Bubala is a Middle Eastern restaurant that started as a popup and has now expanded into three thriving permanent sites.
Bubala, meaning darling in Yiddish, was founded by Marc Summers (formerly of Berber & Q) with a vision to bring delicious meat-free Middle Eastern food to London.
Since Marc partnered with Prysm Financial’s specialist restaurant accountants to manage all aspects of their finance function, Bubala has benefited from regular and robust reporting, with the directors being freed up to fine tune performance.
A Middle Eastern Restaurant That Happens To Be Vegetarian
Following a successful popup, the first permanent location opened in Spitalfields in 2019, followed by a second site in Soho in 2022, and a third which opened in King’s Cross in Spring 2025.
While the menu is exclusively vegetarian, the restaurant prides itself first on the quality of its Middle Eastern dishes. It has always been keen not to be pigeonholed first and foremost as a vegetarian restaurant.
Bold, complex flavours and textures feature throughout the menu, with high-quality vegetarian dishes given the spotlight they deserve.
Hummus, falafel and labneh feature prominently, but inspiration is also drawn from the founders’ Jewish heritage, with the inclusion of confit potato latkes and a pickle plate.
A SLOW AND MANUAL FINANCE FUNCTION
As the business grew, so did the complexity of managing finances.
Bubala previously relied on a small bookkeeping firm with manual, paper-based processes. Invoices and receipts were forwarded ad-hoc, financial information was delayed and historic, and valuable founder time was diverted from operations to administration.
This lack of timely financial insight made it difficult to make data-informed decisions and plan confidently for growth.
FIXING THE FINANCE FUNCTION
Prysm Financial stepped in as Bubala’s outsourced finance department, overhauling the entire finance function using leading cloud-based tools, including Apron. Tasks such as invoice management, payment runs, bookkeeping, and reconciliations were automated or centralized in a single system.
SCALING WITH CONFIDENCE
With a streamlined, insight-driven finance function and a solid operational foundation, Bubala is poised for continued growth.
The team have opened their third permanent site in King’s Cross – with Prysm Financial continuing to support their expansion.
With Prysm Financial, Bubala now benefits from:
- Regular, detailed multi-site reporting delivered by an agreed date each month,
- More accurate profit visibility,
- KPIs and sector-specific benchmarks to guide strategic decisions,
- Regular review meetings to explore opportunities and solve challenges.
Introductory Meeting
With over 30 years of combined experience, our digitally-enhanced finance function provides restaurant and hospitality entrepreneurs with financial clarity and specialist advice to navigate past obstacles, identify opportunities and grow with confidence.
To arrange an introductory meeting,
or for a quote, please complete the below form.
