Yalla Yalla – Lebanese street food comes to Hackney

Baba Ghannouj at Yalla Yalla

Has a phrase ever made you want to fork out your eyeballs more than ‘pop-up restaurant’? It seems you can barely go five minutes without a new cocktail bar or novelty eatery springing up in a blaze of publicity before vanishing from sight a week later.

But don’t let that put you off the latest venture from Yalla Yalla. The founders behind the Lebanese street food company with a handful of restaurants in the city centre have just opened their latest outlet – selling gorgeous snacks and meals in a car park off Shoreditch High Street for the next six months.

We kicked off with some of the best falafel I’ve eaten in London. Often stodgy, damp and flavourless, these little nuggets were perfectly crispy on the outside, while the filling was fluffy and well-seasoned. They come laced with sesame seeds, rather than just rolled in them, giving them a nice nutty flavour.

We had a swirl of baba ghannouj, a creamy dip made from aubergines, with bright pomegranates and fresh mint, which was nice and smoky although slightly under-seasoned. The kibbe lahme was good too – tight little balls of deep fried minced lamb packed with cracked wheat and stuffed full of onions and pine nuts.

Next up a bowl of fattoush salad, which was one of the better dishes in terms of fresh flavours – packing in fiery radishes, lettuce and mint. It is flavoured with tart sumac spice and crispy flakes of pitta bread that make each mouthful delicious and crunchy. Finally, the samboussek jibne, which were lovely deep-fried parcels stuffed with a tangy custard-like mixture of feta, haloumi and fresh mint.

We had five starters between two and that was probably too much – even for enthusiastic eaters. All the plates are less than a fiver and although the portions aren’t massive, the food is pretty filling.

Mains are an option of chicken or lamb schawarma, a thick floury wrap. We picked the marinated lamb, which came in fat chunks of juicy meat.

We had some Rioja with our food, which was pleasant, but quite pricey at £6 per tumbler. You can also choose from a good looking selection of mezze platters, which gives you a little bit of everything for £7 or £8, as well as a selection of wraps.

As an informal food joint, it’s fine for either snatching a wrap on your lunch break or dropping in for something more substantial.

There are stools and sofas huddled around big braziers to keep you warm until spring comes and although I’d take a coat for now – it’s pretty cosy once you’ve sidled up to the fire. The staff are really friendly and, overall, it’s good value for such great food.

Yalla Yalla
186-187 Shoreditch High Street
E1 6HU