London Kosher restaurant review: Hummus Bar

A selection from our dinner: Oriental Beef Hummus, and the Dirty Hybrid burger.

In the Promised Land of North West London (between Borehamwood and Finchley), there is no shortage of Kosher Israeli/Middle Eastern-style restaurants. Jews seeking their regular fill of hummus and shwarma are well catered for, but for innovation on a familiar theme, they need look no further than Hummus Bar.

Located on Golders Green Road, it opened earlier this year and is now one of the areas most popular Kosher eateries. Although it does hummus extraordinarily well, there’s a lot more on offer from burgers and shnitzels through to salads and sandwiches.

It’s hard to find really good hummus outside of Israel, but this is some of the best I have tasted. Perfectly smooth and rich with a slightly eggy hint, it worked particularly well with the oriental beef topping: meat and caramelised onions, fresh herbs, techina and a hint of lemon. Other topping options include mushroom, salt beef, and American-style sloppy joe. Other starter options include chicken wings, carpcaccio, chicken liver mousse and breaded cauliflower florets, but we went for the Moroccan cigars. Crisp filo pastry wrapped around meltingly tender beef on a bed of techina, it was an excellent show-case of not only the quality of ingredients used in Hummus Bar, but also the dedication that goes into presenting their food.

There’s also a wealth of main courses to chose from. Particularly impressive were a deconstructed sabich sandwich (with the option to add chicken for carnivores), sinia (Lebanese-style kebabs on a bed of techina) and brisket as well as the more expected schnitzels and pargiot, but the burgers are particularly deserving of a special mention. The classic burger is available, but why have that at Hummus Bar when you can get it almost anywhere else? Diners can enjoy a “Dirty Hybrid” (burger patty topped with sloppy joe, a fried egg, red onion chutney and fried onions), the “Jaffa Burger” (a lamb burger topped with shwarma), and the “Kebaburger” (elements of sabich including techina and a hard-boiled egg) amongst others. The patties are cooked as you like, and absolutely delicious. While sides may seem somewhat peripheral, the sweet potato fries are an absolute winner. Mejadra and and mashed potatoes are also available.

Avi – the owner – has a dessert menu too, but that changes fairly regularly. If you, though, get the brownie with ice-cream. Perfectly gungie, it could very well have been dairy rather than parev!

Overall, we had a lovely dining experience and enjoyed an excellent meal. The food itself, presentation and service were all faultless. Avi and his staff all “know” the food really well, and their passion for it definitely shows. Its popularity speaks for itself (it’s almost impossible to get a table without booking days or weeks in advance), but would be well worth the wait. Highly recommended.