Fig & Walnut Mediterranean Kitchen

With a deep yellow façade and traditional Turkish sweets calling out tantalisingly to passers-by, Fig & Walnut Mediterranean Kitchen is a slice of warm Mediterranean hospitality in the heart of Bloomsbury.

The recently refurbished restaurant, spread across two dining areas with a connecting cocktail bar, is tastefully decorated in a dark-blue colour palette, offset by exposed brick walls and polished wooden furnishings. Dim lighting adds a touch of intimacy and mystique to the interior areas, while those who like to soak up the sun or do a bit of people-watching during their meal can sit at one of the pavement tables. There's plenty of space to accommodate larger groups inside as well, making it as suited to casual catch-ups as it is to celebratory dinners.

The kitchen at the family-run Fig & Walnut is a tightly-run affair where food is cooked with passion. There's a varied assortment of authentic dishes to choose from on the menu, catering to different dietary preferences and providing a comprehensive overview of Mediterranean cuisine. You can start your day with a proper Turkish breakfast with homemade simit bread, preserves, and feta, or opt for a fry-up with spicy sucuk sausage.

Later in the day, you'll have platters heaving with expertly grilled meats, an assortment of hot and cold meze, oven-baked flatbreads, and other nourishing dishes ready to tempt you. The Hot Meze Platter includes calamari, muska börek, halloumi, sucuk, falafel and fındık lahmacun, while the Cold Meze Platter brings together hummus, cacık, tabbouleh, soslu patlıcan and kırmızı pancar tarator for a vibrant spread of flavours and textures.

A particular point of pride is the zahtar, sourced from a family in Turkey who have been making it for generations, passing the recipe and method down through the centuries. Mixed with olive oil or spread over flat dough to create their fragrant zahtar lahmacun, it's not only deeply aromatic but also known for its health benefits, being rich in antioxidants and believed to support digestion and the immune system.

Ask the bartender to whip you up a signature pomegranate margarita or a refreshing Persian fizz to go with your meal, order a bottle of fine wine for the table, and round things off with pistachio baklava or an indulgent kunefe dessert. On colder days, a cup of traditional sahlep — a creamy hot drink made from wild orchid root and milk — offers a comforting finish to a meal that satisfies the soul as well as the body.

By: Jessica Dellow, Daniel Sheppard