The Palomar

The Palomar opened on Rupert Street in 2014, the first restaurant from siblings Zoë and Layo Paskin, who ran the End nightclub before moving into hospitality. The room is built around an open kitchen counter that runs its full length, where the cooks work an arm's reach from the guests seated along it. The food follows the cultures of Southern Spain, North Africa and the Levant, and the kitchen has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand every year since it opened.

Behind the counter is a quieter back room of green banquettes and cane chairs, alongside a wood-panelled private dining room used for group feasting menus. The counter is intimate, so the restaurant lends itself to smaller, well-connected gatherings rather than large ones. The private dining room seats feasting parties of seven to fourteen, and the whole restaurant, counter and all, can be taken for partial or exclusive hire for larger events.