Sesame – London’s New Street Food Bar

Last Friday saw the opening of Sesame, a new street food bar that specialises in the tastes of the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean. It’s headed up by Noam Bar, one of the founders of Ottolenghi.

As a long time fan of Ottolenghi and Nopi it was a no-brainer to head off to Garrick Street in Covent Garden and see what it’s all about.

With a great location, just by the corner of St. Martin’s Lane, it’s immediately very visible and inviting.

Inside it’s kept simple and unpretentious. It reminds me of pitching up to a falafel bar somewhere in Tel-Aviv and that’s the point. This is a fast food joint with seating inside. It’s not chic or designed like we’ve come to expect from the Ottolenghi chain. Here, it’s ALL about the street food. Inspired by the grills and market stalls of North Africa, Palestine, Turkey and Yemen, Sesame serves breakfast, a selection of made-to-order pittas, kebab skewers and prepared salads. I kind of wanted to try it all.

Levantine-style tiling and simple painted brickwork.

A wall gallery of curious images and photography

Downstairs you’ll find a different colourway of the Levantine-style tiling

And here’s my lunch. A skewer of lemon and za’atar chicken with cauliflower, pomegranate and tahini salad. The meat melted in my mouth and the ingredients in the salad were just perfect. I enjoyed a simpler and less fussy food combo than at Ottolenghi. Just superb!

Francesca, who heads up the team and manages the place is super nice and helpful. For a fast food joint it’s outstanding. My food came to just over £6 which isn’t bad at all for so much flavour.

My biggest reservation is the lack of communication of the sourcing of the meat. There are no listings of ingredients either on the board by the till or on the salad boxes. There is, however, mention of various dietary requirements on their informative website. It tells you what is gluten free, dairy free et cetera and educates on some less well know ingredients.

All in all it’s a welcome new addition to the London fast food scene and I cannot wait to return.

I’ve obtained a Sesame Opening 50% Discount Offer which is valid until 29th May 2015. Do leave a message here below and I’ll happily send you on a voucher.