Middle Eastern Restaurant in King’s Cross
Arabica is a great Middle Eastern restaurant in King’s Cross serving food that celebrates the flavours of the Levant. There are sharing dishes galore with ingredients from the Eastern Mediterranean. The space is sleek yet intimate with a long sharing table in the centre and smaller side tables.
Drinks
There is an exciting cocktail menu offering classics with a twist of Middle Eastern ingredients thrown in. We tried the Pomegranate martini (£11) with tapatio blanco tequila, aperol, pomegranate, citrus, vanilla syrup, pink peppercorn. It was a lovely smooth drink with a slightly tart finish from the fruit, we were fans of this concoction.
Next up was the Turkish delight (£11) with vodka, hibiscus liqueur, strawberry & rose water jam, vanilla aquafaba. This was straight up full on sugary sweetness with all the flavours of a liquidised Turkish delight itself! Fans of this popular sweet will be happy sipping on one of these.
The Sharing Dishes
There are dips recommended for starting with as well as smaller nibbles and a menu dedicated to pides (Turkish style pizzas) as well as a delicious charcoal menu. We ordered the below to share between two:
- Muhummara (£6.5) Roasted red peppers blitzed with toasted walnuts and Libyan-style harissa
- Spinach and feta berogi (£8.5) Served with grated tomato, cracked green olives, hot sauce
- Prawn pide (£9) Turkish-style pizza with prawns, tomato, baby spinach, red pepper, shaved fennel, dill
- Berbere spiced cauliflower (£8) Tahini, toasted seeds, pistachios, pomegranate, rose petals
- Beef shish (£14) Coal roasted tomato, peppers, sumac onions
We thoroughly enjoyed all our dishes! The delicious muhummara dip to start freshly blitzed with warming harissa flavours served with the fluffiest soft warm bread, was a sign of the goodness to follow. The crisp berogi had delicious rich feta and spinach mix which was encased in gorgeously crispy pastry.
Our second favourite was the berbere spiced cauliflower – a really great veggie main celebrating the humble cauliflower. We loved this plate of prettiness that tasted as good as it looked. With a rich charcoal flavour, the cauli was charred and caramelised to perfection. The tahini sauce and toppings offered lovely contrasting textures and pops of flavour.
Dessert
We shared a plate of the Baklava selection (£5) – crisp, buttery filo pastry with nuts and honey syrup. We hugely enjoyed ending the meal with these delightful sticky pieces of crunchy, nutty sweetness.
Overall
Arabica is a great Middle Eastern restaurant in King’s Cross for sharing wholesome delicious plates of food that truly celebrate eastern Mediterranean flavours. It is a highly recommended spot for exciting dishes that are very reasonably priced and cocktails with unusual twists. They even sell ingredients to recreate the flavours at home. Arabica also has outlets in Borough Market, Southbank Food Centre and Selfridges.
East London Girl: Middle Eastern Restaurant in King’s Cross
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