Conflict Café, a pop-up restaurant by peacebuilding charity International Alert, is returning to London for its third year from 22 September – 2 October 2016 to inspire more strangers to start conversations about building peace through food. Tickets are now available here. Diners will sit at communal tables in the spectacular underground tunnels of House of Vans in Waterloo on London’s South Bank to enjoy traditional dishes while finding out more about issues facing countries affected by conflict. The initiative kicks off with Conflict Café: Lebanon, a country which ended its civil war just 10 years ago and is now hosting more than one million refugees displaced by the conflict in Syria. Lebanon week will be led by chef Imad Ghossain and conclude with a special brunch by Lazeez Lebanese Tapas and their chef Michael Sallaum.

The focus will then shift to the delicious flavours of Sri Lanka, where after nearly 30 years of conflict, more than a generation of Sri Lankans have grown up with no real experience of peace. Sri Lanka week will start with chef Mini of ZG Events taking over the Café and finish with a special brunch by Ruby Kughanathan of Papi’s Pickles. Conflict Café is part of the Talking Peace Festival organised by International Alert, a charity established by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other visionaries 30 years ago in a bid to secure an end to some of the world’s most bitter disputes.

Dates:

• Conflict Café Lebanon (19.00): Thursday 22 – Saturday 24 September
• Conflict Café Lebanon brunch special (12.00): Sunday 25 September
• Conflict Café Sri Lanka (19.00): Thursday 29 September – Saturday 1 October
• Conflict Café Sri Lanka brunch special (12.00): Sunday 2 October.

Tickets:

• Tickets are £35 for dinners and £20 for brunch. They are available online here.