"South London’s Peckham Bazaar is one of the few restaurants on this list led by a classically trained chef. Albanian-born John Gionaleka opened the spot in 2015 to serve dishes inspired by the country and its surrounding regions that fell under the Ottoman Empire — or what he calls the ‘Eastern Mediterranean.’ The restaurant doesn’t serve what would typically be found on an Albanian family’s kitchen table, but the dishes draw inspiration from the ingredients commonly found in the Balkan region. Chicken thighs are served with custom pickled vegetables; stuffed peppers are paired with pine nuts, raisins, and herbs. Octopus, cuttlefish, and bream dishes are put together to reflect Southern Albania’s coastlines. The restaurant is a far cry from the grilled meat platters most Albanians are used to, but it takes diners through the elemental flavours that people of the Balkans are accustomed to." - Kaltrina Bylykbashi
