[Non-photo review]…read more
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Enlivening London Lebanese
Summary:
Comptoir Libanais succeeds at what it sets out to do: serve good-quality Lebanese food in a fun environment at affordable prices. It certainly makes a good pit-stop if you're walking through a shopping center and get hungry or if you have a branch near your office, and fits the bill for a quick bite before a film. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here, but the food we had was good and there is a decent selection of Lebanese wines, plus you can pick up a brightly-colored handbag or pair of shoes while you're at it!
A new place in an old haunt
Well, after my last post, I will try to make this one, short, sweet and to-the-point!
Mrs. LF and I were invited to sample the fare at the recently opened branch of Comptoir Libanais on Finchley Road in North London. It's located in the O2 Centre (please note, it is in NW3 and is NOT 'The O2' arena!), a shopping center I am very familiar with having lived in the general vicinity more or less since I've been a resident in London. The inside of the shopping center which is home to many other eateries (there's a big YO! Sushi, for example), a few large shops and a movie theater had a makeover not all that long ago. It has been whitewashed and is all clean lines inside now, compared to the rainforest theme it originally maintained, where squirting water fountains lined the towering escalators.
Lest I not deviate and ramble too long on things other than the restaurant in question, let me come back to Comptoir Libanais. The brainchild of Tony Kitous, who is also involved with Levant, Pasha and Kenza, Comptoir Libanais strives to bring Lebanese home-style dishes to the High Streetit's food that's affordable and easy to know. Fair enough, then.
I used to frequent Levant, the fun and vibrant subterranean Lebanese world just off Wigmore Street, a number of years ago and always had a good time (the food was often good too). Having passed by the Wigmore Street Comptoir Libanais just after it opened and then having been repeatedly tempted by the one stationed in Westfield's first floor food court, it was high time I got off my posterior and tried some of their food.
As we walked up to the entryway, it certainly looked inviting and appetizing. There is an open 'kitchen' on full display and the colors and design motifs are bright and fun.
One of the first things you notice is that, in addition to the food, there are many other things for sale at this veritable mini-bazaar everything from a number of Lebanese wines (some decent ones too), handbags, shoes and various spices, tinned/jarred foods and soft drinks.
We weren't sure whether to sit down and wait for someone to serve us or whether we were meant to order at the counter, so we just went up to the counter and started asking for stuff!
From Kofta to Ksara
Most of what you can eat is attractively displayed at the counter, so it's quite easy to just start pointing at things that look good (which can make the bill add up if you're not careful a clever ploy I suppose, given the relatively low prices of most of the food).
Luckily, as we were guests of the restaurant (yes, please note, we were not paying), we were able to throw caution to the wind (within reason, of course), and literally did just start pointing at stuff. This wasn't helped by the fact that we were joined by the ever-ravenous @mathildecuisine and @dewilded from Mathilde's Cuisine, who seem to have become familiar dining partners as of late, and who coerced us into ordering a few more dishes.
After the first round of ordering took place, we dutifully shuffled off to find a table and waited for things to begin arriving. As Mrs. LF and I are quite fond of chillies and pickles, I requested a small sampling for the table, and wasn't disappointed. They were all quite more-ish and I enjoyed alternating between the other dishes and the little sampling of green and pink (which was kindly replenished a few times for us).
The first dish I ventured to sample was the attractive tabbouleh salad, which lived up to its appearance and was fresh, citrus-sharp, crunchy and chewy. It did the job of opening our appetites as if we really needed help.
Everyone seemed to like the hommos at Comptoir Libanais except me I thought it was so-so. A bit more tahina and a tad more seasoning wouldn't have gone amiss, at least according to my palate. That said, the baba ghanuj was right on the money, displaying that familiar deep, rich and smoky aubergine flavor which was accented by the odd sharp and sweet crimson pomegranate seed.
Whereas the rest of the party felt the labneh (stained yogurt with zataar and olive oil) was mediocre, I actually quite liked it. It's never going to be complicated, but it was creamy, slightly sour and I appreciated the little touch of herbaceous flavor that the zataar brought to the table (it's made up
