Israeli-born, award-winning Australian chef Roy Ner makes his UK restaurant debut with Jeru, a high-end, loosely Middle-Eastern restaurant on Mayfair’s Berkeley Street. The name Jeru translates as ‘old city’ or a place of nomadic tribal people and a melting pot of cultures, something that Ner has strived to replicate though a menu influenced by areas all over the Middle East.
The venue is a one-stop shop for Middle-Eastern food and drink, combining an old school bakery, wine room, an intimate fully-charcoal restaurant and a cocktail bar over two floors. The wine tasting room features an impressive 1,000-bottle wine wall and functions as a private dining room for groups to hire out. While the main restaurant area holds a huge open kitchen which will serves up Ner’s widely-influenced menu, including dishes such as Levantine lobster and prawn dumplings with burnt harissa butter, Persian feta borek and hasselback Jerusalem artichokes with goat’s whey and anchovies.
Guests are able to order cured meats sourced from British charcuterie specialists including Angus rump basturma and lamb and fennel salami, meats that have never been served in the UK before. Diners can also try lamb bacon, made in partnership with Hammond Charcuterie, another first for the UK's dining scene.
Descend downstairs to the cocktail bar and lounge area (called Layla) for some expertly mixed cocktails in an ultra-chic setting. The space will transform into a lively venue later into the evening to host DJs and live music in the heart of Mayfair.
To open after the launch of the main restaurant is Jeru’s bakery which will be open all day and serve pastries, coffee and small plates including Yemenite butter bread with whipped curd and heritage tomato pulp and short rib burnt ends and feta borek. The bar is also set to open at a later date than the restaurant itself, in early 2022.