OPINION: Why were Israeli establishments left off Time Out’s list of best Middle Eastern restaurants?
Syrian, Kurdish, Lebanese and Palestinian restaurants all feature but no mention of anything Jewish-owned
If I were commissioned by Time Out to compile a list of the 20 best Middle Eastern restaurants in London I’d be spoilt for choice to narrow it to just 20, but there’s no doubt that some of the many outstanding Israeli restaurants we have in this city would be on there. Coal Office, Palomar, Carmel, Claro, Oren, Barbary, Delamina, Honey & Co, Ottolenghi to name a few.
Now imagine I didn’t include any Palestinian restaurants. Not one. Imagine the backlash. Imagine that even getting past the editor.
And yet a supper club host by the name Suzie Bakos has produced a list of 20 best Middle Eastern Restaurants in London and not one Israeli or Jewish-owned establishment is featured. Syrian, Kurdish Lebanese and Palestinian. But no Israeli. Not even Ottolenghi whose founder is, after all, credited with bringing Middle Eastern food to this country.
Josh Katz, who owns Carmel in Queen’s Park, Berber and Q in Hackney and the Shawarma Bar in Exmouth Market says: “Any number of Israeli restaurants could feature in a best of London list never mind best of Middle Eastern. This seems to me a pointed and deliberate boycott.”
In the piece the writer says: “From the smoky, spice-laden grills of Baghdad to the honey-soaked pastries of Beirut, the Middle East is a region where food is a love language – something I learned early, born in Iraq and raised in London in a household where food was at the centre of everything. Today… I cook those flavours while seeking them out across the city: Syrian breakfasts, Kurdish brunches, Palestinian dinner parties and late-night Lebanese bites. London serves the Middle East with both soul and heart, and these are the 20 restaurants doing it best.”
Ms Bakos is essentially touring the Middle East in food terms – and notably sidestepping Israel.
Michael Levi at Numa in Mill Hill is not surprised. At his previous restaurant Michael’s Brasserie, in Woodside Park, he tuned up at work one morning to find Free Palestine graffiti on the front. At his restaurant in Mill Hill he has had diners get up and walk out on at least three occasions on discovering the restaurant’s heritage, and just last month after a barrage of phone calls (16 in one hour) asking questions about the ownership of the restaurant he found a carrier bag on the door containing pork from a supermarket. This has been reported to CST.
Neta Segev, who owns Mazal in Camden and Bracha in Golders Green, says: “There are so many Israelis here in London providing a unique and special experience in our restaurants – what a shame we don’t have a real opportunity to share what we are doing. In a list of 20 Middle Eastern restaurants it would have been nice to see at least one featured. Unfortunately I think it’s reflective of the wider pattern that we are now seeing here in the UK.”
One Israeli restaurant owner, who chose not to be named, recently received a private message from a diner: “We stumbled across your restaurant today. Awesome food and drink choices. Our waiter was awesome too. Just wanted to check your views on the IDF, Netanyahu and Gaza before posting a review as we need to consider our ethics.”
She says: “I find it astonishing that the restaurant experience is being measured by my political views. I strive to produce the highest standard and best experience in both food and drink and I think it’s fair to be judged by that alone. Does this guest check whether Syrian owners support Assad or Lebanese ones support Hezbollah? I cannot see that a guest would be checking the political views of the owners of any other type of restaurant.”
Another Israeli restaurant owner, who also chose to remain anonymous, says: “It’s deeply upsetting to see that for the first time, not a single Israeli or Jewish-owned restaurant has been included in the list. Since October 7, many of us have faced not only the emotional toll of events back home but also a steady stream of hostility and harassment in our everyday lives and businesses.
“Food should be about bringing people together, not punishing people for their identity. The absence of Israeli representation feels less like an oversight and more like a reflection of how polarised and hostile the climate has become. What makes it even harder is knowing that speaking out publicly can make you a target, something no chef or business owner should have to fear.
“And the bitter irony is this: Israeli food is celebrated around the world, yet Israeli chefs cannot even safely put their name to a comment like this. The fact I feel the need to remain anonymous speaks volumes about the environment we are living in.”
Jewish News has reached out to Suzi Bakos and Time Out for comment.
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