Rasha Khouri Bruzzo of Akub and the brothers Jad and Karim Lahoud have put a Lebanese restaurant into Sir Edward Maufe’s 1930s Lloyds Bank, with a wine room in the old vault.
Kinz takes its name from the Arabic word for treasure, and its founders use it for the recipes Lebanese families hand down rather than write down. The restaurant sits in the former Lloyds Bank at 50 Notting Hill Gate, a 1930s building by the architect Sir Edward Maufe, and its owners announced on 14 May 2026 that the doors were open. It seats 130, and the bank’s original vault is now a wine room.
Three Lebanese founders and a mother’s recipes
Kinz belongs to Rasha Khouri Bruzzo, co-owner of the restaurant Akub, and the brothers Jad and Karim Lahoud, whose catering business already had clients in the neighbourhood. All three are Lebanese, and they chose Notting Hill because they knew it. Jad Lahoud says he and his brother grew up in London among a strong Lebanese community, with parents who were both chefs.
The restaurant credits many of its dishes to Elene Lahoud, the brothers’ mother. Its own account of the menu names hummus, moutabal, kibbeh, tabbouleh and dishes from the grill, all made to share. The founders’ release lists larger plates such as lamb kafta, fattet aubergine baked with pine nuts, tomato and yoghurt, and warak enab, vine leaves and baby courgettes wrapped around rice and spiced lamb and served with a lamb cutlet.
A deli at the door, a lantern in the hall
The founders’ release describes the plan of the building. Guests come in through a deli, its shelves lined with the house’s own preserves, spice blends and olive oil, with kibbeh and spinach fatayer to take home behind the counter. Beyond it, the main dining room fills a triple-height ground floor, with a canopied bar under the mezzanine at the back. The mezzanine is laid out as a gallery, hung with large-format photographs of Lebanon by local photographers.
The interiors are by FARE INC. The release names an oversized wine-red lantern at the centre of the room, mottled coloured glass, long arches and furniture with curved edges, with ironwork and striped textiles set against earthy tones and touches of blue, yellow and deep red. The restaurant describes the result as bright and Mediterranean.
Lebanese estates in the Rumman Room
The founders’ release says the wine list draws mostly on independent wineries, with a strong focus on Lebanese producers, and the vault room has snug dining spaces and tasting tables. Kinz Wine Club takes that focus further with pairing dinners in the Rumman Room. Château Heritage came for two dinners on 28 September and 2 October. Château Belle-Vue, from the mountains of Bhamdoun, followed on Wednesday 14 October with a four-course menu that included a 2008 magnum and closed on Elene’s chocolate cake. Château Marsyas of the Bekaa Valley is next, on Monday 23 November, with Callum Robertson of Corney & Barrow introducing five of the estate’s wines.
Sixteen upstairs, 130 for the whole room
The private dining room is on the third floor, its walls hung with pomegranate tapestries, and it seats up to 16. The mezzanine takes 40 seated or 60 standing, and the whole restaurant can be hired for up to 130 guests. Groups of eight or more can order a set feast at £54 a head, from pumpkin kibbeh stuffed with spinach, onion and walnuts to spiced chicken on rice with minced lamb and roasted nuts, and osmalieyeh, crisp kataifi layered with ashta cream, to finish. Kinz opens at 12:00 every day and closes at 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday and at 00:00 on Friday and Saturday.