LDNGuide
Where To Celebrate Eid In London Now That You Can Finally Eat Before 8pm
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
After a whole lot of will-she-won’t-she moments with moon sightings, it’s finally Eid. You made it. And you know what that calls for? A big blowout meal with your nearest and dearest. Whether that’s your family, your flat mates, or everyone who you said you’d make plans with ‘after Ramadan’, these are great restaurants to have your first meal back.
Looking for London’s best halal restaurants? We’ve got a guide for that. And if you’re after halal brunch, then we’ve got you covered in that department too.
For Brunch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Emy's Kitchen is a Turkish spot that specialises in the kind of breakfasts that will leave you rolling out the door and mumbling about heaven being in Crouch Hill. Bring your friends, bring your family, bring anyone who’d appreciate a bread basket and a pot of melted cheese. Groups of all different ages pile in to snack on pickled beans, dunk freshly baked cornbread in runny yolks, and fight over the feta-stuffed börek. It's satisfying, communal stuff, perfect for a big blowout Eid breakfast.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
In an area filled with excellent brunch options, this North African cafe on Balham High Road is one that will have you googling house prices in SW12. It’s a cosy little spot that’s often packed on the weekend, and just about everything on the menu that includes their roasted seasoned potatoes is a winner. As well as the tasty brunch options, they serve chermoula chicken burgers and pastas from 11am. If you’re torn between a couple of the sweet options, get the Moroccan msemen which comes with an array of jams and honey to dip it in.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Eid is always more chaotic than expected: 11am breakfast plans get delayed and become 2pm brunch plans. And our favourite place to go for a lazy sit-for-hours brunch is Tashas. This beachy Battersea cafe is the definition of going with the flow (it's also walk-in only). Whenever you eventually rock up, anything from sweetcorn scrambled eggs to a spicy steak prego roll is fair game. The menu caters just as well for your health-conscious aunt as it does your kind-of-bratty cousin, although if you’re asking us, everyone should have a bowl of Savva’s chicken pasta in front of them.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Bake Street in Hackney is best-known for its brilliant brunch and weekend menu that has become the stuff of legend for good reason. People travel far and wide to get an 11am Nashville-style hot fried chicken sandwich, or a tom yum bun. Birria consommé, with chunks of meat and an inexplicably deep restorative power, is chugged by the cup. Lamb birria tacos—so rich, so soft, and just a little cheesy—taste like they’ve been slow-cooked to D’Angelo. The meat is all halal, and although there’s limited seating out front, you’re only a short stroll away from Stoke Newington Common where you can make a picnic out of it.
For Lunch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Yes, we appreciate that the chaos of Borough Market might not be what you had in mind for Eid, but the chaos inside this Sri Lankan spot is the organised kind. Glimpse gundu dosas being flipped in a paniyaram pan over an open fire, and watch staff dash about the store cupboard-sized kitchen. Warmth radiates from all corners of the plant-filled dining room and friends split flaky rotis and over-order dishes from the changing menu—like excellent prawn curries and spicy fried chicken—without regret. Grab one of the six-person booths if you’re a group, but if there are only two of you then the counter is where it’s at.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Nothing says ‘we’re celebrating’ like a table full of bamboo steamers. Does this Chinese spot in Marylebone have the best dim sum in London? We think so. Now strap in, because here comes our order. You’re going to want the prawn and chive dumplings, the prawn cheung fun, the sesame prawn rolls, and some more prawn cheung fun. Around this point you’ll consider the prawn dumplings and then think, well that’s a lot of prawn. Ignore that voice. Go ahead and lean into the seafood offerings and please note, the Royal China Club classic cheung fun is essential.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Not only does this cosy spot on Upper Street serve halal roast duck, whole soy chicken, and fried shredded crispy beef, it doesn’t serve any pork. That’s right, no playing dish detective, or keeping a menu to hand in case you need to double check if there’s a surprise meat. At Hong Kong Restaurant you can order with confidence. It also helps that the dim sum is excellent, and the dan dan noodles come in an earthy peanut sauce that we’d happily lick from the bowl. Come in a group and work your way through the lengthy dim sum menu (which, by the way, is served through until dinner).
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
This all-day restaurant in Park Royal serves some seriously good Middle Eastern food. Beit El Zaytoun is a great place to enjoy a relaxed Lebanese brunch in their outdoor area, with meat and cheese manakeesh, halloumi, and zait w zaatar all on the menu until 2.45pm. We’d opt for a selection of the manakeesh, some mezze, and some fattoush salad on the side. It also stays open until late when you can get shawarmas and wrap platters.
For Dinner
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
This airy Persian spot off Kensington High Street is spacious and call-ahead-as-you’re-parking-up kind of casual, which is ideal for an easy-go-lucky (read: extremely disorganised) group. Start by getting double the amount of freshly baked naan you think is necessary—you’ll smell it as soon as you walk in—and a mixed mezze starter. The chicken biryani is one of our favourite things to eat here, as are the charred lamb chops. But the koobideh is some of the juiciest around, and what you don’t want to miss. The portions are hefty, but when you’ve had a month of waiting until sunset to eat, we have a feeling you’ll do just fine.
From the piles of steaming hot hand-pulled noodles, to the pristine floral tablecloths soon to be chilli oil-stained, everything at Etles comes from a husband and wife duo. This living room of a restaurant in Walthamstow, complete with two-tone walls, lacy curtains, and a chintzy chandelier, suits all kinds of situations. But given the warm hospitality, we always want to eat here as a family—relatives or not. This spot prides itself on feeling like a home away from home.
When we want to feel like we’re at a party with really good food, we like to come to Brigadiers. Every room in this maze of an Indian restaurant in the City is full of red leather, polished mahogany, and gold detail. You’ll be having so much fun you simply will not want to leave. Especially after eating some of the best tandoori lamb chops in London and getting messy with the BBQ butter chicken wings. You’ll peek into a private dining room with TV screens playing the football on your way to the toilet. Then you’ll find yourself in the pool room and realise this is the most fun you’ve ever had in a restaurant.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
We know, we know. You’ve spent many an Eid here before. But that’s because this Turkish spot knows its way around a group get-together. There are mixed meze platters, there’s sarma kuzu beyti, there’s chaos, and we love it all. The stalwart mini-chain has spots dotted around north east London, but the Green Lanes location feels the cosiest. With plenty of tables for groups and a kunafa that requires sharing, it’s perfect for a family gathering. The menus have something for everybody, but the thing you really won’t want to miss is the manti.
photo credit: Hopper's Kings Cross
We haven’t met a dish at this Sri Lankan restaurant that we didn’t like. Everything is excellent, from the dosas to the lamb shank buriani, to the biggest prawns you will probably ever lay eyes on. Plus, the food is designed for groups, which means your food envy can take a day off. They’ve got locations in King’s Cross, Soho, and Marylebone—but if you’re rocking up in a big group, we’d go for their more spacious King’s Cross restaurant.
