Festok — Restaurant in London

Been seeing soon many promotions of this place on Instagram and as a pistachio enthusiast I had to give this a go and see what my own verdict would be.

I went on a sunny Sunday arriving around 1pm and it's absolutely empty. It did instantly get busy as soon as I walked in and a queue quickly formed so I was happy I got lucky that I got there first. I had decided to go for the kunafa with pistachio ice cream so I went ahead and ordered that. They had a massive box of just crushed pistachios for coating on desserts and they did the plating in front of me which was satisfying to see especially when they poured the pistachio on my kunafa.

I went for a seat outside to enjoy this delicious plate in the sunshine and was thoroughly delighted with the sweetness from the kunafa with the stringy pistachio ice cream which was such a good combo. It's my first time eating Lebanese ice cream and the stringy texture didn't put me off. I actually thought it was rather fun to eat and it's refreshing to eat a different texture of ice cream compared to what we normally have or Italian gelato. I did think the ice cream was a bit weak in pistachio flavour, definitely wish it was more nutty and rich but the crushed pistachios definitely made up for it.

Service was okay, not the most friendly staff. Interior was clean and simple with everything in green colour to match the pistachio theme. I would be very happy to come back soon and try the Baklava cup next time with...

🍦 Indulging in Gelato Dreams at Festok 🍦 Hey there, fellow ice cream enthusiasts! 🌟 Let me take you on a sweet journey to the heart of London, where I recently had the most delightful experience at Festok, Lebanese Artisan Ice Cream 🇱🇧🍨 🌟 Pistachio Mafrouke with Achta: Imagine a scoop of heaven— a dollop of achta (a rich Lebanese clotted cream) between two layers of semolina-pistachio crust. It was like a whispered secret shared between my taste buds and the universe. Divine! 😇 🌟 Carob Ice Cream: Move over, chocolate! Carob is the new kid on the block. Derived from a pea-like pod, this ice cream had a unique flavour—earthy, slightly nutty and oh-so-satisfying. It’s like a cozy hug for your palate 🤗 🌟 Baklava Cup: Brace yourselves, dessert adventurers! Picture this: a crunchy baklava cup cradling a generous scoop of carob ice cream. The contrast of textures—crisp layers and velvety ice cream—was a symphony of delight 🎶 🌟 Osmalieh Bites: Nestled in bird’s nests (yes, you read that right!), these bites were pure magic. One held halva ice cream, its sesame sweetness dancing with joy. The other cradled date ice cream, a luscious embrace of natural sweetness 🐦✨ 🌟 Festok Log: The grand finale! An ice cream log with achta ice cream perched atop a pistachio semolina base. Garnished with crushed pistachios, it was a masterpiece—a sweet crescendo that left me speechless 🎂🌟 Now, my fellow dessert lovers, let’s spread the...

Was waiting in line for a resto nearby but saw that it closes at 8:30pm so we rushed here for dessert before dinner.

The Tunisian waiter was very friendly and gave us recommendations as we didn’t know much about Arabic desserts. He also let us try many different ice cream flavours before deciding.

We got the mafrouke with a scoop of Achta (orange blossom) ice cream on top. It is a layer of cream sandwiched between two pistachio cake(?) layers. It pairs well with the ice cream. However, all of the ice cream flavours we tried had only a subtle taste of what it is supposed to be. But the flavours are unique and you probs won’t be able to find elsewhere in London such as carob, halva etc.

Price was £9.1 which is slightly expensive considering it is a takeaway dessert place (only a few seats) but acceptable. I wish it opened til later but the area is indeed quite quiet as we went on a Monday night.

Overall 8/10 experience and I would recommend getting the cakes instead of ice cream. I would come back to try all the different cakes like knafa, baklava etc.

PS. They also do ice cream cakes in a few different sizes. Note: they are all Achta...