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Even if you’re not vegan and live miles from Kensal Rise, you won’t regret making a journey north-west for this. An animal-free sister restaurant to nearby Comptoir Mezze, the smaller Comptoir V features the same Middle-Eastern-themed décor and menu, minus the meat – with playfully named plates such as the 'it's no jerk' burger and a 'carrot smash'.
I usually have no time for beetroot. But I had nothing but admiration for CV’s spicy beetroot hummus, which was creamy, fiery and utterly mop-up-able. An excellent shakshuka was rich, thick and nicely spiced, and tempura-battered ‘vegan dynamite shrimp’ was too intriguing not to order. Did it taste like shrimp? Kind of. But it was delicious, so who cares? Then there was the Moroccan ‘ghife’ bread. Oh my. Similar to an Indian paratha, this was flaky, chewy, buttery (with no dairy, remember), heavenly stuff, perfect for soaking up all those big flavours.
The one letdown was a tagine. The sauce had a good flavour, but the vegetable selection was uninspiring. Stick to small plates instead. Desserts were wonderfully indulgent. The ghife-based Moroccan pancakes filled with caramelised biscuit spread were irresistible: it turns out anything on ghife is glorious. The banana and date crumble, swimming in custard, was soon a blissfully gooey mess. To top it off, prices are reasonable and the drinks list is impressive, whether you’re after something boozy or healthy – all vegan, of course.
Get on the Overground to NW10 and start getting more ghife in your life.