A soft morning light pours through Aram’s tall windows, casting long shadows across a counter piled with zaatar croissants and warm halva brownies. From the founder of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, this new all-day café and restaurant in Somerset House is more than a welcome addition – it’s a beautifully orchestrated pause between gallery rooms and skating turns.
Facing the Thames and framed by high ceilings and warm, pale wood, Aram is segmented with intent: a bakery for the grazers, a deli for the movers, and a kitchen for those staying put. Each part works on its own terms, but together they create a rhythm that makes even a short visit feel deliberate. The menu pulls from across the Eastern Mediterranean – Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Jordan and beyond – with every dish a nod and appreciation to warmer climates, and yet somehow perfectly in place overlooking London’s riverways.
For those on the go, the express lunch – two salads, a protein, and pitta – is done properly. The curry cauliflower salad was delicious, with its black onion seeds and just enough heat. Pair it with grilled chicken and a seat by the window and you’ve got yourself a midday reset.
If time allows, the breakfast hash is worth a forkful of focus: smoked brisket, urfa chilli oil, runny eggs, and potatoes make for a spice packed bowl that will fuel any amount of walking up and down the corridors of Somerset House. For something sweet, the tahini cream-slathered French toast, the almond and orange cookie, or literally anything from the bakery.
Whether you’re here between exhibitions or defrosting after a turn on the ice, Aram fits. Generous flavours and a setting that goes hand in hand with a day trip, some culture, a bit of ice skating, and a frosty walk around autumnal London.
South wing (ground floor) Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
