Maramia Cafe - A Palestinian Culinary Surprise in London

In doing restaurant research prior to my trip to London, I was quite surprised to discover two Palestinian restaurants in the Notting Hill area not far from my hotel. One of them - Maramia Cafe - had a wonderful menu and two venues. The other one had a very limited,  uninteresting menu.

I grew up eating a variety of delicious Palestinian dishes which my mother used to make. However I have never seen a Palestinian Arabic restaurant. I have enjoyed very similar Levantine Arabic cuisine at a number of Lebanese Arabic restaurants.  I was very excited at the prospect of dining Maramia Cafe.

The cafe exceeded my expectations for delicious food. There were only two things missing:

1. I wish my sister and brother had been here to have shared the delights with me.

2. The menu I saw online showed several Palestinian wines. Unfortunately, because of the conflict in Gaza, the restaurant is no longer able to acquire these wines, which are produced in the West Bank. So, I had a Spanish Rioja instead.

I struggled to choose from among the many enticing selections on the menu  I ended up selecting:

Kibbeh Maklieh - Lamb & bulghur wheat shell filled with marinated minced lamb & onions - deep fried for £9.50 ($12.83).

Sujuk  Palestinian sausages with lamb, tomatoes, garlic, & dipped in lemon juice £8.50 ($11.39)

Fattoush salad - greens tomatoes, toasted Palestinian croutons, marinated with sumac, mint, thyme,  & pomegranate molasses - £9.50 ($12.73)

The meal came with a very thin, unique, wonderful pita bread (which Arabic speakers never call pita bread they use Arabic words instead).

After chatting a bit with a very nice staff member, who had escaped from Gaza five months earlier, he kindly brought me on the house some hummus and some yogurt for dipping the kibbeh in.

I finished off the meal with some wonderful Palestinian coffee.

The cafe is very casual, with both indoor and outdoor seating. Vibrant modern Arabic music adds to the atmosphere.