Review: Impala, Soho

Impala is dark, modern, sharp-yet-relaxed and loudly buzzing. Proper shout-across-the-table to be heard kind of buzzing. So I’d suggest you only go when you’re in that kinda mood. If you do, you’ll be very happy because the food is splendid. The menu is definitely meant for sharing, and you’ll need to trust the staff to guide you because (at least on a first visit) it’s impossible to judge which dishes will be large, middling or little.

Their thing is to be a “Mediterranean” restaurant, but if you’re thinking a bit Italian, a bit Greek, a bit Cote d’Azure then it’s worth remembering that the Mediterranean is bordered by the Middle East, the Balkans, Iberia and North Africa, and scattered with islands like Cyprus, Malta and Sardinia. Impala seems keen to dip its toes into all these waters, though primarily focused on Egypt and North Africa – homeland of the head chef.

We start with a sort-of kibbeh of white crab and cracked wheat bound by a spicy sauce and served wrapped in a big shiso leaf. This was bright, bold and very moreish. From then on dishes kept coming apace until our table was full and we just settled to browse on them to our fancy. A triangle of firm, white goat cheese accompanied by a candied green fig was equally moreish, the sturdy cheese simply being a nice clean foil for the gloriously sweet fig flavour. There was a Maltese fried bread called “ftira” covered in a bright herb salad and sauce with a soft fried egg beneath, the crisp outer and puffy almost doughnut inner of the bread went soooo well with the fragrant leaves and egg. Their bread game here was really excellent, in fact, with a rich honey-glazed brioche made with olive oil instead of butter and a blackened wholewheat Egyptian bread served with punchy harissa oil.

Tomato salad, usually a gentle side, was full-powered with pickled little peppers and a great pile of fragrant basil, oregano and other pungent leaves. From the more meaty section we enjoyed gently grilled sweetbreads in a sticky glaze

with a pile of wafer-thin sliced onions alongside, salted to draw out the sharpness. The sweetbread among the best I’ve ever had, particularly down to the sweet tang given by the glaze. Molokhia is a dark north African stew/sauce made of jute leaves, served here on two lovely chunks of slooooow cooked mutton (or “cull yaw” as we’re now calling it, presumably because “mutton” don’t sell!). The earthy herb flavour of the sauce wasn’t exactly summery but did go very well with the full-flavoured meat. Off the grill a sheftalia – a kofte-like sausage wrapped in caul – was delicious and disappeared very quickly.

This all sounds a lot, but between four it was fine and we had room for the single dessert on the menu: a date and pistachio tart. The dates form a sweet, rich base for a beautifully light custard on top, covered with a layer of pistachio crumb. The whole thing is encased in the most delicate and nutty pastry. It is simply heavenly with a glass of sweet wine, I can attest. Their wine list is long and interesting, more than I was expecting, and we found good bottles at decent prices. You’ll spend £40-ish per person on food (you can easily go higher with the special mains, or lower by keeping away from them, and still have a delicious meal). I rate Impala very highly, would go back in a heartbeat, albeit not when I’m after some peace and quiet.