It would have been easy to miss Miznon’s opening in Soho even for a keen follower of restaurants, because it’s an international chain run by the Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani that serves stuffed pitas and sides such as whole roast cauliflower and lima bean stew. Even if Miznon had pricked your attention, you might then think twice, because the menu – in green and red ink and comic sans font – is deeply confusing and, worse, dares to feature jokes. The temerity! There is no place on a modern British menu for anything resembling humour or personality. Oh no, sir. Here in Blighty we expect a loftily presented list of options with at most a short, snooze-some history of the owner, and giving nothing away of the 24/7 emotional-carnage bear pit with bread baskets that is “hospitality”.
Then Miznon pitches up on Broadwick Street after a successful run in Tel Aviv, Paris, Vienna, Singapore, Melbourne and New York. It is noisy, staffed by what seems a cast of thousands, set in a charmingly unfussy room and offers high-quality, Tel Aviv-influenced street food. The menu feels like sleep deprivation, with in-jokes and a Benny Hill monologue fed into free translation software and shifted back and forth several times from Hebrew to French to English.
