The Best of Both: An Israeli Bottomless Sharing Brunch?
By: Lucy'S Kitchen Diary
Tags: Review, London, Food, Brunch, Israeli Food

Small plates and feasting menus are having their moment. The concept is great, everyone choosing dishes for the table, getting stuck in, trying a bit of everything, smiling and generally having a good time.

But sometimes the smiles mask disappointment.

The dishes aren’t the ones you would have chosen.

There’s a vegetarian at the table and you really wanted to try the braised duck.

And then there’s British politeness, which doesn’t always suit this type of dining: ‘Oh no, please, you have the last of that’; ‘Oh gosh, I feel like I ate more of that’; ‘Does anyone mind if I have another padron pepper’ — it can feel a bit awkward.

Luckily, with Bala Baya’s Isreali-inspired Brunch offering, there’s no guilt, no compromise, no table negotiation and you can truly enjoy the pleasure of sharing, smiling at each other as you stuff your faces.

Under the arches of Union Street, you’re in a passage of quality dining with Gordon Ramsay’s Café just next door. Bala Baya’s doors are wide open, exposing the kitchen and modern double-storey restaurant. Despite arriving at 11am for brunch, we’re seated outside and this little alleyway is already buzzing with laughter as the first pops of prosecco are heard.

Start with the unlimited small plates for £8pp, served with gloriously warm, puffed-up pitta. Soft, almost buttery, they are pockets of middle-eastern heaven with the subtle scent of citrus and thyme.

Little bowls fill the table offering a delectable display of colours and flavours. Heritage carrots with lavender honey are a particular highlight, along with golden beetroot remoulade; this, accompanied by a deep, nutty humus and a very special bowl of smoked aubergine, acclimatise your taste buds to the vibrancy of Tel-Aviv, one pickled chili at a time. What’s more, you can finish every single bowl and then just ask for a top up. It’s a splendid way to share. No compromise, no guilt.

You could happily keep dipping pitta until you can dip no more, but to be able to order the unlimited plates, you need to also order a brunch dish from the main menu.

I was lucky enough to be brunching with my family, so we made a call that we would also share all the main brunch dishes too.

Turkish eggs were light with yoghurt, providing further dippage for our pitta. Yemini pancakes were wafer-y, crisp and salty with an equally crisp and delicious herb salad, a welcome break from the softness.

The pita melt was a little off-key. Taleggio cheese was lost, overwhelmed by porcini mushrooms and green pepper sauce which was very much like the peppercorn sauce you find next to a steak, it threw us off balance. Thankfully, the fried egg in burnt harissa butter brought it back and we continued to share one final brunch dish — a sweet number: blackberry pitta french toast with banana tempura. Grateful for deciding to share, this was a dense beast for which a couple of mouthfuls felt enough. The banana tempura was squidgy and sticky, little pops of chocolate and fruit finished us off.

Bala Baya is all about food, flavour and feasting. It brings people together like no bottomless prosecco ever could and makes sharing fun again. It does away with convention, takes you to places you’ve never been and brings you the exciting intensity of a city that’s over 2,000 miles away…all before midday on a Sunday.