Behind the scenes at Lancaster's first venue to offer Arabian food

Misso Box have collaborated with The Royal King’s Arms Hotel to bring the new concept to the city.

Arabian food, shisha and cocktails from the hotel bar are on offer at the King Street venue, which opened on Good Friday.

As the name suggests, the garden features an exclusive marquee as well as multiple seating areas across the exclusive terrace to the back of the famous hotel.

Misso Box’s kitchen is based at the hotel, and both the hotel and Misso Box are committed to supporting local businesses and the community as a whole.

The idea for Misso Box came when founder Isam Salah moved back to England after living in the Middle East.

“We have mixed cultures in our backgrounds,” he said. “Being Palestinian British, and having lived in Jordan, Oman and the UAE for many years, we decided when we moved back to England to create a concept that is new to the region and will add value to the local community.

“We feel our background presents a great opportunity to share our Arabic culture with fellow Lancastrians, a culture built predominantly around food, genuine hospitality, generosity in portions, made with love and served in a sincere way.”

Misso Box is a celebration of Arabian cuisine with a twist. Menu items include the famous falafel, shawarma, hot and cold mezze, flat breads and filled English muffins, an array of salads as well as gyros, burgers, hot dogs and tacos, with Misso’s special Arabian twist. The dishes start from just £4.

The menu has been carefully curated to offer a large choice for vegetarians and vegans.

To stay true to their Arabian values that celebrate food sharing, Misso also offer sharing boxes for groups of friends, family or colleagues.

Mr Salah said: “The Misso box experience will take every customer’s taste buds on a captivating journey, diverse in flavour and colour, where the flavour combinations, aromatic spices and ingredients make even the most basic dishes delightful.

“The gastronomic offering explores and celebrates Arabian cuisine in a wholesome and sincere way; Arabian food is rich in goodness, and the menu was carefully curated to offer a large choice for vegetarians and vegans – when most V food tends to be basic and bland, ours bursts of flavour.

“We are very proud and excited to be offering a new experience at the Secret Garden of Babylon, serving Misso Box’s genuine menu and shisha for the first time in Lancaster.”

The Royal King’s Arms Hotel’s general manager Bob Warrior added: "We are proud to be offering a new experience to the local community in collaboration with Misso Box.”

The garden will be open Monday to Friday, 5pm until 10.30pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 10.30pm. Shisha is available from 6pm.

Misso Box can be found on Just Eat and Lancaster Eats from Friday, open 11am until 10pm. For the full menu go online at https://www.missobox.co.uk/