Restaurants

Marcelle has been running her restaurant for 13 years now. It is still very much a one-woman show, with this formidable Lebanese lady doing all the cooking herself in the large kitchen that occupies the rear of the one modest room. The menu is a laminated card of 36 meze, plus standard grilled meat mains. Portions are generous: the falafel are the size of tennis balls, and chicken livers come in a mountainous heap, swimming in a rich gravy far too good to leave (the dish comes with a heap of bread for mopping up said gravy). Three or four meze make more than a meal for two, so order sparingly. Mains include a highly recommended stuffed lamb', which isn't stuffed but baked, cut thinly, layered on cinnamon rice and topped with sliced pistachios and almonds. Note that the restaurant is cash or cheque only, with the nearest ATM a 20-minute walk away on Kensington High Street.

Time Out Cheap Eats in London Guide 2007