I kept walking past this place meaning to find the time to go in, and finally today I went for lunch. I’m glad I did as I had a tasty, quality meal with good cookery, the flavours were on point, and nothing was a let down. What a refreshing change! Akub is a modern Palestinian restaurant, a unique addition to the area of Notting Hill. The concept is based around plates to be shared at the table, but considering it was just me it was perfectly fine to take a couple of things to try and get a feel for the cuisine. The menu looked great, this was all the food I wanted to eat, the flavours resonated with me. It screamed healthy but tasty, perfect for my palate and the interesting use of local British ingredients is always a promising idea.
Starting with the bread, this showed me they were not cutting corners here. It was excellent topped with the perfect balance of spices and a pinch of salt. I accompanied this with a red lentil moutabal with tahinia and cumin. So simple but comforting and satisfying. We were onto a good start.
My first small plate was the arak cured monkfish- Monkfish, arak, olive oil and sumac. It was tender, delicate, light and prepared well. This was not a fussy dish; a little bit of olive oil and a touch of sumac was all this needed, it allowed the product to speak for itself.
A special mention to the homemade lemonade, it was the best one I had in a while, make sure to order this, because it had the perfect thirst-quenching balance of sweet and acidic, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it went down fast. I saw two diners opposite me who preferred to order a soft drink out of a can, “What are you doing?” I thought. Another rolling of the eye’s moment…
Next, we enter into a more substantial plate, it had to be the langoustine Zibdiyyeh-Langoustines, tomato, chilli, dill and caraway. The flavours did sing, and the langoustine was cooked perfectly, it was not an ounce over. The sauce that the langoustines sat upon was delicious but still refined enough to not overpower the product. A simple but effective dish.
I couldn’t leave without ordering some vegetables, I chose the Mafghoussa- Courgettes, squashed courgettes garlic yogurt, pine nuts and mint. Nothing complicated here and this being a usual combination you already know that it works. Simple but delicious flavours. When you have good products, they deliver ten fold.
I was having a consistent meal, so I decided to break the rules and order dessert for lunch. I don’t normally do this unless it’s worth it, as dessert is normally reserved for dinner only. The Hilbeh baba was the way to go, it had a lovely touch of rose, pistachios and it had enough soak for me. The only critical comment about it was the size, it was huge, and I could only manage a quarter of it. The cake was light and spiced with fenugreek and cardamom, there were no errors at all, it was a good bake.
This lunch has been the most promising and consistent for London in ages, the food is simple but highlights great flavours and products, the sharing plates concept is working here with a menu that grabs your attention. Vibrant flavours and colours on the plate are present and the chef is delivering quality. Even the dining room is attractive, they have got it right and I hope they continue to deliver.
