The Ultimate Guide – Where To Eat Kunafa in London
The Ultimate Guide – Where To Eat Kunafa in London
Hungry for the most delicious dessert ever? Here’s our guide on where to eat the best kunafa in London
Kunafa, knafeh, kunefe. However you say it, chances are you already love this Middle Eastern dessert. We can also probably agree on one other thing; it’s difficult to find good kunafa in London.
If baklawa and cheesecake had a lovechild, it might taste like kunafa.
A good kunafa is hard to beat, and you’ll know when you’ve had it. The cheese or cream filling should be soft and unctuous, the shredded filo or semolina topping should be toasted and golden, and soaked in syrup flavoured with orange blossom or rose water. Pistachios are traditionally sprinkled on top.
Without further ado, here is my ultimate guide on where to eat the best kunafa in London.
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1| Antepliler, Harringay
The heady scent of orange blossom hits you first, followed by the enticing sizzle of fresh kunafa on a gas stove
Antepliler have an open kitchen so you can see the kunafa being made fresh. It’s a bit of thrill, knowing you’ll soon be tucking in. The shredded filo kunafa parcel is brushed in butter before being toasted, which helps mellow out sweetness and also gives the a rounded richness. A dollop of double cream on top adds even more buttery goodness.
What’s more, Antepliler actually make the cheese that goes into their kunafa themselves, and it’s beautifully thick and super-stretchy. The result is scrumptious, and best with lashings of Turkish tea.
2| Rüya, Mayfair
Rüya make an excellent kunafa
The kunafa at Rüya is filled with a traditional Turkish cheese, majdouli, combined with mozzarella. The two are strained, and then soaked in orange blossom and rose water syrup. A touch of mastic powder is added to the cheese, before being wrapped in shredded kadaif pastry and toasted.
It arrives at the table bronzed, as if warmed under an Anatolian sun. This kunafa has plenty of texture – the crisp crunch of toasted shredded pastry, giving way to clean, sweet cheese, which mixes with mouthfuls of cool pistachio ice cream and flaked pistachio too. In the backdrop is a comforting swell of orange blossom, that keeps things round and even.
3| Gokyuzu, Harringay
Known for their amazing grilled meats, Gokyuzu do a brilliant kunafa too
At Gokyuzu, the kunafa features golden kataifi pastry with a gooey mozzarella heart. It comes with a scoop of cream cheese, which cools down the general richness. This kunafa is neither too sweet nor too fatty – and it’s just about the right size to share between two. Yum.
4| Grilandia, Notting Hill
There’s nothing not to love about the fudgy kunafa at Grilandia
Inside is a mixture of mozzarella and white Lebanese cheese, and outside is a layer of baked semolina. The texture is supple and fudge-like, and a spoon slides through in an obscenely satisfying way. The thing I like most though is that it’s not overdone – the cheese has give, but doesn’t spread too far. Could this be the best semolina kunafa in London? Possibly.
5| Ishtar, Marylebone
The kunafa arrives in a swell of burnished pastry, glossy with orange blossom syrup
Underneath is fresh mozzarella, which is hot, stringy and sweet with syrup. On top is a scoop of pistachio ice cream and a little hill of chopped pistachio. I love the ration between pastry and cheese most though, and the ice cream acts as a palate cleanser in between bites. Kunafa in London doesn’t really get any better :)
6| Mandaloun, Shepherds Bush
A rose water kunafa with cake-like semolina topping
The kunafa at Mandaloun is made at a West London bakery called Sweetland, and is delivered to the restaurant to serve. The cheese inside is Middle Eastern Akkawi, and the rose water flavour is uplifting.
But, maybe because the kunafa is ordered-in and not homemade, it’s a touch overheated. The cheese has melted and spread just a little further than we would’ve liked. Althought it’s not the best, it’s one of the only places in West London that do kunafa, so in times of need it’ll do the trick.
7| Diwan Damas, Edgware Road
The most delicious cream kunafa in London
This little deli on Edgware Road make some of the best kunafa in London. Our favourite is the kunafa osmalieh – filled with thickened cream and flavoured with orange blossom.
Diwan Damas also serve booza al haleb, a characteristically chewy Syrian ice-cream. It’s made by beating air out of milk, which has been thickened with mastic gum and powdered root of orchid. The resulting ice cream is beautifully dense, and thicker and smoother than even the yummiest gelato. It’s brilliant stuff!
8| Maroush Bakehouse, Edgware Road
Custardy-creamy kunafa on Edgeware Road
The Maroush kunafa is one of my favourites. The custardy filling is thick and has a delightful wobble to it. A gentle nudge from a spoon is enough to undo the shredded filo, which comes apart in vermicelli-like strands. We should’ve known just by looking at it that one piece wouldn’t be enough. It’s a gorgeous example of kunafa in London.
9| Arabica, Borough Market
Arabica do a great twist on Middle Eastern cuisine, and their version of kunafa is interesting too
It features baked filo pastry on top of halloumi cheese, topped with an unusually dense layer of crushed pistachio and some orange zest too.
Honest opinion though – I think the topping to cheese ratio is slightly off. There isn’t enough cheese and what cheese there is, is not gooey enough either. Good kunafa should have a little ooze or wobble to it, and this just doesn’t have that voluptuousness. But, if you’re in the mood and in the area, then it’s quite edible ;)
10| The Barbary, Covent Garden
I waited a long time to get my chops around the kunafa at The Barbary, and I wasn’t disappointed
This kunafa is filled with goats and mozzarella cheese, and topped in gorgeous mess of pastry. The angel-haired kataifi is pudding-soft around the squidgy cheese, and toasted golden on top. It’s not too sweet, and works well with their cardamom Turkish coffee. Best of all is eating this while watching the chefs cook and the flames roar in the open kitchen.
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Kibele Restaurant, Great Portland Street
Maroush is closed