Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Serious Middle Eastern food, low spend.
Berber + Q Shawarma Bar in Hackney is one of London's most consistently recognised casual Middle Eastern restaurants, with Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in Europe rankings in both 2024 and 2025 and a 4.6 Google rating across over 1,300 reviews. Josh Katz's shawarma-bar format delivers serious cooking at accessible prices. Booking is easy; Monday is the only closed day.
Berber + Q Shawarma Bar is one of the more convincing arguments for eating well in East London without spending much. The Middle Eastern grill format, the Hackney address, and the Opinionated About Dining recognition across three consecutive years point to a restaurant that has earned its following on quality rather than hype. If you want serious Middle Eastern cooking at casual-restaurant prices, this is where to go in London right now. If you want fine-dining ceremony, look elsewhere.
Chef Josh Katz runs a tight, focused operation at 338 Acton Mews in Hackney. The format is Middle Eastern with a shawarma-bar sensibility: fast in pace, confident in flavour, and priced for repeat visits rather than special occasions. The cooking sits in a category that London does inconsistently — Middle Eastern food that takes technique seriously without tipping into tasting-menu territory. For diners who know venues like Bubala, Imad's Syrian Kitchen, or Yalla Yalla, Berber + Q occupies the more technically ambitious end of that spectrum.
The Opinionated About Dining rankings tell the most useful story here. Ranked 67th in Cheap Eats in Europe for 2024 and improving to 91st in the same category for 2025 (with a parallel Casual in Europe listing), this is a venue that serious food-focused travellers already have on their radar. OAD rankings are sourced from frequent diners and industry professionals, so consistent appearance across three years signals genuine quality rather than a one-year spike. For a reference point, very few London addresses appear in OAD Cheap Eats Europe rankings at all — this one does, repeatedly.
The Google rating of 4.6 across 1,346 reviews confirms the picture: a venue with a broad, satisfied customer base, not just a cult following among food obsessives. That combination , OAD-recognized and broadly well-reviewed , is more reliable than either signal alone.
Book here if you are a food-focused visitor to London who wants to eat something genuinely considered at a price point that won't require budgeting around it. It is also the right choice for anyone who has already covered the obvious East London hits and wants a neighbourhood restaurant with credentials. If you are exploring Middle Eastern food more broadly, Berber + Q pairs well on a London trip with Bubala or Imad's Syrian Kitchen for a clear sense of how different operators handle the same region's cooking. For a wider view of where Middle Eastern cooking is heading internationally, Bait Maryam in Dubai and Baron in Doha offer useful regional context.
This is not the booking for a formal celebration dinner, a long wine-focused evening, or anyone who needs a quiet, low-energy room. The format is casual by design, and that is the point.
Booking is rated Easy, and the casual format means you are not competing with the months-in-advance demand of London's fine-dining rooms. That said, Thursday through Saturday evenings fill faster than midweek. A week's notice is usually sufficient; two weeks gives you more flexibility on time slot. If you have a fixed date on a Friday or Saturday, book as soon as you know your plans. Lunch slots on weekdays are the most accessible option if you want a last-minute visit.
No seat count is published in the available data, so confirmed group capacity is not something we can state precisely. The Acton Mews address and the casual format suggest a compact space. For groups of four or more, it is worth contacting the restaurant directly before assuming availability, particularly for weekend evenings. Smaller groups of two or three will find booking direct.
The name references a bar format, which typically implies counter or bar seating as part of the setup , consistent with the shawarma-bar concept. However, specific seating configurations are not confirmed in the available data. If bar seating is important to you, check directly with the venue when booking.
Middle Eastern cooking generally accommodates vegetarian and plant-based diners well, and venues in this category in London routinely manage common dietary requirements. Specific menu details and allergen policies for Berber + Q are not confirmed in the available data. Contact the restaurant directly if you have specific dietary needs , this is standard practice for any London booking and the staff will be leading placed to advise.
If Berber + Q is on your list, you may also want to browse our full London restaurants guide, our London hotels guide, our London bars guide, our London wineries guide, and our London experiences guide. For high-end dining elsewhere in the UK, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood are worth considering for longer trips.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berber + Q Schwarma Bar | Middle Eastern | Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in Europe Ranked #91 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Ranked #518 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in Europe Ranked #67 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Ranked #467 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Recommended (2023); Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in Europe Ranked #36 (2023) | Easy | — | |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Berber + Q Schwarma Bar and alternatives.
Dietary accommodations can vary. Flag restrictions in advance via the venue's official channels.
Groups of four to six are manageable here, but the format at 338 Acton Mews is compact and fast-paced, so larger parties should call ahead to check availability. This is a shawarma-bar operation, not a set-menu group-dining venue — if you need a dedicated private setup for eight or more, look elsewhere. For smaller groups, the relaxed Middle Eastern grill format works well and keeps the bill low, which is part of why it has ranked in OAD's Cheap Eats in Europe list two years running.
The venue's shawarma-bar format suggests counter or bar-style seating is part of the experience, making solo dining and walk-in eating genuinely practical here. If you're a solo diner or a pair without a reservation, arriving early in a service window — Tuesday through Friday from noon — gives you the best shot at a seat. That said, specific bar seating arrangements are not confirmed in available venue data, so checking directly before you visit is worth doing.
Middle Eastern grill menus typically carry strong vegetable and plant-based options alongside the meat, which makes this format more accommodating than many. That said, specific dietary restriction policies for Berber + Q are not confirmed in available venue data, so if you have serious allergen requirements, contact the restaurant before booking. The cuisine type gives reasonable grounds for optimism for vegetarians, but do not assume without checking.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
