There are restaurants that sell Polish and then there are those that sell vegetables. The Barbary has always been the ultimate: a place where the choreography in the room matters as much as what makes it to the plate. You sit at the counter, shoulder to shoulder, and before long you're part of it: the smoke, the noise, the silent theater of chefs working inches away.
When it opened in Neal's Yard in 2016, it didn't feel like a launch so much as a change. London already had its share of small-plate restaurants, but few with this kind of confidence: slow-cooking, big flavors drawn freely from the Barbary Coast and beyond, and a refusal to over-explain it all. It was immediate, instinctive and, above all, fun. A decade later, that formula has not been diluted by success. If anything, it has tightened – the edges are sharper, the identity clearer – as the Studio Paskin group has expanded through Neal's Yard and into Notting Hill.
“Ten years have flown by in the blink of an eye,” say Zoë and Layo Paskin, siblings and founders of Studio Paskin, the hotel group behind the restaurants. “The Barbary has always been a place defined by the energy of the room, with the kitchen at the center of the action, and what surprises us most is that it still feels just as alive a decade later.
“We've always placed great importance on the team we work with, and we believe that you feel that the moment you walk in. We're especially proud of that. A restaurant is, at its core, hospitality: we all come out to feel a little better. And that's what The Barbary is all about. We look forward to continuing to welcome the guests who bring this little corner of Neal's Yard to life.”
You can feel that spirit in these recipes, released to commemorate the restaurant's 10th anniversary. It's not about precision or plating (no tongs needed), but rather a flavor that arrives quickly and lingers. Charred eggplant turned into spices, lamb tenderized with yogurt and saffron, something sweet and rich in pistachios to finish. The kind of food designed to be passed around, eaten with your hands and lightly discussed. In other words: a lot of The Barbary, just without the tail.
Spinach borani
A luxurious dip of Persian origin. You can also try this with chard when it's in season.
Ingredients:
125 g onion cut into slices
30 g olive oil
15g garlic, sliced
180 g spinach, washed and chopped
375 g Greek yogurt
40g feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and black pepper to taste
Pistachio and browned butter, to decorate
Method:
1. Place the onion and oil in a saucepan and season with a little salt. Cook over medium heat until starting to brown, then add the garlic and cook until the onions are caramelized and the garlic softens and begins to color.
2. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
3. Chill the spinach mixture before adding to the yogurt and feta, then season with salt and pepper.
4. To serve, top with crushed pistachios and a drizzle of browned butter.
Za'aluk
A version of a traditional Moroccan “salad,” this is the restaurant's most popular sauce. This amount of chili results in a very spicy sauce, but adjust the amounts to suit your palate!
Ingredients:
600 g eggplant
40 g garlic, sliced
30 g green chili, sliced
50 g olive oil
325g tomatoesdiced
5 g ground cumin
5 g sweet paprika
Juice of one lemon
15 g chopped cilantro
salt to taste
Method:
1. Pierce the eggplant in a few places with a skewer or knife, then grill until completely charred and soft (alternatively, you can do this on a gas hob or in the oven). Let the eggplant cool, then peel it and chop the pulp.
2. Meanwhile, place the garlic, chilli and oil in a frying pan and cook until the garlic begins to brown around the edges and the chilli softens. Add the cumin and paprika, quickly followed by the tomatoes before the spices burn. Season with salt and cook over low heat until the tomatoes break down.
3. Once the tomatoes are completely soft, add the eggplant and let the mixture cool to room temperature before adding the lemon juice and cilantro, checking for seasoning (depending on the tomatoes, you may need more lemon juice).
4. To serve, simply garnish with a little more olive oil.
lamb chops
The yogurt and lemon juice help a lot to tenderize the lamb. If you can let it sit overnight the flavor will really soak in, but even a few hours makes a big difference. We served this with the simple onion and sumac salad below.
Ingredients:
100 g Greek yogurt
Juice of half a lemon
5 g garlic, microbrushed
3 g ground turmeric
1 g of flowered saffron in a tablespoon of warm water
Salt to season
8 lamb chops, about 120 g each
Method:
1. Combine all ingredients except lamb chops in a bowl and then season with salt to taste. Cover the lamb chops with the yogurt mixture and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Half an hour before we want to cook the lamb, we take it out of the refrigerator so that it reaches temperature. Lightly season and oil the lamb chops before grilling to desired doneness (about 3-4 minutes per side over medium heat). Let them rest for a few minutes before serving them along with the onion and sumac salad below.
Onion and sumac salad
Ingredients:
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
5 g sumac
½ bunch of parsley, picked
Lemon juice, olive oil and salt to season.
Method:
1. Mix the onion and sumac and let sit for 30 minutes so the sumac begins to cure the onion (you can also do this ahead of time).
2. When ready to serve, toss the parsley with the onion and season with lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
harissa shrimp
Choose a harissa as spicy or as mild as you like and serve with the cucumber labneh on the side to cool if necessary.
Ingredients:
12 large prawns, peeled and cleaned, but leaving the head and shell intact
50 g harissa paste
30g mild Turkish pepper paste (you can substitute dried tomato paste if you can't find it)
20 g honey
Lemon juice, olive oil and Maldon salt
Picked dill and mint
Method:
1. Mix harissa, pepper paste and honey, then use this mixture to marinate the prawns.
2. Let it rest for 30 minutes before roasting over high heat, then season with lemon juice, olive oil and Maldon salt.
3. Serve with cucumber labneh and lightly dressed herbs.
cucumber lab
Ingredients:
250 g Greek yogurt
Juice of half a lemon
15 g confit garlic (or use finely grated raw garlic, but only use 1 small clove)
10 g olive oil
4 young cucumbers
fine salt
Method:
1. Place the yogurt in a strainer lined with a paper towel or J-shaped cloth and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours until it thickens.
2. Meanwhile, cut the cucumbers into thin slices and season with a little salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes before squeezing out as much liquid as possible and then adding it to the strained yogurt.
3. Crush the confit garlic, add the olive oil and adjust with more fine salt if necessary.
Hashpot
A fun way to recreate our signature hash pie at home! Make sure you get 100 percent pistachio paste (not mixed with almonds), as it will make a big difference in the final product. You can easily double or triple the recipe and place it on a plate instead of individual glasses for a big party.
Ingredients:
75 g unsalted butter, melted
50 g light brown sugar
45g powdered sugar
45 g egg yolk
55 g double cream
50 g of best quality pistachio paste
2 g sea salt
150 g whipping cream
100 g oatmeal cookies (plus a little more for serving), crushed
Crushed pistachios to serve
Method:
1. Combine brown sugar and powdered sugar in a bowl, then add melted butter and mix. Add the egg yolk, double cream, salt and pistachio paste to the sugar mixture and cook in a bain-marie, stirring frequently until the mixture reaches 85ºC.
2. Place the mixture in a container and cover it with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the pistachio mixture to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cold (ideally overnight).
3. Once the mixture has cooled completely, whip the whipping cream to medium peaks and then add the pistachio mixture. You want to achieve a mixture that is stable, but light.
4. Divide the cookies among 4 pots (reserving a little to cover the hashpot), then smooth over the pistachio mixture. Let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour before topping with crumbled cookies and pistachios to serve.
Recipes www.thebarbary.co.uk
