“Our accountant was shocked,” Honey & Co co-owner Itamar Srulovich tells Broadsheet. “It wasn’t something we needed to do.”
Srulovich and his wife, chef and co-owner Sarit Packer – who also have another restaurant, Honey & Co Lamb’s Conduit Street, an events space called Honey & Co Studio across the road, and the Honey & Co Daily deli in Bloomsbury – had a roaring success on their hands. And yet, they craved a change.
The idea arrived from two parallel conversations. “One thing we were planning was a big refit that we needed to do because Honey & Smoke had been open 10 years,” he continues. “The other thing that we were talking about was we wanted to take our wine programme to the next level. Then we thought: maybe this is all one project? The minute that we said it, the penny dropped.”
The result is the pair’s first restaurant where the food revolves around the wine. “We want to think about the wine list like we do our cooking.” Working with Keeling Andrew of Noble Rot, the list has a big focus on skin-contact bottles and light, fresh reds from Greece, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, as well as Georgia and California. The idea, Srulovich says, is to “completely change how we talk about wine in a way that’s easy and fun and delicious. We really sort of nerded out, so you don’t have to.”
In terms of food, Honey & Co Great Portland is designed for a more flexible style of eating. “We’re getting old,” says Packer. Where the duo could once handle big, everlasting feasts, their cravings have changed. “We can't eat like that anymore, so it’s more about: how does the food pack a punch?” she continues. “It speaks the same language but it's a bit more grown up because we're a bit more grown up.”
It’s also a reflection of how Packer and Srulovich believe city-dwellers want to eat now. “London has changed so much … everything is a lot more expensive,” says Srulovich. “So we want to be able to say: you can come for a three, four-course dinner, a blow-out with expensive wine, or you can come for a sandwich from our neighbourhood deli at lunch. Either way, this is a place of quality, this is a place that's inviting.”
During the day, diners can sit in or takeaway sandwiches generously filled with salt beef and celeriac remoulade or Tunisian tuna with harissa and capers; hearty salads like cauliflower with lentil rice, tahini and zhug; and an ever-changing selection of dips, soups and baked treats. Don’t leave without a slice of chocolate, cinnamon and hazelnut babka.
Come evening, small plates and skewers include smoked haddock beignets, lentil falafel, tuna crudo with tahini, and seared pork belly with oregano and candied lemon, alongside larger dishes like slow-braised ox cheek with orzo and whole-grilled fish.
The redesign is also lighter, brighter and fresher than before, with floor-to-ceiling windows allowing light to flood throughout the cream and peach bistro-style space.
In time, the couple plan to host wine events in the private dining space downstairs. “When we first opened, we used to do these Sundays with [wine expert] Fiona Beckett, where she would come in and we’d have interesting conversations and tastings based around what pairs well with falafel and Middle Eastern ingredients. I really miss that, so we will definitely be doing it again.”
Packer and Srulovich also recently closed their Honey & Spice deli on Warren Street, which wasn’t easy. “We cried a lot,” says Srulovich. “I was just in the kitchen by myself and then Sarit walked down the stairs and I saw her and I just started weeping… I think we both sort of completely broke in that moment.”
Now, though, the pair are excited about what comes next. “Change is always good,” Packer says. “Change is like a holiday.”
Honey & Co Great Portland
216 Great Portland Street, W1W 5QW.
Hours:
Mon to Sat 11am–10.30pm
