Barry Hilton launches Ceru pop-up restaurant
Hilton, previously of Black & Blue and Yalla Yalla, will run the pop-up at 29 Rathbone Place for the next five months until the end of April 2015. At the same time, he will look to find a larger, permanent site in the area.
“Fitzrovia is the perfect location for us, we’re very excited to be able to showcase Ceru to the central London market,” explained Hilton.
The Ceru pop-up is a 20-cover, all-day mezze bar which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It has a walk-in only policy.
The restaurant also offers the option for takeaway, which it serves in packaging that is completely biodegradable or recyclable.
Food and drink offering
Executive chef at Ceru is Tom Kime, previously of The River Café, Le Pont de la Tour and Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant. He has created a menu of Levantine cuisine that has been designed to share.
Kime is also a fisherman and a sustainable seafood advocate for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This means that all the fish and seafood on the restaurant’s menu is from sustainable sources, and Ceru intends to gain full sustainable certification from the MSC at its permanent future sites.
Dishes on the menu include herbed zucchini fritters with feta cheese and cumin, slow roast lamb shoulder with shawarma spices and crisp apple, and pomegranate and mint salad with green chilli and lemon zest.
Ceru serves a selection of wraps for takeaway and there are also a number of vegetarian dishes and gluten-free choices on the menu. Desserts include yoghurt, walnut and pistachio cake with spice poached apricots, and an ice cream baklava.
It also has a menu of breakfast wraps with fillings including Merguez lamb sausage, tomato cinnamon and chilli relish, fresh tomato, labne, fresh spinach and za’atar.
In terms of drinks, Ceru serves fresh juice cleansers and homemade lemonades. It also has a choice of 12 wines by the glass or carafe, and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.
