Restaurants

Taken in the right spirit and company, a night at Levant could be hugely enjoyable. Diners head down a candlelit, rose petal-strewn staircase, and pull open a heavy wooden door to reveal an oriental wonderland. There’s an attractive bar area with low tables and, beyond, the restaurant with brass-topped tables, beaded lamps and walls with tadelakt (lime plaster)-effect walls. You can bet your bottom lira that a belly dancer will appear during the evening. Unfortunately, the menu is equally staged. Diners are presented with prix-fixe options only. Starting at £29 for three meze plus a main, and peaking with the ‘kharuf feast’ of a whole roasted lamb (minimum of eight people) at £60 a head, these aren’t cheap. So it’s especially unwelcome when staff try to bump you up to a higher priced meal by explaining that meze are ‘small and not very filling’. Quality is variable. Our goat’s cheese roundels studded with sesame seeds were lovely; fried cauliflower had a lemony zest; but the pastry parcels, sambousek and fatayer were doughy. Mains attempt to make up for in volume what they lack in finesse. ‘Are you having a fantastic Lebanese experience?’ asked our waiter. ‘Keep enjoying it,’ he said, without really listening to our answer.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008