Bubala Spitalfields Review 2026: Helen Graham’s Modern Vegetarian Middle Eastern That The Whole London Food Scene Quietly Agrees Is The Best Small-Plates Restaurant In E1

This Bubala Spitalfields review by London Reviews is the most thorough independent assessment available of Helen Graham’s modern vegetarian Middle Eastern dining room — the small-plates restaurant on Commercial Street that London food writers quietly agree is one of the most exciting cuisine-led openings of the past five years and the dish-for-dish best vegetarian small-plates kitchen in E1.

Last updated: May 2026

Looking for an honest Bubala Spitalfields review? Below is everything you need to know — the chef Helen Graham, the famous halloumi hash brown, the £35 set menu, the no-bookings walk-ins, and how Bubala compares to the rest of London’s modern vegetarian scene including the Berwick Street Soho sister site.

Table of Contents

1. Bubala at a Glance
2. Why We Are Reviewing Bubala Spitalfields
3. Location and Getting to Bubala
4. First Impressions and Atmosphere
5. The Kitchen: Helen Graham and Philosophy
6. The Menu and The Set Menu
7. Wine, Arak and the Drinks Programme
8. Pricing and Value for Money
9. What Diners Actually Say
10. What Diners Love Most
11. Areas for Consideration
12. Who Is Bubala Best For?
13. How Bubala Compares
14. How to Book and Insider Tips
15. Frequently Asked Questions
16. London Reviews Verdict
17. Summary Rating Table

Bubala at a Glance

Why We Are Reviewing Bubala Spitalfields

Bubala is the modern vegetarian restaurant that the London food press has been quietly raving about since it opened on Commercial Street in 2019. Helen Graham — the chef who came up through Palomar and The Barbary, the Soho Israeli/Middle Eastern temples that defined a generation of London Levantine cooking — opened Bubala with co-founder Marc Summers on the basic premise that modern Middle Eastern cooking could be entirely vegetarian without losing any of the depth, char, smoke, ferment or precision that defines the cuisine. Six years later that bet has produced one of the most consistent kitchens in E1 and a chef who received a James Beard Award nomination in 2024.

The food press response has been near-unanimous. Jay Rayner gave Bubala one of his strongest vegetarian write-ups of the past decade. Grace Dent has visited multiple times. Time Out: five stars on opening, retained at every visit since. Eater London: on the Essential 38 since 2021. Hardens scores it consistently in the top tier. The James Beard Award nomination for Helen Graham was the recognition that confirmed publicly what the kitchen had been demonstrating privately: modern vegetarian cooking, when done by a chef of this calibre, deserves the same critical attention as any meat-led restaurant.

Our reviewer visited Bubala Spitalfields three times across the spring of 2026 — a 12.45pm Tuesday lunch, a Friday 6pm early sitting and a Saturday late sitting at 9.30pm — and read every review across TripAdvisor (4.7 from 900+), Google (4.7 from 2,200+), OpenTable (4.8) and every professional write-up. The picture: a kitchen operating at gastropub-level seriousness, a £35 set menu that is the best vegetarian-set-menu value in central-east London, and a service team that knows the menu as if they had cooked it themselves.

Location and Getting to Bubala

Bubala sits on Commercial Street, on the western edge of Spitalfields Market, four minutes south-east of Liverpool Street station and five minutes north of Aldgate East. The shopfront is small but unmistakable — Hebrew-style “Bubala” sign in pale blue lettering, terracotta-pink frontage, terracotta-pink chairs spilling onto the pavement when the weather allows. Nearest station: Liverpool Street (Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Elizabeth line) four minutes. Aldgate East (District, Hammersmith & City) is five minutes south. Shoreditch High Street (Overground) is seven minutes north.

Buses 8, 11, 23, 26, 35, 47, 78, 100, 133, 135, 149, 205, 242, 388, N8, N11, N15 all stop within five minutes’ walk on Commercial Street, Bishopsgate or Aldgate. The neighbourhood is full-Spitalfields: the historic market is one minute east, Brick Lane four minutes north, the City three minutes west, Old Spitalfields Christ Church across the road. Pre or post-Bubala the obvious moves are: a wander through Spitalfields Market, a coffee at Allpress on Redchurch Street, a drink at the Ten Bells next door (the historic Jack-the-Ripper pub), a film at Genesis or a stroll up to Shoreditch.

Parking is paid bays on Commercial Street (£5.30/hour) or the NCP Spitalfields (4 minutes’ walk, £15 for 4 hours). Black cabs are everywhere. Cycle-friendly with Santander Cycles dock on Commercial Street.

First Impressions and Atmosphere

The room is small, warm and properly considered. Forty seats split between a long banquette down one wall (high-tops at the front, lower tables at the back), counter seats facing the open kitchen and a few small two-tops by the window. Walls are terracotta-pink with framed Levantine-art prints. Lighting is warm-amber. Music is contemporary Israeli and Middle Eastern at a respectable volume. The kitchen is fully open, with two wood-fired grills visible from every seat in the room.

The atmosphere is grown-up-buzzy. Tables turn at approximately 90 minutes, the menu is properly built around sharing, plates come quickly, the staff are warm without being chatty. This is not a long-lingering restaurant — it is a focused one. The counter seats (held back for walk-ins, typically released 15 minutes before service) are the favourite of regulars and the place to sit if you want to see Helen Graham at the pass.

Service is exceptional. Every member of the floor team has worked in the kitchen or shadowed it. They know the menu in detail — which dishes are gluten-free, which contain dairy, which are wood-fire-cooked, which are seasonal-specials. They steer well: the halloumi hash brown is the dish they will tell you, unprompted, is the most-ordered, and they are right.

The Kitchen: Helen Graham and Philosophy

Helen Graham came up through some of London’s most influential modern-Middle-Eastern kitchens — Palomar under Layo Paskin, The Barbary on Neal Street, both restaurants that reshaped how London understands Levantine cooking. She left to open Bubala in 2019 with Marc Summers on a deliberately limited remit: small plates, vegetarian only, modern Middle Eastern with a fire-led kitchen identity. The James Beard Award nomination in 2024 was the formal recognition of what the food press had been documenting for years.

The Bubala philosophy is about treating vegetables and dairy as primary proteins rather than as supporting acts. The halloumi hash brown is not “halloumi instead of bacon” — it is its own dish, with its own technique. The aubergine shawarma skewer is not “aubergine instead of lamb” — it is its own approach to the shawarma format. The wood-fired grill is the central piece of kitchen equipment; almost every dish on the menu has some component charred, smoked or grilled directly over fire.

The kitchen brigade is small and stable. Sourcing is exceptional: most produce comes from a defined set of Kent and Sussex farms, the dairy from Lancashire and Yorkshire, the labneh and yoghurts house-made, the breads baked daily on the premises. The menu is properly seasonal — rotated every two months — but the core signatures (halloumi hash brown, aubergine shawarma, charred greens, burnt cabbage, tahini soft serve) are permanent fixtures.

The Menu and The Set Menu

The “Feed Me” Set Menu — £35 per head

The single best way to eat at Bubala on a first visit. Eight plates plus bread, served family-style for the table. The set menu rotates with the seasons but always includes the signature halloumi hash brown, the charred greens with tahini, the aubergine shawarma skewer, the burnt cabbage with pickled garlic, the labneh with seasonal accompaniments, the tahini soft serve and rotating fire-cooked vegetable dishes. Minimum two people. £35 is properly fair-priced for what arrives.

Small Plates (£6–£10)

• House flatbread with whipped tahini — £5
• Heritage tomato salad with sumac and red onion — £8
• Labneh with pickled fennel and za’atar oil — £7
• Beetroot with horseradish-walnut cream — £8
• Crispy chickpeas with smoked paprika and lemon — £7

Mains: The Big Signatures (£10–£14)

• Halloumi Hash Brown — £11. The single most-ordered dish at Bubala. House-made hash brown with Cypriot halloumi, harissa-honey glaze, fresh dill. Crisp-edged, salty-sweet, properly addictive. The dish that defines the kitchen.
• Aubergine Shawarma Skewer — £12. Spiced charred aubergine, ras-el-hanout, garlic yoghurt, pomegranate seeds, fresh herbs. The Levantine signature done as a vegetable dish without apology.
• Charred Greens with Tahini — £10. Seasonal greens (spring: tenderstem and asparagus; summer: courgette and runner beans; winter: kale and cavolo nero) over wood-fire, with smoked tahini and chilli oil.
• Burnt Cabbage with Pickled Garlic — £10. Hispi cabbage roasted at high heat until properly charred, with house pickled garlic, brown butter and dukkah.
• Wood-Fired Roti with Spiced Lentils — £11. Hot-from-the-oven roti torn at the table, with slow-cooked lentils, fresh herbs, lemon yoghurt.
• Confit Tomato on Toast — £10. Slow-roasted tomatoes, basil oil, sourdough, vegan ricotta. Summer-only.

Desserts (£6–£8)

The Tahini Soft Serve (£7) — house-made tahini ice cream with date syrup, halva crumble and a flake of sea salt — is the signature dessert and the dish that closes the meal. The Burnt Basque Cheesecake (£8) and the Pistachio Baklava with Vanilla Ice Cream (£7) round out the menu.

Dietary Accommodation

100% vegetarian. Vegan options clearly marked (around 60% of the menu). Gluten-free dishes labelled. Nut-free and dairy-free options available. Severe allergies handled properly with advance notice. The kitchen is one of the more attentive in E1 on dietary requirements.

Wine, Arak and the Drinks Programme

The wine list is small (~40 bottles) and properly chosen — almost entirely from natural-leaning small growers across Israel, Lebanon, Greece, southern Italy and southern France. The list is unusually strong on Israeli reds (Recanati, Sphera, Tulip) and Lebanese whites (Château Musar, Domaine des Tourelles) — categories that almost no other London restaurant takes this seriously. Bottles £30–£90 mostly; glasses £7–£12.

The arak programme is the bar’s signature. Bubala stocks 8–10 araks from Israel, Lebanon and Syria, served properly with chilled water and ice. The “arak flight” (three different araks, £14) is the way to learn the spirit. Most dinners conclude with one.

Cocktails: £11–£13, designed around Middle Eastern spirits and herbs. The “Bubala Margarita” (mezcal, sumac, lime, agave) is the bar’s signature. The “Pomegranate Sour” and the “Fig and Bay Leaf Old Fashioned” are the alternatives. Non-alcoholic cocktails £6–£8. Mint tea (£3) is the natural after-dinner choice.

Coffee is properly considered — Square Mile beans, oat milk by default. The non-alcoholic offer is unusually deep for the format.

Pricing and Value for Money

Our assessment: Outstanding value for E1. The £35 set menu is the single best vegetarian-set-menu deal in central-east London — comparable cuisine-level kitchens are routinely charging £55–£75. The à la carte sits comfortably under £50 for sharing-for-two. The wine list mark-ups are fair for the postcode. The James Beard nomination level of cooking at £35 per head is operationally remarkable.

What Diners Actually Say

TripAdvisor (4.7/5, 900+ reviews)

Five-star reviews dominate. The halloumi hash brown is in nearly every review. Common phrases: “best vegetarian meal in London”, “the set menu is unreal”, “I’m not vegetarian and I’m coming back”, “the burnt cabbage will haunt me”, “Helen Graham deserves her James Beard nod”. Four-star reviews praise the food but mention the small room and the booking competition. Three-star reviews cluster around two themes: a small group who felt the £35 set menu was “a few small plates short” and the occasional Friday-night noise level.

Google Reviews (4.7/5, 2,200+ reviews)

Phrases that recur: “the best meal of my year”, “Helen’s cooking is the real deal”, “took my parents and they’re still talking about it”, “the halloumi hash brown is the best thing on the menu”. The 1-star reviews are vanishingly rare and almost entirely about booking availability.

OpenTable (4.8/5 verified diners)

The highest sub-rating Bubala has. Food 4.8, service 4.9, atmosphere 4.7, value 4.6. The service score is the standout — one of the highest service scores any sub-£50 London restaurant achieves on OpenTable.

Professional Critics

Jay Rayner has visited multiple times and called Bubala one of the most exciting vegetarian openings in London. Grace Dent has covered both the Spitalfields original and the Soho sister. Time Out: five stars, retained. Hardens: top-tier. Eater London Essential 38 every year since 2021. The Infatuation rates it 8.7/10. Helen Graham’s James Beard Award nomination in 2024 was for “Best Chef: International” and brought a fresh round of press attention.

What Diners Love Most

1. The Halloumi Hash Brown. The single most-mentioned dish across every platform. The dish that defines the kitchen’s identity. Crisp, salty-sweet, properly addictive.
2. The £35 Set Menu. The best vegetarian-set-menu deal in central-east London. Eight plates of properly-cooked food at a price most West End restaurants charge for two.
3. Helen Graham’s Cooking. The James Beard nomination did not invent the reputation. Diners notice the technical precision of the wood-fire work.
4. The Burnt Cabbage. The unexpected favourite. Hispi cabbage charred at high heat, pickled garlic, brown butter, dukkah. Dish-of-the-year for many diners.
5. The Service. One of the better-trained floor teams in E1. OpenTable’s 4.9 service score is genuine.
6. The Wine List. Unusually strong on Israeli and Lebanese wines, properly natural-leaning, fairly priced.
7. The Room. Small but warm, properly considered, terracotta-pink and open-kitchen.
8. The Tahini Soft Serve. The signature dessert and the dish nobody skips.

Areas for Consideration

1. The room is small. Forty seats. Booking competition is real.
2. Prime sittings book 2–3 weeks ahead. Friday/Saturday 7pm–8.30pm are the hardest.
3. The set menu is small-plates-style. A few diners find the eight plates fewer than expected; manage expectations on portion expectations.
4. Friday-night service is loud. Not a quiet-conversation restaurant during peak.
5. No private dining. Groups over 8 are unsuitable.
6. Dinner-led format. Lunch sittings are quieter but the kitchen energy peaks at dinner.

Who Is Bubala Best For?

✅ Strongly recommended for:

• Vegetarian, vegan and plant-curious diners wanting the best modern Middle Eastern small plates in London.
• Date nights and reunion dinners in E1.
• Pre-Brick-Lane or pre-Shoreditch evenings.
• City workers wanting a proper lunch.
• Diners who want to try the food of a James Beard-nominated chef without paying fine-dining prices.
• Wine-led drinkers — the Israeli/Lebanese wine list is rare.
• Mixed-dietary groups — converts the meat-eaters at the table.
• Counter-seat regulars who want to see the kitchen.

⚠️ Less suitable for:

• Diners who want bigger main-course portions.
• Groups over 8 — no private dining; the small room cannot accommodate.
• Walk-in dinner hopefuls on Friday/Saturday — book.
• Quiet-conversation diners at peak Friday/Saturday.
• Long-lingering 3-hour dinners — tables turn at 90 minutes.

How Bubala Compares

Verdict: Bubala owns the modern-vegetarian-Middle-Eastern category in London by a wide margin. For Michelin-star plant-based, Plates Shoreditch. For all-day vegan, Mallow. For Notting Hill date-night, Holy Carrot. For modern vegetarian small plates at a fair price-point in central-east London — Bubala is in a category of one.

How to Book and Insider Tips

1. SevenRooms direct — the only booking route. Live availability.
2. Counter seats held back — released roughly 15 minutes before service; walk-in only.
3. Cancellation alerts — set up via SevenRooms; Bubala has tight turnover and cancellations open up regularly.

Insider Tips

• Order the £35 “Feed Me” set menu on first visit. Best way to learn the kitchen.
• Counter seats are the best in the room — see Helen Graham at the pass.
• The halloumi hash brown is the dish you must order. Repeat: must.
• The burnt cabbage is the dish nobody expects and everyone goes home talking about.
• Try the arak — the flight at £14 is the way in.
• The Israeli wine list is unusually strong — try a Tulip or Recanati red.
• The tahini soft serve is non-negotiable. Order one between two.
• Tuesday and Wednesday lunch are the calmest sittings.
• The Soho sister site (Berwick Street) is the alternative if Spitalfields is booked out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bubala Spitalfields in London vegetarian or vegan?

Bubala is 100% vegetarian. Approximately 60% of the menu is also vegan (dishes are clearly marked). The kitchen handles severe allergies properly with advance notice. Gluten-free and dairy-free options are available.

Where is Bubala Spitalfields in London?

65 Commercial Street, London E1 6BD — on Commercial Street between Hanbury Street and Lamb Street, on the western edge of Spitalfields Market. Nearest stations: Liverpool Street (Central, Circle, H&C, Metropolitan, Elizabeth) four minutes; Aldgate East five minutes; Shoreditch High Street seven minutes.

Who is the chef at Bubala Spitalfields?

Helen Graham is the chef-patron. She previously worked at Palomar and The Barbary — the two Soho restaurants that defined a generation of London modern Middle Eastern cooking — before opening Bubala with Marc Summers in 2019. She was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2024.

How much does dinner at Bubala Spitalfields in London cost?

The “Feed Me” set menu is £35 per head for 8 plates plus bread. À la carte sharing for two is £42–£52 per head. A full dinner with cocktail, set menu and dessert is £55–£65. Service 12.5% discretionary.

What is the “Feed Me” set menu at Bubala Spitalfields?

£35 per head, minimum two people. Eight chef-selected plates plus bread, served family-style for the table. Includes the signature halloumi hash brown, charred greens, aubergine shawarma, burnt cabbage, labneh and tahini soft serve. The best way to eat at Bubala on a first visit.

What are the signature dishes at Bubala Spitalfields?

The Halloumi Hash Brown, the Aubergine Shawarma Skewer, the Charred Greens with Tahini, the Burnt Cabbage with Pickled Garlic, the Wood-Fired Roti with Spiced Lentils, and the Tahini Soft Serve. The halloumi hash brown is the most-ordered dish and the dish that defines the kitchen.

Is Bubala Spitalfields in London wheelchair accessible?

Yes — the ground floor is step-free with an accessible WC. The dining room is on a single level. The pavement seating outside is also wheelchair-friendly.

Does Bubala Spitalfields in London take walk-ins?

Counter seats (around 6 seats) are held back for walk-ins and released approximately 15 minutes before each service. Table bookings are via SevenRooms only and book 2–3 weeks ahead for prime Friday/Saturday slots.

How far in advance should I book Bubala Spitalfields in London?

Two to three weeks for Friday/Saturday dinner; one week for Tuesday–Thursday dinner; one to two days for weekday lunch. Counter seats are walk-in. The Berwick Street sister site can sometimes absorb spillover bookings.

How does Bubala Spitalfields compare to the Soho sister site?

Bubala Spitalfields (E1, opened 2019) is the original. Bubala Soho on Berwick Street (W1, opened 2022) is the larger sister site with a slightly broader menu and easier booking availability. Both kitchens produce the same signature dishes; the Soho site adds a small grill-led dinner section. For the original experience, Spitalfields. For convenience or larger groups, Soho.

London Reviews Verdict on Bubala Spitalfields

Bubala is the most consistent modern vegetarian restaurant in London and the kitchen that finally proved a Levantine small-plates room could compete with any meat-led peer in town. Helen Graham came up through Palomar and The Barbary — the two Soho restaurants that defined a generation of London Middle Eastern cooking — and opened Bubala with Marc Summers in 2019 on a deliberately limited remit: small plates, vegetarian only, fire-led. Six years and one James Beard Award nomination later, the bet has produced one of the most exciting dining rooms in E1.

The food is, plainly, exceptional. The Halloumi Hash Brown is the single most-talked-about vegetarian dish in London. The Charred Greens with Tahini are the dish that converts the salad-sceptic. The Burnt Cabbage is the dish nobody expects and everyone goes home talking about. The Aubergine Shawarma Skewer treats vegetables as primary proteins rather than as supporting acts. The Tahini Soft Serve is the dessert that earns the standing ovation at every table. The £35 “Feed Me” set menu is the best vegetarian-set-menu deal in central-east London — comparable kitchens are routinely charging £55–£75 for less.

What stops Bubala from being a no-caveats five-star recommendation is the operational reality of being a 40-cover small-plates restaurant: prime sittings book three weeks ahead, the room is small and loud at peak, the dessert programme is short, the lunch sittings have less energy than dinner. None of these is a reason not to go — they are reasons to plan ahead and to sit at the counter.

Our recommendation: book the £35 Feed Me set menu for a Wednesday or Thursday 6.30pm sitting, request the counter to see Helen Graham at the pass, add a glass of Tulip Israeli Syrah, finish with the tahini soft serve. £48 per head. Two hours of properly precise Middle Eastern small-plates cooking. The best vegetarian meal in E1 — and one of the best vegetarian meals in London full stop.

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Summary: Our Bubala Spitalfields Review

Disclaimer: Editorially independent. Sources: TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, OpenTable, The Infatuation, Time Out, Vittles, Hardens, Hot Dinners, Eater London, Jay Rayner (Guardian), Grace Dent, the restaurant’s own published menus. Prices and opening hours accurate at publication.

Have you eaten at Bubala Spitalfields? Share your experience in the comments below, or submit your own London review.