destined for greatness. Berenjak will replace pastry favourites Flor, who are moving to Bermondsey. Keep an eye out for the grand opening in the springtime this year.