Can Soho Greek Restaurant PittaBun Make It As An Evening Eating Destination?
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Last Updated 27 August 2019
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We all have our favourite lunch time spot to grab a sandwich, wrap, burrito or pitta. But would we be willing to have a sit-down evening meal there? That's what PittaBun — a popular takeaway spot in Soho — is trying to encourage with its evening menu of open pittas. The idea is you can now sit down with a friend and enjoy a relaxed dinner, rather than scarf down a closed pitta on the go.
This transition is no easy task as diners tend to expect different things from dinner — a more refined ambience and greater variety in menu options, for a start. Even the mighty Pret tried and failed to segue into an evening menu, an experiment that seems to have disappeared faster than we can down one of its ginger shots.
The seating area at the back of PittaBun can hold ten or so people and the low lighting and mirrored ceiling has elements of one of Soho's less salubrious joints — thankfully our food arrives before anyone tries to proposition us.
The open pittas are the new additions, specifically designed for the evening menu, but other than opening up the closed variants, very little seems to have changed in terms of ingredients. That's not necessarily a bad thing — the fish and beetroot hits the spot, avoiding the usual trap of the beetroot being overpowering. There's only one vegan option — a solid choice of guacamole, olives and tomatoes.
Both open pittas could stand with being more substantial but the chips sweep in to do away with any unsatiated appetites — the oregano seasoning is excellent and the portion sizes are generous.
Given the prices on the menu, we're after something a little more upmarket than the fast food feel of this place. Open pittas require cutlery and it's disappointing to see plastic knives and forks in use at a time when every restaurant should be aiming to do away with plastic cutlery.
PittaBun's menu isn't breaking new ground, but it does hit the spot in the taste department. We're not sold on it being an evening destination to hang out with a friend though — grab-and-go remains its forte.
PittaBun: Modern Greek Food, 4 Newburgh Street, Soho. The evening menu is available between 5-10pm and it cost £23 for two including drinks.
