Cowley Flavors is a photojournalistic column documenting food and life stories from ethnic restaurants and grocery shops located on Cowley Road, updated weekly.
“Who hasn’t heard of Za’atar? Do you even live in Oxford?” My foodie friend exclaimed, on our way to the Middle Eastern restaurant on Cowley Street for a group dinner.
Za’atar. I murmured the name to myself. My mind traveled back to my stay with the Bedouin family on the outskirts of Wadi Rum desert in Jordan. “Ismuh za’atar,” my hostess said with a smile as she served me a mezze of greenish-brown flecks of dried herbs, along with small plates of olive oil, hummus, and cream. I tore off a chunk of the crispy bread to dip in the oil and then the za’atar, as she had instructed me to. The grainy and crumbly mixture clung to the crust. I took a bite: it’s a flavor of health, nature, and simplicity.
That is exactly what it smelled like when we entered Oxford’s proudest Arabic restaurant, Za’atar Bake.
[Za’atar Bake, Image by Shixin Zhao]
Inside, the air is always perfumed with freshly baked pita and pizza, with a zesty touch of aromatic herbs, lemon and garlic. The soft, golden lighting from ornate lamps caresses the plush pillows of geometric patterns on the low seating. Catchy Arabic pop classics blend virantly with the rustling bubbling from the oven and the chatter from the kitchen. The young bilingual waiters and waitresses are exchanging conversations in great spirits about work and life as they busily traverse the crowded salon. Laughter, light, aroma—everything is so alive in Za’atar.
[Wall decor showing the multiple Arab influences that inspired Za’atar, Image by Shixin Zhao]
That’s what Ahmed wished for when he started the restaurant. An authentic Middle Eastern business with authentic food, authentic decor, and people who authentically love what they do. Ahmed first arrived in London in 1999 from Syria, and made the UK his new home. He always had many interests and ideas: with a background in civil engineering, he first chose to become a musician before commencing an entrepreneurial path. During his years in London, he quickly assembled a band with people from different places and started holding their own venues and tours. While his artistic career took off, Ahmed has never forgotten the culinary skills that he carried from home. He grew up helping his mother and sister in the kitchen, and started re-creating the generational recipes and techniques on his own. “I love cooking, and I pay so much attention to how things are cooked, because every single detail makes a difference,” Ahmed shared with me.
[Bird’s Nest Baklava, Image by Shixin Zhao]
Apart from the knowledge he learned from his Syrian roots, Ahmed also eagerly absorbs new cuisine styles from wherever he travels to. Of the numerous countries he has visited, Morocco has a special place in his heart, a place he regularly returns to with his family. The Moroccan tagine—a North African staple of slow-cooked stew inside a cone-shaped clay pot—takes on a new life at Za’atar after Ahmed had carefully and adventurously reinvented the traditional dish. In fact, when he opened Za’atar Bake in 2018, Ahmed single-handedly designed every single dish on their menu with an adventurous spirit and meticulous craft, with the goal of making everyone remember Za’atar Bake as a unique flavor among the many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurants in Oxford.
[A rich variety of Middle Eastern dishes in the menu, Image by Shixin Zhao]
What also makes Za’atar unique is the fact that they are the first Arabic bakery in town. The oven, so large that five adult men cannot encircle it with arms outstretched, is the soul of the restaurant. A circle of golden flame generously cooks dough, delivers warmth and guards the spirit of the whole house. “Everything is freshly baked here, every day,” Ahmed points to the silver beast by the corner. “I set up the kitchen and the oven right here in the salon to show the cooking process to my customers. It’s all fresh.”
[Za’atar oven, the soul and heart of the restaurant, Image by Shixin Zhao]
[Red tomato paste on a thin-crust pizza, Image by Shixin Zhao]
[The chef giving form to the Nutella pancake, Image by Shixin Zhao]
[Enter the oven, Image by Shixin Zhao]
Another famous Arab dish, maqloubah, is faithfully translated to its literal meaning “upside down” in their menu. As the name entails, the cooking pot must be dramatically flipped upside down to serve the food. Maqloubah is cooked in layers: meat at the bottom (they also have a vegetarian option), topped with vegetables, then rice and broth. This is to ensure that after the flipping, guests see a perfectly layered cake with the colorful meat or vegetable on top, and rice at the bottom.
Ahmed knows well that the difficulty of this dish (as well as the excitement) is when the flipping happens, so he decided to make this an even more dramatic moment–the waiter who brings the maqloubah will flip the dish, grab a metal spoon, and—rap-tap-tap—rhythmically against the aluminum pot like a drum. The next thing you know, you are witnessing an impromptu concert with the whole team singing on top of their lungs to an Arabic pop anthem, and the eyes of the entire restaurant on the plate in front of you! One good minute of celebration passes, and now the final slow-motion reveal: a fragrant, colorful dome of tender meat, shiny veggies and spiced rice appears under the silver pottery, and you’re good to go.
[The Maqloubah (“Upside Down”) ceremony, Image by Shixin Zhao]
[The final reveal, Image by Shixin Zhao]
[The colorful layers of veggies and rice inside the Maqloubah, Image by Shixin Zhao]
Freshness, flair, and festivity: indeed, who hasn’t heard of Za’atar if you live in Oxford? Even tourists walk all the way from the city center to get a taste of this top-charted restaurant on Tripadvisor. Ahmed does not see the physical distance between the University and Cowley Road as a factor that separates the two communities. He loves Cowley for its openness and diversity, and respects the University of Oxford as “the heart” of the historical town. Many of his loyal customers are Oxford students and academics. Malala Yousafzai even visited Za’atar once when she was studying here for a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).
“Oxford is a university town. Even though students come and go, I see them as a part of the community. We [Oxford students and residents] serve each other,” Ahmed concludes with a smile.