What is kataifi pastry?

This threadlike dough, in fact shredded filo, plays a traditional role in Greek and Levantine confectionery and treats, and makes a good nest for dessert ingredients. We’re seeing it among new Middle Eastern restaurants, such as Palomar in Soho, where a rose and milk pudding comes with little coconut meringues and delicate strands of pastry.

At Honey & Co in Fitzrovia, the cream cheese and kataifi dessert with honey and pistachio might be the missing link between baklava and cheesecake. The chefs at Ametsa in Belgravia deploy it to wrap a lollipop of scorpion fish. And at Masa in Bristol, you can eat Japanese-style kataifi-clad prawns.