Contempory & Creative Israeli Food
So I haven’t been to many Israeli restaurants but I’m a big fan of Lebanese and middle eastern food in general so I had to try this place. And my god, the food was divine; I think I’ve found my new favourite place to eat!
The restaurant has only been open for six months and is located right by Southwark/Waterloo station. Inspired by Bauhaus architecture, Bala Baya has created a kaleidoscopic space prefect for inside and outdoor sitting.
Famous for its Israeli tapas, every single dish we ordered was a little delight. The flavors were quite unique and a lot of the dishes included ingredients such as pistachio nuts, dill and yoghurt.
The restaurant is a bakery in the afternoon and they serve this amazing pita bread with a chili and yoghurt dip for starters. Completely to die for! There is a tasting menu for £35pp but I would recommend ordering from the tapas menu so you can try a bit of everything.
We ordered the lamb and dumplings, crispy, sticky, crunchy (chicken with harissa, bitter orange and butternut squash), braised beef shoulder with crisped onions and whipped tahini, potatoes with wasabi and horseradish cream, aubergine tea with milk (this is actually grilled aubergine and yoghurt), roasted peppers and the Israeli salad with feta and dill.
Every dish was just a party in my mouth and I would recommend all eight!
For dessert, we tried all three on the menu but I think the deconstructed white chocolate cheesecake was the best and the traditional Israel cake served with plum slices is yummy.
