On Thursday I went to Levant for dinner with two friends. This is one of my favourite Lebanese restaurants, just off of st Christopher's Place near Oxford Street, London.
You descend into a subterranean Middle-Eastern palace, down tiled steps strewn with rose petals and lit with moroccan metal filigree lamps...the restaurant itself is darkly lit and each table has a candle in the centre...some of the tables for two have beaten metalwork tops and are just beautiful. If you are in a large group ask for one of the two areas which has a u shaped seating arrangement around a low slung table, with loads of cushions and dark lamps...totally atmospheric and great fun to sit low to the floor!
You must try the Bahr cocktail...a heady combination of lychee liqeur, vanilla vodka, vanilla liquer and fresh mint...its heavenly- and we certainly imbibed a cocktail or two!
We stuck to a wide variety of mezze and with a 50% offer courtesy of http://www.toptable.com/ we were pleasantly surprised by a very cheap bill at the end of the evening!
The mezze were served with puffed up pitta bread balls hot from the oven... and we sampled the following:
--Velvety smooth Hummus -that intoxicating blend of Chickpea puree, tahina, lemon juice & pine nuts.
--Smoky Baba ghannuge-Grilled aubergine dip made with tahina & lemon juice came studded with pomegranate seeds, the pink jewels accompanying a flourish of flat leaf parsley. This dish is I think of their strongest- mellow aubergine, hint of smoke and the refreshing crunch of the pomegranate seeds! Yum!
--Makale samak or deep fried baby squid served alongside a coconut & chilli sauce were delicate fronds of squid with a very light batter and were totally delicious! And second serving of these were soon ordered!
--Crisp round Falafel -Chickpea patties served with tahini & garlic yoghurt sauce were light and crisp to the bite
--Batata harra -Spicy sautéed potatoes with red pepper, fresh coriander, garlic & chilli were toothsome and soft, with a generous flavouring of garlic and coriander.
--Fattoush Salad- a glorious concoction of Parsley, mint, cherry tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, spring onion, olive oil with crispy bread & sumac acted as a refreshing counterpoint to some of the richer dishes and was served beautifully on a wonderful glazed pottery plate...
Levant is a great place for a meal for two or even better for larger groups- our service was fantastic, warm, friendly and efficient whilst not being over bearing. Go back? You try and stop me!
Did u get the complimentary cucumber though :)
ReplyDeleteJoking aside. Levant is FAB!