The Persian brunch challenging London's avocado toast culture

London has never been short of brunch destinations. From avocado toast and eggs Benedict to stacked pancakes and bottomless prosecco, the capital's weekend dining scene has become a lucrative industry in its own right. What it lacks, however, is variety.

That is what makes Counter by Naroon an intriguing addition to Fitzrovia's increasingly competitive food scene.

The latest venture from cousins Reza and Mo Malekzadeh seeks to bring Persian flavours into a format more familiar to modern London life. Situated in the heart of Fitzrovia, the casual offshoot of Naroon strips away the formality often associated with destination dining and instead focuses on quick lunches, protein-rich bowls and a brunch menu that draws heavily on Iranian culinary traditions.

It is a concept that reflects a broader shift in the capital's dining habits. As consumers become increasingly health-conscious and time-poor, restaurants are under pressure to offer food that is both convenient and flavourful. The challenge is avoiding the sense of uniformity that has crept into many grab-and-go concepts.

Counter's answer is to look east.

Its lunchtime offering centres around customisable rice bowls and wraps, built around ingredients such as chicken, falafel and fresh vegetables, with flavours shaped by saffron, turmeric and cardamom. The emphasis is on dishes that are filling without feeling heavy, a balance that has helped establish a loyal lunchtime following among office workers in Fitzrovia.

Yet it is the weekend menu that provides the strongest argument for a visit.

While much of London's brunch scene continues to recycle familiar formulas, Counter has built a menu around dishes rarely seen outside Persian homes and specialist restaurants. Pancake Kooie Kaka combines traditional Persian pancakes with pumpkin, walnuts, yoghurt, honey and pomegranate, while Khagineh, a sweet Persian omelette infused with pistachio, cardamom and rose, offers a reminder that breakfast traditions extend far beyond the Anglo-American canon that dominates many brunch menus.

Elsewhere, diners will find Sois Bandari, a spicy combination of roasted sausage, potatoes and onions, alongside a full breakfast that incorporates Middle Eastern influences through ingredients such as za'atar while retaining enough familiarity to appeal to less adventurous diners.

The drinks menu follows a similar philosophy. Persian teas sit alongside speciality coffee, while traditional beverages including Doogh, a savoury yoghurt drink flavoured with mint, offer an alternative to the standard brunch cocktail selection.

What makes Counter particularly interesting is that it arrives at a moment when Persian cuisine is enjoying a gradual rise in visibility across the capital. For years, Iranian food has remained somewhat overlooked compared with the popularity of neighbouring Middle Eastern cuisines. Yet a new generation of restaurateurs is increasingly presenting Persian cooking not as an occasional novelty but as a cuisine suited to everyday dining.

That appears to be the ambition here.

Rather than positioning Persian food as something exotic or unfamiliar, Counter treats it as a natural part of contemporary London life. The flavours may be rooted in centuries of culinary tradition, but the format is unapologetically modern. Customers can stop in for a quick lunch, take a bowl back to the office or spend a leisurely weekend morning exploring dishes they may never have encountered before.

For Reza Malekzadeh, the goal is simple: to make the food he grew up with part of the city's everyday dining culture.

Whether that ambition succeeds remains to be seen. Yet in a neighbourhood crowded with formulaic lunch spots and predictable brunch menus, Counter by Naroon offers something increasingly rare in London's restaurant scene: a genuinely different perspective on familiar dining rituals.

At a time when many restaurants are competing to offer the same experience, that may be its greatest strength.