Omar Shah is to open a new all-day neighbourhood restaurant, Bunso, in Kentish Town this September.
The latest concept from the Maginhawa Group will combine a daytime bakery with an evening pizzeria, drawing on Shah’s Filipino heritage alongside the wider influences that have shaped his cooking.
During the day, Bunso will operate as a neighbourhood bakery serving freshly baked laminated pastries, savoury bakes and coffee.
As evening approaches, the restaurant will transition into a relaxed pizzeria built around freshly made pizzas alongside a concise selection of crudo, kinilaw, salads and pasta.
Music will also form part of the concept, with vinyl and CDs played through a purpose-built hi-fi system.
The name Bunso means “youngest child” in Filipino, reflecting its position as the newest restaurant in Shah’s growing Kentish Town portfolio.
Filipino ingredients and techniques will feature throughout the menu without defining the restaurant solely as a Filipino concept.
The approach follows Shah’s work at Belly, his modern Filipino neighbourhood bistro in Kentish Town, which combines influences from the Philippines with French and Japanese cooking techniques.
Belly is one of more than eight food brands associated with Maginhawa Group, whose portfolio also includes Guanabana, Mamasons, Ramo Ramen and other concepts concentrated around Kentish Town and Camden.
Shah’s connection to the area stretches back to Bintang, opened by his father in Kentish Town in 1987.
The restaurateur subsequently took over the business and developed a wider collection of food concepts, increasingly drawing on his Filipino heritage.
His recent Belly concept has focused on high-quality produce, open-fire cooking and Filipino flavours within a neighbourhood bistro format.
Bunso will take a different approach, moving from pastries and coffee in the morning through to pizza, pasta and wine later in the day.
Shah said: “Bunso is probably the most personal restaurant I’ve opened because the combination doesn’t come from us sitting down and deciding to put different cuisines together – it’s the food I grew up around.
“We’re taking the food seriously, but giving ourselves the freedom to have fun with it.
“I want Bunso to be somewhere you can come in the morning for a really good pastry and coffee, drop in for lunch, or come back at night for pizza, pasta and a bottle of wine.
“Ultimately, I want it to feel like it belongs to the neighbourhood.”
Bunso will open in Kentish Town in September 2026, with the full menu, exact opening date and further details due to be announced ahead of launch.
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