Last Updated on June 29, 2026
New Moroccan Residency Menu For Soho Pub Favourite
4.0 out of 5.0 starsBefore the heatwave hit this week, I paid a virtual visit to Morocco via The Sun & 13 Cantons’ new permanent residency (is that a tautology?), Tagine and Grill.
The Sun & 13 Cantons must surely be lodged firmly in every Londoner’s pub lexicon; it lies just off Beak Street, a few corners from the noisier Carnaby and Broadwick Streets. The pavement outside felt uncannily familiar – considering on calculation I’d not visited for twenty years. More fool me, the Sun & 13 Cantons now has a well-established reputation for quality food pop-ups, most recently the much-loved and long-running Mamapen’s Cambodian menu.
Tagine and Grill, fresh from their own five-week pop-up at King & Co in Clapham and founded by Afuegoburger’s hospitality entrepreneur Yassir Chair, have big boots and hungry Soho-drinkers’ tummies to fill. The Fuller’s pub’s new menu combines bold flavours and charcoal grilling. Given the mass popularity of curries and Thai food on pub menus, it is surprising that North African cuisine hasn’t made an appearance in our boozers sooner.
The bright ingredients and smoky flavours are exactly the kind of food you’d crave after a few drinks, whether you’d intended to eat there or not. Dishes are designed for sharing, casual fashion at high tables in the pub bar or you can be seated in the adjacent restaurant room.
We popped in on a quiet Monday, soon after service began at 5pm and our food arrived very quickly – no worries about being finished in time for a nearby West End show.
For an appetiser, we were brought a cute mini tagine pot packed with a pyramid of marinated olives. Being early in week, I chose a mocktail version of Aperol Spritz made from Martini Vibrante non-alcoholic aperitivo – it was an excellent refreshing alternative to what remains my favourite summer cocktail, even if newcomer Hugo is apparently taking over.
As a starter, we tore through a flatbread “Msemen” stuffed with minced lamb and served with harissa yoghurt dip. The flat bread was hot and scattered with charcoal dust, the dough freshly steaming from the grill. We dipped this into a thick zaaloouk side dish of tomatoes and roasted aubergine, a kind of caponata-style dip. Hearty and robust, I made a mental note to seek a recipe to make zaalouk at home.
At the core of Tagine and Grill’s offering are their signature kebabs, served open on flatbread and layered with vibrant sauces, herbs and pickles. My son, who was my companion on this occasion, was fresh from his first year at university and no stranger to kebabs or food served in pubs. Although generally he gets these from a strip-lit takeaway next to the bus station or joins his fellow students crowded into ‘Spoons, he was the obvious dinner guest to take.
Chargrilled lamb kofte kebab had lemon and mint yoghurt, pickled red cabbage, coriander and chilli sauce. Ted said it was one big meatball rather than several small ones and found it tricky to negotiate. I suggested eating some of the topping first, then attempting to roll it up. It makes more sense to tackle this “kebab” in the manner of a pizza rather than a stuffed flatbread.
Alternative kebabs offered include chargrilled chicken thigh and harissa-glazed halloumi topped with pomegranate and coriander.
Although I was sorely tempted by the latter, to demonstrate a broader example of Tagine and Grill’s offering, I picked “Marrakech After Dark Burger”, which is actually a hot dog filled with spicy Merguez beef sausages. The combination of Merguez and brioche bun wasn’t something I’d seen before, but works very well. As with the lamb kofte kebab, it was pretty messy to eat, with me rearranging the little sausages before deciding how I’d dive in. I feared I may ruin my sentimental 80s t-shirt with errant oily juices squirting sideways, but with some careful navigation, Madonna came away still True Blue rather than slightly orange.
Sides we would try next time included halloumi fries or loaded fries topped with chilli sauce, pickled onions, grilled chicken (gosh – as well?!) and coriander – I was deeply curious but felt we might be stuffed as much as the msemen had been.
There’s a Tagine of the Week, which I was informed was lamb (and regardless of the week that it probably always would be) – as the tagine comes as a large portion for two to share and Ted was fixated on having his kebab, it will have to wait for a return trip. I’m often looking for a casual dinner with drinks for friends visiting town, and Tagine and Grill will fit the bill nicely.
We didn’t have dessert, but roasted almond and honey briouat pastries are listed – these look like a hybrid of samosa and baklava.
Whilst there are plenty of broadly Mediterranean or Middle Eastern offerings within Soho-proper, a gap has been plugged by focusing specifically on Morocco. Tagine and Grill are offering an approachable experience that feels both casual but at the same time more polished than somewhere you might find on Edgware Road. Next time you need somewhere casual in Soho that’s affordably priced and likely to be served in a sizzle, Tagine and Grill is somewhere to try.
Tagine and Grill at The Sun & 13 Cantons
21 Great Pulteney Street
London
W1F 9NG
020 7734 0934
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