Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich’s Honey & Co restaurants serve delicious, f lavourful Middle Eastern meals to London’s food lovers. Here, they share the kind of food they like to cook at home
RECIPES ITAMAR SRULOVICH AND SARIT PACKER PHOTOGRAPHS STUART WEST WORDS HELENA LANG
Menu main Roast chicken with figs and shallots sides Wholegrain basmati pilaf with almonds Fennel, chicory and basil salad dessert Plum cobbler
L amb’s Conduit Street in London is what Americans imagine all of London looks like,’ laughs Itamar Srulovich over coffee with feta and honey cheesecake (a signature dish) at the beautiful new Honey & Co restaurant in Bloomsbury. The street, with its eclectic mix of independent shops, bistros, restaurants, art galleries, dentists and undertakers, has a quaint village atmosphere, yet is only seconds from the hurtling chaos of Holborn.
The new site replaces a former restaurant on Warren Street, though the raved-about menu remains much the same. ‘We’ve introduced a few new dishes,’ confirms Sarit Packer, ‘and the kitchen is bigger than before, but everyone’s favourites are still there. Our whole style is “homestyle” so people can come in and share a few small plates, or order one main dish or have a feast if they wish. And we offer all-day dining from breakfast through to dinner, with coffee, cake, lunch and everything else in between.’
At home, they call their entertaining style enlightened laziness… ‘It’s all about prepping ahead,’ explains Sarit.
‘It’s actually much more cheffy than fiddling about with complicated plates at the last minute,’ chips in Itamar. ‘All professional chefs prep everything ahead and this means you can relax when your friends arrive.’ Sarit agrees: ‘I hate nothing more than going to a friend’s house for supper and then not seeing them as they spend all evening in the kitchen. With this menu, you get ahead, put everything in the middle of the table and ask your guests to help themselves. People take what they want and leave what they don’t.’
Sarit and Itamar continue the laid-back theme by never serving a ‘starter’ and instead kicking things off with a jug of cocktails – usually gin or vodka-based – and nibbles such as roasted nuts and bowls of olives.
‘We think food should be soft-touch,’ confides Sarit. ‘Delicious ingredients to which you do as little as possible. That way, your meal will taste fresh and look vibrant.’ Enlightened laziness indeed…
Meet I tamar & Sarit
Itamar and Sarit met in their native Israel before moving to London where they both worked at OXO Tower and Ottolenghi. They opened Honey & Co in 2012 and now have three London restaurants as well as an online business. honeyandco.co.uk
Roast chicken with figs and shallots
