Late last month, Impala arrived in Soho already blazing with hype. This restaurant, from the acclaimed Super 8 group, is the latest venture from executive chef and co-founder Meedu Saad, formerly head chef at Kiln. Super 8 is known for hits like Brat, Mountain, Kiln, and Smoking Goat, and Impala continues that tradition of excellence.
Impala is unlike any restaurant you have ever visited, yet it somehow echoes many others. The cuisine defies easy categorization: a hazy blend of North African, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and British influences. Diners have been seen using iPhone torches to read the menu in the dimly lit space, which adds to the dreamy, defiant atmosphere.
The menu features dishes like bird's tongue pasta (orzo) braised with spiced oxtail, molokhia (braised jute leaf) with shoulder of cull yaw sheep, and aish baladi (Egyptian wholegrain bread). Starters include beef tartare with smoky Tunisian harissa and crunchy fried bread, pounded white beans with bottarga, and langoustine kibbeh wrapped in perilla leaf. Main courses offer monkfish wrapped in grape leaves and grilled over coals, rosemary-infused grilled short rib with three types of black pepper, and artichokes with nettles and sheep's cheese.
The food is extraordinary and inimitable, reflecting Saad's personal influences: childhood trips to Egypt, Turkish-Cypriot cooking from north London, and the rawness of Kiln. Ingredients come from Welsh farmers, Spanish citrus growers, Cretan olive oil producers, and Cornish fisherfolk. The wine list ranges from traditional French pouilly-fuissé to Slovakian orange wines and Moroccan reds, while cocktails include banana rum punch and bathtime martinis.
Dessert is a single option: a £12 slice of date and pistachio custard tart, riotous and salty-sweet. No sorbet alternatives are offered, and the restaurant is unapologetic about it. Impala is shamelessly, brilliantly too much, and that is its charm.
Impala is located at 13-14 Dean Street, London W1. It is open Monday to Saturday for lunch from noon to 3pm and dinner from 5 to 10:30pm. Expect to pay about £65 per head, plus drinks and service.
