[title]
Please note, Sesame is now closed. Time Out Food & Drink editors, Feb 2016.
This sleekly chic Middle Eastern café and takeaway in Covent Garden looks like it’s squaring up against bigger chains such as Leon, which do a similar thing – healthy-ish fast food, some of it grilled, inspired by the fast-food joints of Tel Aviv. If you’re looking for a falafel, however, you’ll be disappointed: they’re conspicuous by their absence.
Instead you’ll find pitta breads filled with herby salads, given added skewers of grilled meats such as spicy paprika and cardamom chicken, or minced lamb skewers. We were particularly worshipful of sabick, an Israeli filled sandwich of aubergines, boiled egg and tahini with a hint of mango pickle. The pitta breads are pleasingly soft and doughy, though they’d be much better if toasted, or even warmed.
If filled breads aren’t your thing – if you’re having a ‘gluten-free lifestyle’ day, for example – then there are also shelves of colourful salads inspired by the eastern Mediterranean, such as the beetroot with orange, honey and labneh. There is more seating in the small basement, but this still isn’t a place to linger; think of it as good for fun fast food near Leicester Square.