Sidi Bou is a turquoise accented Tunisian restaurant, takeaway, and deli, located just outside of Ealing Broadway station. There aren’t too many Tunisian restaurants in London, which is a real shame considering the richness of the country’s cuisine. Despite being named after a seaside town, some of the best dishes here are made with lamb: the jilbana, a slow-cooked stew made with peas and artichoke is a real standout. Sidi Bou has dine in on Thursdays, Fridays, and Satudays, and on other days collection or delivery is available an hour before iftar.

Patchi is a huge baklava-emporium and restauaraunt located in the heartland of Park Royal. All the recognisable stalwarts of Levantine food are present on the menu here, warak enab, kibbeh, tabbouleh and fattoush, but the move is anything involving pastry and/or sugar: halwa for post-taraweeh treats, or the Palestinian knafeh Nabulseyeh, with filo, cheese, and orange blossom. Patchi will have an iftar set-menu, and will also be open for an early morning suhoor.

The “broasting” technique might have been invented in America’s pressure fryer dreams, but it was perfected in the Arab cafeteria. The Syrian-owned and run Best Broasted is a great spot for a fuss-free iftar and/or suhoor, serving up some of London’s best shawarmas and, per the name, broasted chicken, craggy from the broasting and accompanied by crisp, but fluffy potatoes and toum. The Shepherd’s Bush branch will be serving an open buffet for iftar, following Maghrib. 

Eating at Putera Puteri is a joy, where everything tastes like it was cooked with familial attention to detail. Classic hawker items like the nasi lemak, nasi goreng kampung, and char kuey teow are all simply wonderful. Pair them with a cooling sirap bandung, for which ice-cold milk is mixed with rose syrup, or an iced teh tarik, for a cold version of Malaysia’s famous pulled milk tea. Putera Puteri will be serving an iftar menu.

Uzbek Corner is a halal Uzbekistani restaurant located inside Queensway Market, near the northwestern corner of Kensington Gardens. The qozon kabob served with raw onions and chips are stunning, while the manti, an Uzbek version of an xxl dumpling, is juicy and a fitting vehicle for the sour cream it comes served with. Open for iftar.

While the hot and cold Lebanese mezzes make great starters (the habrah nayeh, lamb tartare, in particular), really what diners should be ordering at Ishbilia is anything that contains grilled minced lamb: the dishes with the word “kafta” in the title. While there are quite a few Ramadan-friendly options in this area, Ishbilia comfortably holds its own, and will be offering a selection of homemade Ramadan special drinks, desserts, and mains alongside its a la carte.

Situated a short walk away from the tourist zoos that are the Sherlock Holmes and Madame Tussauds museums is this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Libyan restaurant, on Dorset Street. On any spring evening, expect to see North African uncles sipping mint tea and smoking shisha by the curbside. The food is tasty and the service oscillates between being slightly brusque and exceedingly warm, bringing out dishes like embakbka, a Libyan pasta stew, and Acacus is open for suhoor from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Berenjak styles itself as a kababi, an Irani “hole-in-the-wall eatery” serving up grilled meats, as typically seen across the Muslim world. This moody, dimly lit spot has some stunning starters (particularly the kashk e bademjoon, a smoky walnut and aubergine dip), but the thing to come for will be the fatty koobideh skewers. Berenjak offers bottomless kebabs after 9:30 p.m., which makes for a good early suhoor for those wanting to make a Soho night of it.

When diners want a break from the fried chicken, kebabs, and desi khana that are superb, but overrepresented in London’s halal dining world, they come to The Great Chase. Famous for Sunday roasts, this Clerkenwell restaurant also serves up mean steaks, creamy risottos, and fun starters like seared king oyster mushrooms or the caramelised leek velouté. The Great Chase will be serving a three-course, pre-order only, iftar menu, and make sure to book ahead as there will only be 24 guests served for iftar per day.

Alhaji is an honorific title which means the one who has performed Haj, while in London, anyone in search of a good suya has long been making a pilgrimage across town to Peckham Park Road. Beef suya with jollof rice is the best thing to order here, the only thing, really. Make sure to get some plantain as a side, as well as an order of tart, crimson zobo to cut through the ecstatic heat of the yaji. Alhaji is available for delivery before Maghrib and it also makes for a great takeaway Iftar.

Al Kahf is a Whitechapel Somali spot serving up big plates of lamb haneed as well as beef and chicken sqaar (beef and chicken cubes marinated in Somali spices.) But the main draw is the hulking bariis iskukaris, lamb shoulder falling off the bone over a rich rice jewelled with dried fruits. Make sure to ask for basbaas, eye-watering homemade Somali hot sauce made out of green chillies, to cut through all the richness of the rice and meat. Al Kahf is open for suhoor until 2 a.m, and a second restaurant is doing private meals throughout Ramadan, before opening to the public in spring.