Logma is an Iranian-Iraqi café and bistro on Goldsmith’s Row in Hackney, created by Ziad Halub and Farsin Rabiee. The restaurant grew out of a series of informal supper clubs the pair originally hosted for friends, which later expanded into popular public events before leading to a permanent space in East London.
The cooking reflects both founders’ backgrounds, combining Iranian and Iraqi home-style dishes shaped by family recipes and the flavours they grew up with. Rather than focusing on strict regional authenticity, the menu draws on traditions from across the Middle East and adapts them using seasonal produce available in London.
Logma currently operates primarily as a daytime café, serving coffee, pastries and a changing selection of lunch dishes, while occasional evening services continue the supper-club style format that first made the project popular. The menu centres on comforting, everyday dishes such as stews served with saffron rice, alongside sandwiches and lighter plates. One of the best known items is a generously filled sourdough pita sandwich combining Persian aubergine with kofta, pickles and sauces influenced by Middle Eastern cooking.
Other dishes reflect the breadth of Iranian and Iraqi home cooking. Weekly menus may include slow-cooked stews such as fesenjan, made with walnuts and pomegranate molasses, as well as herb-rich soups and rice dishes finished with ingredients like barberries. Much of the food is prepared from scratch in the small open kitchen, reinforcing the restaurant’s informal, domestic feel.
The space itself is compact and relaxed, with counter seating and a layout that encourages conversation between diners and the kitchen. The atmosphere reflects the project’s origins in home cooking and communal dining, with the founders aiming to recreate the feeling of welcoming guests into their own living room.
Set within a row of neighbourhood cafés and bakeries in Haggerston, Logma functions as a casual daytime meeting place as much as a restaurant. Its combination of Middle Eastern home cooking, changing menus and café culture has quickly made it a busy local spot for lunch and coffee.