Meedu Saad, the former head chef and co-owner of Kiln on Brewer Street, opens his debut solo restaurant on 26 March at 14 Dean Street in Soho. Impala takes its name from the cherry-red 1964 Chevrolet Impala that Saad drove on summer visits to Egypt during his childhood — a detail that sets the tone for a concept rooted in personal memory, Egyptian street food culture and fire cookery.
The restaurant is part of the Super 8 Restaurants group, which operates Kiln, Smoking Goat, Brat and Mountain. Despite the group connection, Impala represents a clear departure in direction: where Kiln is defined by South-East Asian charcoal cooking, Impala turns towards North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, filtered through Saad's classical French training and his decade in London kitchens.
The Kitchen
The charcoal grill sits at the centre of the dining room rather than concealed behind a pass — a deliberate statement about the centrality of fire to the cooking. Saad describes the grill as drawing on three distinct influences: the street grills of Cairo's Friday markets, his years working the wood-fired equipment at Kiln, and the precise technique of classical French brigade cooking.
The menu reflects this layering. A dry-aged Devon duck is stuffed with black lime and chillies sourced from Aswan, then roasted over wood embers with molasses — a dish that reads as simultaneously North African, technically French and deeply personal. The kitchen's sourcing follows the Super 8 model of direct supplier relationships and premium British produce treated with near-obsessive care.
The Room
The interior draws a deliberate contrast between the industrial and the refined — concrete pillars alongside polished veneers, with a room designed to carry the energy of a Soho bar while functioning as a serious dining space. The aim, in Saad's words, is to combine the communal intensity of a Cairo market with the focused quality of a destination restaurant.
Context
Saad spent over a decade at Kiln, rising to head chef and co-owner and becoming one of the most respected figures in London's wood-fire cooking scene. Impala is his first solo venture. Bookings opened on 6 March; the restaurant opens to the public on 26 March.
For hospitality operators, Impala is a case study in how chefs are increasingly building concepts around a personal narrative as much as a cuisine — a trend that resonates far beyond the capital, where diners at all price points are gravitating towards food that has a clear story and an identifiable voice behind it.
Impala, 14 Dean Street, Soho, London W1D 3RS. Open from 26 March 2026.