Delamina, Marylebone

This is the second restaurant from husband and wife duo Limor and Amir Chen, who also own Strut and Cluck in Shoreditch. It’s a gorgeous space; all bright and airy with white painted exposed brick walls and potted plants aplenty.

The dishes are vibrant both to look at and eat. Charred cauliflower (£9) comes with lemon zest infused crème fraiche sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. It’s an explosion of texture; chewy, squishy, crispy.

A salad of avocado, charred brocollini, honey roasted carrots, quinoa and za’atar spiced gem lettuce (£8.25) has loads going on but it all work together perfectly.

Grilled courgettes (£7.75) are topped with crispy onions, like posh versions of the crispy onions you used to get in a Harvester salad cart. They are heaven. Even a simple plate of pitas and tahini dip is ruddy delicious.

Squid marinated in za’atar (£14.25) is pan seared to perfection. There’s a crust on that squid which brings so much flavour. Then there’s crisp cavolo nero and soft roasted tomatoes to bring it all alive.

Beef & venison koftas on a bed of hummus and tahini (£15.25) are super moist. The meat has loads of smokey flavour from the grill and the sweet, oily onions with the fresh pomegranate seeds is a lush combination.

A huge chunk of cod (£15.75), all soft and flakey, is smothered in a chermoula – a chilli, garlic, cumin, coriander, oil and lemon juice marinade which certainly packs and punch. Israeli cous cous, artichokes & yet more za’atar all compliment the fish brilliantly.

For pud, we share their version of a cheesecake (£6.50) which uses crispy kadayif pastry. The dairy-free vanilla yoghurt topping is so light and delicate – quite a marvellous thing to eat.

The dishes at Delamina are so packed full of flavour with interesting and unusual spices that you can’t help but feel excited.  And the place was packed. Deservedly

Would we go back? Yes

Delaminamarylebone.co.uk
We dined as guests of the restaurant