Last Updated on February 20, 2026
Globally influenced menu with East End flavour at Ara
4.0 out of 5.0 starsAra is the third restaurant venture for self-taught East Londoner Turkish chef Murat Kilic. While sister restaurant Amber, a few streets away, offers Middle Eastern dishes, Ara aims to offer broader global influences from its creative menu.
Although a modern glass building, the welcoming interior of Ara is a warm contemporary interpretation of the Conran-era Habitat look. Rounded wooden seating is mixed with red painted wooden chairs with rush seats, downlighters and half curtains to soften the view of the traffic. The smooth-edged banquette seats caught our eye and, upon investigation, we learned they were handcrafted, in Walthamstow no less, from reclaimed diseased elm trees – a fitting metaphor for urban regeneration in the East End.
The care and effort put into an interesting interior was matched by the menu. This was a restaurant where nearly every dish tempted me to order it – few things at Ara sounded like anything I might typically cook at home without relying on rich, heavy ingredients.
We were seated – my preference, owing to the fading light – at the far end in the open plan triangle pointing towards Aldgate East. This quirkily narrow-tipped area might potentially be a feng shui practitioner’s nightmare, and not the cosiest place for a date night with roaring traffic and a tube station opposite. Yet it struck me as ideal to section off for a larger party of 15-20 friends. The rest of the main area is mostly more intimate booth seating.
The cocktail menu jumps over the classics. As the Friday opening of the May bank holiday promised a taste of summer, I picked my favourite Aperol spritz, here enhanced with raspberry. When my husband requested “Mango sticky rice”, I thought he was getting ahead of proceedings in ordering food. Rather, this was a mango vodka cocktail with toasted rice syrup. Both drinks were easy-going with fruity, refreshing flavours.
Following the advice of our server, we ordered grilled potato bread to tear up and scoop the burrata with crispy chilli peanuts and apricots. The bronzed paddle of potato bread came with ample cultured butter, although it arrived warm and glistening to barely need extra anointing. The sweet and sour puddle of pale orange apricot purée under the wobbly burrata made an interesting change to the usual olive oil accompaniment.
Corn ribs with umami dust and a squeeze of lime were definitely a flavour bomb. If you’d normally overlook corn on the cob in restaurants for fear of making a mess, these curved segments of corn on the cob are much easier on the old teeth and rewarding to bite into.
Alongside from the small plates section of the menu we shared fried chicken with what on further scrutinization of the menu phrasing was a “no-pomelo” salad – I didn’t ask at the time what this meant but suffice to say, the tender white chicken flesh was marinated in a sharp pink citrussy jus that bounced off the thick spicy crumb on the meat. (I didn’t check whether this was a pomelo alternative for those who cannot eat grapefruit for medical reasons, but you should probably ask if this is an issue for you.) The chicken pieces were bigger than tenders but smaller than breasts and served with a light salad – an appropriate size next to our burrata and bread with corn ribs combo.
Also, as advised, we shared a large plate of skate wing. Balsamic sticky white fish fell easily from the ray of bones. Expertly filleted, I didn’t find a single finicky fragment around the edge. The texture of the macadamia crunch against the fish was unexpected and most satisfying. It wasn’t, however, as big as other skate wings I’ve had to myself in my time, and I found myself regretting that we only had half each. That said, the giant spears of double-fried agria potatoes with aioli were chunky enough to fill us up, so this is probably a case of eyes bigger than stomach.
Having opened with those earlier cocktails, alongside the main and dessert, we each chose wines sold by the glass so we could choose something different. I picked an orange wine, “No es Pituko”, Vinho Echeverria. With strong legs, an even thick mist rather than murky cloud, a defined fuzzy peach nose and a long finish that was mildly tannic but not sharp. A choice with complexity and depth, it was an excellent pairing with both the skate and lemongrass-y dessert.
My husband went for a crystal clear Sachetto Pinot Grigio Blush Rosé from the Veneto, and despite a candy floss raspberry nose, this was not overly sweet. A perfect light wine to quaff on a summer’s evening, whether you are on a Venetian terrace or not. Wines are priced from £6.50 upwards for 125ml and from £34-£70 for the bottle. There are easily twenty to choose from.
Not that we were in danger of walking out of Ara hungry. Desserts were generously sized and at around £7, priced fairly. My husband chose the deeply impressive chocolate Basque cheesecake, which in normal circumstances I’d have helped him out with. A huge wodge of authentic cocoa flavour and sumptuous texture, it was the type of pudding to dream about afterwards.
Fancying something toothsome rather than gooey, I had picked semolina halva. Its arrival was a surprise. Having expected cubes of fudginess, it was more similar in texture to polenta cake and topped with piped fat swirls of whipped coconut studded with jewels of bright green sauce. Online, someone had posted a picture referring to it as Key Lime Pie, but there’s definitely not one of these listed. The server clarified it was indeed the halva, so I’ve learned halva can be more like cake than sesame fudge. With lemongrass and preserved lemon flavours in my dessert, I realised our menu choices had often been citrus or tropical flavours, but each one had seemed so different that nothing on the table had felt repetitive, and each dish had delighted us.
Ara also has an outdoor seating area for 20, which is housed on a pedestrian area overlooking pleasant landscaping and is sheltered away from the noisier Whitechapel Road. On a balmy evening, this will be a nice spot to eat or drink outside. I also note there’s a breakfast menu, and it would also make for a great Al Fresco meet-up before browsing Brick Lane.
For a three-course dinner with wine, you can expect to pay around £130 plus service for two people. You might reduce this a fair bit at lunchtime by cutting back on alcohol units and limiting the number of courses. A breakfast dish with a coffee would be around £20, give or take a few quid for service.
The adjacent Whitechapel Road has a high-octane urban vibe with as many wailing ambulance sirens as red double-decker buses. One tube stop from Liverpool Street, within a short walk, you’ve got Spitalfields in one direction, historic Wapping pubs in the other. As a precursor to visiting Wilton’s Music Hall or the nearby Curzon Cinema, Ara is conveniently situated in a flourishing location for a colourful night out.
Ara Restaurant
1 New Drum Street
London E1 7AY
+447925078832
info@ararestaurant.co.uk
4 stars
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