Middlesbrough restaurant delights international guests
Teesside Live covers Bazaar hosting international visitors in Middlesbrough for a gaming industry conference.
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✳ Press & media
Bazaar in the press
From the first look inside to the guests who call it their favourite: what has been written about Bazaar, and our latest news.
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Teesside LiveTees BusinessMiddlesbrough CouncilHyphenWe Are MiddlesbroughVisit Tees Valley
✳ Latest news · October 2026
Two years in, Bazaar sets the table for its biggest Christmas yet.
Two years after opening its doors on Captain Cook Square, Bazaar is launching a new website and its first full Christmas programme: festive menus throughout December, Christmas parties for teams and families, and Christmas Day lunch across three sittings.
Since opening in July 2024, Bazaar has become one of Middlesbrough’s most talked-about dining rooms. Guests sit in the middle of the action, around an open kitchen built on live fire: an Italian copper pizza oven reported to be the largest in Europe, a Josper charcoal grill and an in-house dry-ageing cabinet, in a room its designers, Cocoon & Bauer, set out to make “reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil”.
This December, Bazaar will serve a festive à la carte and a Christmas lunch menu throughout the month, with Christmas Day lunch at 12:00, 14:30 and 16:30. Christmas Day is booked by phone on 01642 609010.
Chef and owner Tarek Thoma BEM, who worked in Michelin-starred kitchens including L’Escargot in London before returning to Teesside, is also writing his first cookbook, bringing together Egyptian family recipes and the Arab-French cooking of Bazaar.
“Bazaar was built so people could see, smell and hear their dinner being made. Two years on, what makes me proudest is the regulars: the families who come back for Sunday lunch and the friends who bring someone new every time. This Christmas we want to give Middlesbrough a table worth gathering around.”
Tarek Thoma BEM, chef and owner, Bazaar
Notes to editors
Bazaar is an independent restaurant on Captain Cook Square, Middlesbrough. It opened in July 2024, creating 50 jobs in the town centre.
Chef and owner Tarek Thoma received the British Empire Medal in 2021 for delivering food and essentials to vulnerable people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Interior design by Cocoon & Bauer. High-resolution images and interviews are available on request.
Media enquiries: info@bazaarrestaurant.co.uk · 01642 609010
✳ In the press
What they’ve said about Bazaar.
Easily my favourite restaurant in Middlesbrough
I went for Sunday lunch for the first time recently and it blew me away. Top notch.
Food creator and The Traitors contestant Faraaz Noor named Bazaar his best restaurant pick in an interview with Hyphen, calling it “easily my favourite restaurant in Middlesbrough.”
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An atmosphere reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil
The finished restaurant exudes style, charm, and originality.
The interior designers behind Bazaar on arches inspired by Middle Eastern bazaars, terracotta-carved brick, hanging greenery and a dessert canopy shaped like cascading chocolate over a three-tiered cake.
See the project
First look inside stunning new Middlesbrough restaurant Bazaar
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for grown ups.
Teesside Live went behind the scenes before opening: diners seated in the middle of the action, with views of the chefs, the Italian copper pizza oven, the mixologist, the pastry chef and the fire.
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Mayor's praise as exciting new restaurant with 'wow factor' creates 50 jobs
From the moment you step inside, Bazaar has the wow factor and will impress visitors from far and wide.
Mayor of Middlesbrough Chris Cooke toured Bazaar before opening, praising its ambition and its role at the heart of Captain Cook Square, as the restaurant created 50 new jobs in the town centre.
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A restaurant like nothing else on offer in Middlesbrough
The food is the most important thing to keep customers coming back to any restaurant, and Bazaar will be no different.
The first announcement of Bazaar: an open kitchen, international flavours, a copper pizza oven made in Italy and a dessert station, in a former bank building wrapped in an ornate glass orangery.
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The British Empire Medal
Chef Tarek Thoma received the British Empire Medal in 2021 for delivering food and essentials to vulnerable people in the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Cooking for world leaders
Before Bazaar, Tarek worked in Michelin-starred kitchens including L’Escargot in London, and in 2003 cooked for Tony Blair and President George W. Bush at the Dun Cow in Sedgefield.
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We tried Bazaar restaurant – so should you
Soft, chewy and perfect for dipping.
A family visit from the town’s official guide: dishes described as “top quality, fresh”, attentive staff who “made a fuss of the kids”, and careful handling of allergies and gluten-free choices.
Read the reviewA restaurant you won't forget
Bazaar Restaurant in Middlesbrough is a restaurant you won’t forget.
The official Tees Valley visitor guide lists Bazaar among the region’s places to eat: “Fusing modern cooking techniques with ancient methods, Bazaar restaurant has some of the finest dishes in Tees Valley!”
See the listing✳ In a few words
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for grown ups.”
Teesside Live
“Bazaar has the wow factor and will impress visitors from far and wide.”
Chris Cooke, Mayor of Middlesbrough
“Easily my favourite restaurant in Middlesbrough.”
Faraaz Noor, via Hyphen
✳ Media enquiries
Writing about Bazaar?
For interviews with Chef Tarek, high-resolution images or a visit to the kitchen, contact the team.