I had my best ever bottle of restaurant wine at Bubala. Well, actually, strictly speaking, on the location that is now Bubula, as it has passed through a number of hands over the years. Last time I was here (and this shows my age) it was Vasco and Pierro’s Pavilion Restaurant, and I am really showing my age when I say I am old enough to remember when they had the actual Pavilion. Vasco’s started out over the top of the ICA cinema over 50 years ago, before moving to the edge of Poland Street and Noel Street, and brought a beautiful (painted on the ceiling) pavilion with it. Legend says that when the original pavilion faded and peeled the original artist had become so famous (and so expensive), they could not afford to repaint it. Sadly, while they fixed the pavilion problem by painting over it, the food started to fade and peel. It was the beginning of the end (the food was really not so good in the unicolour wall days), and I have to say last time I went to the new location round the corner in D’Arblay Street, I was downright disappointed.

However, I still carry the memory of that bottle of Teruzzi & Puthod Vernaccia di San Gimignano  with me (also, not as good as it used to be. Is it me? Am I getting fussy?).

Bubala is at the opposite end of the food scale to old Vasco’s. It is no less crowded, but it is a young, buzzy (maybe I just mean loud) and dark restaurant, dedicated to Middle Eastern sharing food. Vasco’s was Ken Livingstone’s favourite restaurant when he was London’s supremo (first time round). Would the new incarnation have him seeing Red? Let’s see…

There are three Bubala locations. We have been keen on going for a while, but we had a pretty large party, and wanted to go on a particular Friday night. The only availability was in Soho, and at the Chef’s Table. Honestly, that filled me with horror, as I’m there to interact with my guests, not the chefs (no matter how lovely they might be), but it was that table or nothing. If you ask AI (and obviously *that* is going to be 100% right), a chef’s table “offers a more intimate and interactive experience compared to traditional dining, with direct interaction with the chef and a behind-the-scenes look at the culinary process. “. Well, you need not worry about any of that. At Bubula, the “Chef’s Table” is the large table at the back which is inconveniently located (for everyone) right by the serving area (and is next to the stairs to the toilet). So no interaction, no special meal, no tasty treats: Just in the way of the waiting staff. It was much brighter, however, and did give me a chance to watch the kitchen in action (as I was facing that way, and also because I couldn’t hear a word that anyone on the table was saying).

Considering the place was packed (upstairs and downstairs), and that a huge amount of food was coming out of the kitchen at speed, it was the most Zen operation I have ever seen. With what looked like a skeleton staff, and with one person just ticking off orders and adding sauce to dishes, the thing ran like clockwork. No shouting, no swearing, no dropped pans, just an incredibly efficient team, working to produce what was, in the main, excellent food. Compliments to the chefs…

Ah yes, food. That is after all what we are here for.

As a party of 6 or more, we had to have the set menu. I have three observations on this. The first is that there is just far too much of it: We are not shy to eat in our family, but we could not eat the last of the “main” courses. Second, it seems to offer no particular price advantage compared to ordering off the a la carte. Finally, pudding is not included, which doesn’t bother me, but bothered the others. It did start to bother me (as the person paying for this feast), when we did order puddings and no-one really liked them, mainly because they were far too sweet (the one bum note in an otherwise excellent food evening)

Oh yes, it’s a veggie place, but even the most determined meat eater would be happy here. We were recommended to have a mixture of the set menus, one of which was veggie (shown) and one of which was vegan. Buggered if I could tell the difference from the food, which has to be a good thing.

These days, it is obligatory to have a cocktail prior to your meal (and often after, I am told, but of that I am less convinced). I am sure we could have had the classics, but we all went for what was on the menu: All of them proved you should not mess with the classics. In particular, the Spicy Margarita (which I have seen done well) was not really anything like a Margarita. It was, for lack of a better word, wet (yes, I know it’s supposed to be), in a runny sort of way (ditto). Somehow a real Margarita has some body and thickness (oh, and taste) to it, all of which this lacked. I can say, however, that we had a bottle of the no-label house White later in the meal, and it went really well with the food, so all is not lost on the drinks front.

Oh, but the food…

Top tip: Don’t ask for more bread.

When you have the set menu, you get unlimited bread, which is charred to perfection right before it is served (and it is served quickly), and it is far, far too hot to rip when you get it. I never eat large amounts of any sort of bread these days, but these flatbreads were irresistible: And filling. Far, far too filling.

Our starters came too quickly: Or perhaps a better way of putting it is that the drinks took too long to come. Whatever the reason, we felt we had been pushed somewhat precipitously into the meal. A longer delay would have been good.

Here is a small selection to start with. The pickles were really good, especially the mushrooms (unusual choice of things to pickle as well. While the Labneh and both Hummus were excellent, the standout was the Vegan Baba Ganoush, which was as smokey and delicious a version as I have ever eaten.

The Halloumi (bottom left) was amazing. The “Vine Leaves” also worth a try (actually Swiss Chard), but the “Cuore del Vesuvio” tomatoes had a Harissa on them which has now set the bar for how Harissa ought to taste for me, so I’ve chucked out the Belasu from my fridge. Also, an honourable mention to the Potato Latkes. Impressive, and it is not often that you see someone has done something quite original with a potato (Probably my favourite use of a potato since I got a spud gun, in fact)

The Falafel were too hard (I complain in every review that they were not as good as Mo’s wife’s and I stick with that here), and the Batata Harra was a bit lazy (see pics). Also, the Oyster Mushroom skewers were trying to be a bit meat-like, but just came off as tough. And, if I’m being picky, I was not convinced by the salad (although the cherries were good) As with so many restaurants now, stick to ordering from further up the menu, and focus less on the “mains”. Not that they were not good, but the earlier dishes were amazing: And we were a bit full.

Dessert, as I said above, was disappointing. I tried to make the Salted Caramel Truffles look a bit more interesting with an alluring camera angle, but sadly, that doesn’t make them taste better.

Overall, the service was friendly and efficient. There was an issue with a drinks order getting lost at the bar, but that was not the fault of the waiting staff.

I really enjoyed this meal. I will be going back but with two main conditions: The first is that it will be with fewer than 6 people (that is going to upset someone) as I don’t want to be forced into having too much food because of the enforced set menu for “parties”. Second, it needs to be on a quiet Tuesday or with better ear protection. Yes, I am getting on a (little) bit, and yes, I do have very slight hearing loss (nothing like enough for hearing aids), but it was impossible to carry on a conversation in any meaningful way. Eating out is as much about the social element as about the food, and I really felt I missed out on that here.

But what great food. Streets ahead of Imad, and better in some ways than Delamina East. For veggie food, certainly better (and more convenient) than the Holy Carrot. Give it a try, but make sure you are armed only with a limited number of friends, and earplugs.

Conclusion

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

• Food: 4.5/5
• Service: 4.5/5
• Drinks: 4/5
• Ambiance: 4/5
• Value for Money: 4/5
• Would we go back?: Yes (but see above!)

Bubala Soho: https://www.bubala.co.uk/soho