Mireille Hayek to bring Lebanese restaurant Em Sherif to London
The Beirut-born Em Sherif group, named after Hayek's son, will make its European debut later this year with an outpost at Harrods in Knightsbridge.
It will feature both a restaurant space and a deli, specialising in Lebanese meze plates.
Hayek, who has no formal chefs training or experience, opened Em Sherif in 2011, and has grown the group to twelve venues across the Middle East with locations in Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar.
The original Beirut restaurant was named as one of the top nine female-led restaurants to watch in 2021 by The World's 50 Best Group, and features on The World's 50 Best Discovery database with Hayek described as 'capturing the hearts of nostalgic diners with her homage to Lebanon’s cuisine and Beirut’s glamorous heyday'.
"Tables can be hard to come by in the buzzy, opulent dining room, where the trickle of water fountains meets traditional taarab music," it says.
"There’s no menu as such: patrons receive a succession of 30-plus meze plates, including outstanding staples such as fattoush and tabbouleh.
"Native wines are bolstered by some excellent French and Italian bins."
It is not known how closely aligned with the original concept the London restaurant will be.
Hayek opened her first restaurant, La Parilla, in Lebanon in 2006, and subsequently launched a second site under the brand called La Parrilla Summer, both of which continue to operate.
