The Barbary

Middle Eastern

16 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DP

££

The Barbary had long been on my list of restaurants to try. Having won Time Out’s best restaurant in London for numerous consecutive years, I knew it must be something special.

The name is inspired by the Barbary Coast of North Africa (which got it’s name through longstanding Berber inhabitants) and covers the stretch of Morocco, along the Mediterranean to Israel. These are the exact flavours you will find too: fresh fishes of the Med, to bold punchy spices and heavy meats of the Middle East. Situated in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden, the Barbary makes for a romantic date night destination. Before covid, you would find yourself hard pressed to get a spot at one of the very few counter seats that look straight into the kitchen – the only ones they had (max 15) and non-bookable! With every very dark very grey cloud does come a little silver lining, and that is the amount of terraced seating now available in and around Soho. The Barbary is no exception – being able to host at least another 15 diners outside in the centre of Neal’s Yard. A lovely spot, and now BOOKABLE. Rejoice!

We went to the Barbary one Friday evening at 7pm and sat outside on the terrace. I did have to book this spot almost a month in advance, but at least we knew we would definitely get a table. Service was friendly and attentive without being too much: we were explained the menu and advised to get two dishes from each section. We went for a Jerusalem Bagel (£4.5), Spicy Plate (£6) and Mashwiya (£7), followed by Pata Negra Neck (£23), Octopus Masabacha (£19.5), a Fattoush Salad (£10.5) and a small portion of Falafels (£4.75). To start, the Jerusalem Bagel arrived warm – slightly crisp on the outside and perfectly fluffy inside, it was a marriage made in heaven to our choice of dips. The green sauce on the spicy plate was sharp and enticing, but I didn’t rate the rest of the plate as much – mostly just some whole chillies. The Mashwiya was an interesting flavour of tahini, tomatoes and aubergine, however, I think I would have rather tried one of the other dips, as this (or something very similar) came alongside the falafels anyway. There’s always next time!

The Octopus came next, served real real tender, slightly charred out the outside, on a bed of chickpeas and mango yoghurt. Now we all know chickpeas are notoriously bland, but Octopus isn’t the most flavourful fish either… Whilst this was undeniably cooked beautifully, I do think a strong accompaniment could have worked better - the mango yoghurt was not enough to bring it up on its own. The Fattoush Salad was a great partner to this – fresh, sharp, bright flavours helped to elevate the Octopus, however I was a little confused when I saw feta on the Fattoush, not complaining necessarily, but I’ve never had feta on a Fattoush before: think of this more like a Fattoush-greek hybrid. The Falafels were as good as they get (crunchy casing, soft and warm interior), however, the star of the show was undoubtedly that Pata Negra Neck.

In all honesty, I’m still not sure what animal this was, upon googling it would suggest a large pig, however, it was served so brilliantly rare that I’m still to be convinced. Charred, almost-burnt but not skin, encrusted with peppered herbs and spices for extra crunch gave way to tender, pink, delicate meat. This meat had character of its own by the bucketload. Swirled around this top tier dish was date syrup and pieces of confit garlic. This is big, bold, smokey, sweet flavour: I've never had anything quite like it. Desert continued the winning streak, I went for the Baklawa (£4), whilst Tom opted for the Hashcake (£9.75). This was certainly the best Baklawa I have ever tried: with hints of orange zest encase within the flaky pastry which oozed with that thin honey syrup you just love to feel trickle down your chin. Tom’s Hashcake was like a large cookie tart and also very tasty (not as good as mine, but I’m always right). We washed the meal down with the cheapest bottle of red (£29) because the next thing up from there was £40… It was really nice and a perfect time to break our ‘never order the cheapest’ rule.

So, the overall verdict? The Barbary is a one of a kind, honest, unpretentious but self-assured restaurant in a brilliant location. Whilst I wasn’t fully convinced on some of the flavour pairings, the technical skill and masterful cooking is undeniable. Prices are big for such small servings, but are totally worth every penny. I will be back to order the other half of the menu sometime soon.

OVERALL RATING: ****

www.thebarbary.co.uk