He sits us down in one of three Belmont chairs wrapped in camel-coloured leather and offers us a coffee from a gleaming La Marzocco machine manned by Virgil, who uses beans from Dubai roaster Nightjar.
“The haircut is only 20 per cent,” says Zaituni cryptically as he spins us round. “What keeps people coming back is everything else: music, interiors, staff, coffee, products. You don’t want to be stressed when you get a haircut, you want to relax.” With Future Islands and Fleetwood Mac playing during our visit, his wish was achieved.
Zaituni has Panamanian, Mexican and Lebanese heritage, and was brought up in Malaysia. He spent eight years in London with Truefitt & Hill, setting up international outlets of the historic British barbering company.