Diwan Damas on Edgware Road is a must-stop if one is looking for Middle-eastern ice-cream and sweets. We were here a fortnight ago, and had some good sweet cheese kanafeh - sweet goat’s cheese, warmed up till meltingly soft, topped with crisp, vermicelli-like kadaif (finely-shredded filo pastry), topped with chopped pistachios.
I also had a beinnaren, a rich dessert made with kadayif, sandwiching cream (ashta)
Diwan Damas used to be called Damas Rose when I was first here in 2013, and reputedly served the best booza al-haleb (a stretchy, gummy pistachio ice-cream) outside of Damascus. And considering that many of us wouldn’t be planning to visit Syria anytime soon, this is as close as we can get to a taste of the real thing.
When it comes to syrup-laden filo-pastry-based desserts, Diwan Damas offers a good choice: from buttery-sweet, multi-layered baklava to burma (whole pistachios wrapped in vermicelli-like sugary strands), fat, glistening crescent-shaped kataif; creamy-sweet kenafeh topped with chopped pistachios, etc.
Diwan Damas is dollhouse-sized, but has a few seats outside.
Address details
Diwan Damas
121 Edgware Road, London W2 2HX
Tel: +44 20 3620 4754 / +44 20 7180 1972
Opening hours: 10am - 1am, daily.
