Logma opened just a couple of months ago, but has already developed a fanbase for its now-viral, burly aubergine and kofta pita sandwiches, as well as its ever-changing stew selection and tahini buns. While Logma has only been trading during the day, founders and life partners Ziad Halub and Farsin Rabiee have been plotting their plans for evening service. Now, everything is lined up and they have announced the start of Logma Lates on April 8. Every Wednesday they’ll open their bistro to 18 diners, who will sit at a candlelit communal table or the kitchen counter for a £65 set menu of regional Iranian and Iraqi dishes realised with seasonal produce.
“Rather than trying to bring Iran and Iraq to Hackney”, Logma is about “seeing how the food can be translated using seasonal produce, how different things from the place we live can influence the cuisine”, Halub told Broadsheet in February.
The menu will change monthly, but might include oysters with herb oil, gondhoraj lebu (a citrus from Bengal), Aleppo pepper and sumac; arak-cured trout with pickled mango; saffron rice; and fesenjoon, a walnut and pomegranate Persian stew made here with duck. To finish there might be desserts like sholezard, a saffron rice pudding from Iran. Guests can bring their own bottles of wine, with no corkage fee.
Logma’s evening format harks back to the diner’s origins as a supper club series roaming between east London venues. And like those supper clubs, ultimately it’s all about cultivating connection.
“It’s like stepping into our living room,” Rabiee said in February. “You see every tiny minor stress point or bits of joy … bickering … or giving each other kisses on the cheek. Everyone gets treated with a conversation, with a smile. No one is rushed out, and that’s the whole point of the place, we want it to feel like a community.”
Logma Lates will run every Wednesday from 7pm–10pm, from April 8. Tickets are £65 and go on sale soon.
