Omar Shah will open Bunso in Kentish Town next month.
The venue will operate as a Filipino bakery by day and a pizzeria by night.
The menu will feature laminated pastries, savoury bakes, pizza, crudo, kinilaw, salads and pasta.
Bunso will bring the flavours of Shah’s Filipino heritage to Kentish Town.
Omar Shah is expanding his restaurant portfolio in North London. The founder of BELLY is preparing to open Bunso, a new Filipino bakery and pizzeria in Kentish Town, with the concept set to debut next month.
Shah is already a familiar name in the neighbourhood. Through Maginhawa Group, he has helped establish a collection of restaurants that put Filipino flavours front and centre, alongside concepts that explore other cuisines. BELLY has become one of Kentish Town’s notable neighbourhood restaurants, combining the familiar format of a European bistro with ingredients, dishes and influences drawn from the Philippines.
For his latest opening, Shah is keeping things close to home. Bunso will be an all-day venue that changes character as the hours pass. During the daytime, it will operate as a bakery and coffee shop before becoming a pizzeria in the evening.
The bakery counter will focus on laminated pastries and savoury bakes infused with Filipino flavours, accompanied by a dedicated coffee offering. Once evening arrives, the ovens will turn their attention to freshly made pizzas, while the wider menu will include crudo, kinilaw, salads and pasta. Music will also play a part in the experience, with a purpose-built hi-fi system set to provide the soundtrack to the space.
The name Bunso translates to “youngest child” in Filipino, making it a fitting choice for the latest addition to Shah’s growing restaurant family. Maginhawa Group already operates several familiar London venues, including Caribbean smokehouse Guanabana, Filipino ice cream shop Mamasons and Filipino ramen concept Ramo, which has a location in Soho.
While combinations such as Filipino-inspired pastries and pizzas may sound unconventional, Shah says the concept is rooted firmly in his own upbringing rather than being an exercise in culinary fusion: “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.”
With a bakery by day, pizzas by night and Filipino flavours running throughout, Bunso looks set to become the newest chapter in Kentish Town’s increasingly diverse dining scene.
Where: Bunso, 1A Hawley Road, Kentish Town, London, NW1 8RP
When: Opening September 2026
Contact: @bybunso