With several restaurants and shops focusing on Middle Eastern cuisine and even occasional Middle Eastern food tours of the area organised by the local council, Shepherds Bush in West London offers anyone visiting or living in Britain the opportunity to try authentic food from countries of the Middle East such as Iran, Syria or Turkey without having to get on a plane and fly to those countries.
The Middle Eastern Food Secret of Shepherds Bush
Described in an article entitled “The Secret of Shepherd’s Bush” by someone who only chose to give the initials of G.H. in the magazine Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art of May 8, 1920 as an area which“… marks the place where Kensington finally gives up the struggle. It is the interregnum where Notting Hill has ceased to be ‘central’ and Acton is not yet ‘in the heart of the country’” Shepherds Bush lies in West London just to the north of Hammersmith.
Most famous as the home of the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire concert venue, the Bush Theatre which specialises in show-casing new playwrights and the BBC’s Television Centre with its studios at Wood Lane, the secret of modern-day Shepherds Bush is its fantastic opportunity to buy or try Middle Eastern food.
Uxbridge Road’s “Little Syria” Shops and Restaurants
A stretch of the Uxbridge Road from Shepherds Bush tube station (the Hammersmith and City line one) up to the Damas Gate supermarket, praised by TV chef Nigella Lawson, just west of Devonport Road is known as “Little Syria” because of the wealth of Middle Eastern restaurants and food stores along it. Al Abbas, on the junction of Uxbridge Road and Tunis Road is another renowned supermarket selling Halal meat and food produce from the Middle East.
The Abu Zaad restaurant, on the corner of Lime Grove and Uxbridge Road focuses on Syrian fare and received four out of five stars when visited by the editors of Time Out London. But if Syrian food doesn’t appeal, a little further to the west at 70 Askew Road is the Sufi restaurant which was named the Best Persian Restaurant in the Time Out Restaurant Guide 2010.
Take a Middle Eastern Food Walking Tour of Shepherds Bush
But, if the idea of venturing alone into the Middle Eastern restaurants and shops of Shepherds Bush seems a little daunting, help is at hand. Hammersmith and Fulham Council offer a series of monthly free, guided walking tours. The Middle Eastern Food Tour starts at Shepherds Bush Market tube station and promises “… an introduction to the ingredients that will transform your menus” as you are guided through Little Syria, Shepherds Bush.
Elaine Findlay - An expert cook, Findlay's passion for food is evidenced by the size of her kitchen and her library of old recipe books
Join the Conversation