The Counter Soho: Chef Kemal Demirasal to launch new Aegean restaurant and first bar

The celebrated Turkish chef Kemal Demirasal is to open a Soho restaurant in May, one that pays homage to the culinary traditions of Turkey, the wider Aegean, and with subtle inflections from the Mediterranean and Levant. 

Called The Counter Soho, it will be Demirasal’s second London restaurant, and follows The Counter, his Anatolian-centric, ocakbasi concept in Notting Hill.

The new space will be located on Kingly Street, with a dining room on the ground floor and a cocktail bar below. On the way is a menu inspired by seafood, rich meats, herbs, citrus and olive groves. 

Cold plates will include whipped tarama and fish roe, tzatziki with pickles and sumac, tomato salad, saganaki, slow roast lamb and crab and saffron orzo. Dishes from The Counter, such as chocolate babaganoush, and dolma and adana kebabs will also be available.

“We’re really excited to be bringing the flavours of the Aegean, which unites Greece and Turkey, to central London,” said Demirasal. 

“We couldn’t be happier to be opening our second restaurant in Soho, and to open our first ever bar, Under The Counter, in the heart of London’s West End.”

Demirasal is perhaps best-known for his debut restaurant Alancha in Istanbul, which was named one of the best restaurants in the Middle East by the World’s 50 Best Discovery Series before its closure in 2021. 

The self-taught chef only started cooking in 2007 after finishing his career as a six-time Turkish national champion windsurfer. 

His second London site will seat 60 upstairs and 30 below. Drinks, like the food, draw inspiration from the Aegean, as well as the ancient Silk Road trading route that ran through Turkey. There will be flavours of sesame, rum, milk punches and olive oil-washed tequila among many others.

The Counter Soho will open in May. 15 Kingly Street, Carnaby, W1B 5PS. For more information, visit thecounterlondon.com