Aram is billed as a new Syrian café and deli from Alarnab, who is known for his eponymous Imad’s Syrian Kitchen restaurant in Soho, and will serve a menu of bakes, salads, lunch and breakfasts that draw on flavours from across the fourteen provinces of Syria.
Open from 8:30am to 6pm seven days a week, it will overlook Somerset House’s River Terrace and operate across four rooms within Somerset House, which celebrates its 25th birthday this year.
Alarnab originally launched Imad’s Syrian Kitchen in Kingly Court in the spring of 2021 and subsequently relocated to a larger site within the Soho development in 2023.
He previously ran two successful restaurants, a café, and a chain of juice bars in his home city of Damascus, but his businesses were destroyed during the Syrian Civil War. In July 2015, he fled his homeland and made his way through Europe, eventually arriving in London in October that year.
“I feel hopeful for Syria after many years as it starts to open again, and opening Aram reflects that hope,” says Alarnab, referencing the collapse of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime late last year.
“The name Aram derives from a historical part of Syria, and Aram was the son of Sam, and grandson to Noah; the Aramaic period was named after him and set foundations in our Middle Eastern history.
“Through opening Aram, I hope to introduce people to Syria and its cuisine in a way they haven’t yet had the chance to see.
“We will have regional recipes and dishes that I would have made at home in my restaurants there before the war, but this time they will be set within the special location of London’s Somerset House as part of a new era in a new home.”
Breakfast at Aram will feature a range of pastries such as the zaatar croissant alongside hot drinks including Syrian mint tea.
Dishes on the lunch menu, meanwhile, will include hummus salata with red onion, sumac, tomato, parsley and rocket; zahrra salata, a cauliflower and grape vinegar salad finished with toasted nuts and herbs; and maarouk donuts, which are inspired by Middle Eastern sweet bread and adorned with savoury or sweet fillings such as cheese, chocolate and pistachio, or dates and nuts.
Aram will also stay true to Alarnab’s ethos by supporting charities through events, supper clubs and special dinners.