Bubala to open second London restaurant in April

Critically-acclaimed vegetarian restaurant Bubala is to open a second London site in Soho in April.

The original Spitalfields restaurant, founded by Marc Summers, launched in 2019 following a series of pop-ups and supper clubs.

It received rave reviews for its Middle Eastern, vegetarian cooking from The Observer’s Jay Rayner and the Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa, who said it made vegetarianism seem like the “sanest thing in the world”.

Now Bubala has taken the former Vasco & Piero Italian restaurant site in Soho, which it will relaunch as a 50-cover site with an eight-seat counter bar overlooking the open kitchen.

Executive chef Helen Graham, recently named as one of Rayner’s six chefs to watch in The Observer Food Monthly, will serve dishes such as halloumi with black seed honey; Hispi cabbage with mandarin and raw el hanout ponzu; and confit potato latkes with tour and Aleppo chilli.

The drinks menu will include wine on tap, bottled natural wines, UK-produced beers and Gazoz house sodas, which is a homemade seltzer combined with fruits, flowers, spices, herbs and syrups.

Summers said: “The past two years have been unimaginably hard for our entire industry, so I feel incredibly lucky to have one site, let alone to be opening a second.

“It’s always been a long-term goal for Bubala to grow, but it’s a step that I wanted to take carefully and one that I didn’t want to rush.

“I feel like we’ve got the best possible team now and the site feels perfect. I just can’t wait to open and bring a bit of Bubala to central London.”

Bubala was recommended in the Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland 2021, although it does not hold a star or Bib Gourmand.