Pita Master Eyal Shani Is Tripping Balls of Falafel About His New London Restaurant

Later this summer, internationally renowned pita master Eyal Shani will open a branch of his most famous restaurant, Miznon, on Broadwick Street in Soho. As in his locations in Tel Aviv, Paris, and New York City, the vibe is in one way clear: to capture the soul of a city inside fluffy bread, often using falafel at least once. So what of his plans for London, to follow up the cheeseburger pita of NYC, or the ratatouille of Paris? Ask and ye shall receive — Shani has the goods:

A whole world of fairytales lay in London, coming from a crown that has never been dropped.

I feel like Alice in Wonderland entering London. And I’m looking forward to seeing how the magic we instil can put color in this story.

I feel passionate about bringing the beautiful broken sun of London into my Pita through the colorful creatures that grow from your magical land.

A lot to unpack here.

Oliver Cromwell might well dispute the first part of his assertion; slicing off a king’s head is about a close as the British state has ever gotten to dropping the crown, at least before Prince Charles’s ongoing 73 years of hurt.

Is Shani Alice in Wonderland where London is Wonderland, or is he already in a wonderland of his own, of globalised fast-casual pita glory, and about to enter a new one?

Then, a headscratcher. He first asserts that Miznon is putting the magic and colour in the story; but then that there are already lots of colourful creatures in a magical land. Perhaps he believes he can better photosynthesise in the broken sun than other pita players, which would explain plans for a second, more luxurious opening of HaSalon (also in Tel Aviv and NYC) later in the year.

Eater has also seen the menu for the London Miznon, one which sees a whole cauliflower dress up for eight pounds.

In a pita, then, is “sensual” lamb kebab, with grilled tomato and onions; tahini, hot sauce, and pickles. Another pita comes with grilled cauliflower to the make “the white,” while “the red” comes with grilled tomatoes, onions, and peppers. What of out of a pita? A steak, with the same toppings as the pita, that entire cauliflower, a sweet potato “bleeding the sweetest caramel blood,” and a “run over potato” smashed with sour cream. It seems like Shani is holding back on London specials for now.

Maybe, after all, this psychedelic flavour should have been obvious: one Parisian sandwich is named for “enchanted mushrooms.” Whatever Shani has planned for London, he and his pita will never be knowingly underseasoned: they don’t appear to be shy of acid.