Five of the best eats for 2025
Fadi Kattan’s Akub, Berenjak on a budget, vada pavs, Dutch satay and an Iraqi comfort-food gem
As another year comes to an end, it ‘s time for reflection on the past 12 months. Gains, losses, peaks, troughs. Obviously, given the focus of this monthly column, I’ve found myself reminiscing about the many breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks I’ve enjoyed — and, in some cases, those I haven’t.
Thanks to a growing health consciousness and a certain amount of fiscal maturity, I’ve lately become more mindful of what I consume. Among the consequences of that shift in perspective has been a heightening of my culinary experiences. Great food has become more memorable and the bad stuff even more disappointing than it would have been before. In the interest of ending the year on a positive note — and in recognition of all the stellar meals I’ve been lucky enough to eat — here are my greatest hits of 2025.
Akub, Noting Hill
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It’s rare to find a place where everything works in truly exceptional harmony. Chef Fadi Kattan’s west London restaurant combines a beautiful setting with excellent service, thoughtfully sourced produce and superb cooking. Showcasing the depth of Palestinian cuisine and agriculture in a way that is intentional yet subtle, his food is authentic, unfussy and extraordinary. The short rib fatteh (£29) features melt-in-the-mouth beef atop a perfectly balanced garlic yoghurt and crispy fried khobz. Order it with the mujadara (£15) — a hearty rice and lentil dish with vast quantities of onions, expertly fried to extract maximum sweetness and umami notes. Finish off with the Dead Sea salt chocolate cake (£10) or the knafeh mahshiyeh (£14), filled with house-made nabulsi cheese and mouhalabieh milk pudding, for a 10/10 dining experience.
Berenjak, Borough
If you live in London, the chances are you fall into one of the following three categories: 1. You love Berenjak; 2. You love to hate Berenjak; 3. You haven’t been able to secure a reservation at either of Berenjak’s locations. Over the past couple of years, critics have taken aim at the expensive menu and highlighted a plethora of other, allegedly superior and invariably less central, options for Persian cuisine. I fall, unapologetically, into the first group. Having lived in the heart of a west London enclave of Persian restaurants, I can confidently say that the food at Berenjak truly stands out.
What’s more, it can offer good value, even when compared to many of the suburban favourites of the cheap eats brigade. The trick is to bypass the three months of booked out dinner reservations by showing up to the Borough branch on the dot of noon, secure a table and order the set lunch at £35 per person for four dishes. The jujeh kabab tond — chicken on the bone — comes at an £8 supplement and is spiced with Turkish acı biber salçası, a Turkish hot red pepper paste that lends a welcome kick and helps to create a dish that I’ve yet to top anywhere else. If you visit with a companion, order both the naan-like taftoon and pebble-baked sangak bread to share to get the best of both worlds. Similarly one side each of rice and shirazi salad is enough to split. Avid stans swear by the black chickpea hummus but, for me, the creamy tang of the kashk e bademjoon aubergine dip is the real winner. Finish off with the date and walnut cookie and pot of aromatic tea for the perfect ending.
SKVP
Having spent nearly half of the past year on maternity leave, I have passed many hours pushing around a pram or driving a car, desperately trying not to wake my sleeping baby. SKVP on Pinner Road in Harrow is the closest to a non-drive-thru drive-thru experience that you can get. The whole vibe is similar to a streetside cafeteria in the Gulf. After hastily parking outside, a few hand motions are all you need to summon the staff from inside and make an order. My staple is the vada pav (£1.95) accompanied by a mango lassi (£2.50) in summer or a masala chai (£1) in the winter. I don’t think there’s any other thing in the whole of the UK that can bring as much joy for so little cash as that spiced potato sandwich. The recent addition of a central London branch to this expanding chain has made this classic Mumbai snack even more accessible to me, something for which I’m eternally grateful.
Satay Club, Amsterdam
Of the few trips I’ve had a chance to go on this year, I’m yearning to go back to one place more than any other: Satay Club in Amsterdam. Situated in the city’s Jordaan district, this restaurant’s titular chargrilled meat skewers easily rival those I’ve had in Indonesia. Served with rice, cassava crackers, pickled cucumber, green beans and peanut sauce from €16.50 (£14.40), they’re a steal. So good, in fact, that I ate there twice within 24 hours. Even now, months later, I keep finding myself browsing for cheap Eurostar tickets back to this enchanting city of canals and bicycles. For me, the succulent morsels of lamb are unforgettable, but the chicken puts up strong competition. There’s really no other option than to order both.
Baytinijan malfouf
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My final favourite is a dish rarely found on the menus of the growing number of Iraqi restaurants across the country. Baytinijan malfouf, my death row meal, does not lend itself to the time constraints of the restaurant environment. Instead, it takes centre stage at large gatherings, prepared by home cooks with all the soul and patience that such occasions demand.
The best version I’ve ever had — and the one I’m paying tribute to here — is made by my mum and routinely served at birthdays and other family celebrations. It consists of lean minced lamb subtly spiced with black pepper, paprika and curry powder, rolled into kebabs the size of your little finger, then quickly pan fried to lock in the flavour. In a separate pan, slices of aubergine are cooked in oil — their thinness directly correlating to the effort your host wants to make for you — which are wrapped around the meat. These plump little packages are meticulously arranged in a large oven dish and topped with a tomato-based sauce enriched with lemon juice, olive oil and pomegranate molasses or tamarind and then baked.
Always accompanied by saffron rice, every element needs to be executed perfectly — no shortcuts or airfrying here. Get it right, though, and it’s the most joyful, wholesome and grounding meal I can think of. It even makes growing older more bearable, safe in the knowledge that this dish, made with love by mothers’ hands, is there to ease me into yet another new year.
