Bubala: the home of Middle Eastern vegetarian magic

Opening a vegetarian restaurant as little as five years ago would have been a bold move, but as the UK increasingly embraces vegetarianism and starts to treat vegetables as ingredients in their own right rather than sides or accompaniments to meat and fish, it made sense to Marc and Helen to keep things veggie.

‘We’d had enough with dealing with meat on a daily basis – sticking to vegetarian dishes means everything feels a lot more hygienic in the kitchen and it’s a nicer environment to be in,’ explains Marc. ‘Helen was getting a bit tired of seeing the amount of waste that can come with cooking meat in a restaurant too, so it was something we were both keen to focus on.’

A look at Bubala’s menu shows a distinct Middle Eastern focus – the usual suspects of hummus, labneh and falafel certainly set the scene – but that’s not the sole inspiration for the food on offer. ‘We’ve been inspired by our backgrounds and heritage too,’ says Marc. ‘There are a couple of Jewish things on the menu, which reflects the area we’re in – 100 years ago Spitalfields was very Jewish. My grandfather was born here, as was Helen’s grandmother, so the location means a lot. It took a long time to find the right location for Bubala, but when we found this place we knew we had to go for it.’

Because Marc and Helen had been working on the menu for Bubala for two years prior, they were able to open the restaurant pretty speedily. As it was their first restaurant, they worked towards a tight budget to get the décor and kitchen up to scratch, but managed to open just three months after getting the keys to the building.

‘I don’t think anything can prepare you for the amount of work that’s required to open a restaurant,’ says Marc. ‘The first night was a bit of a disaster – although the customers didn’t notice – because we stupidly put our coffee machine on top of all our electrics. Water ended up going everywhere and we were having to write all the checks and run them down to the kitchen. Our opening week was all a bit of a blur, but we’re settled now and just trying to improve every aspect of what we do.’

Coffee machine mishaps aside, Bubala proved an instant hit, with the likes of Marina O’Laughlin, Jay Rayner and Jimi Famurewa giving it glowing reviews in quick succession. ‘Because we’re such a small restaurant you really notice the impact those reviews have – bookings just surged afterwards,’ says Marc. ‘Especially the Jay Rayner one – that came out just after Christmas and meant January, which is usually pretty quiet for restaurants, was really, really busy.’

With big, bold dishes accentuated with plenty of smoke from Helen’s small-but-effective Japanese konro barbecue in the kitchen, affordable prices and plenty of ingredients and flavours from the cuisines of the Middle East, Israel and the Mediterranean, it’s no wonder Bubala has become such a hit. Marc and Helen are obviously a very effective team, and are about to launch a new brunch menu and make the most of their private dining room. The fact that the restaurant only serves vegetarian dishes isn’t what defines Bubala; it’s the confident cooking, laidback vibe and accessibility of the menu. Stop in for a few small plates or go all-in with the Bubala Knows Best £30 set menu – either way, you’re in for a treat.