LEBANON VIA BELGRAVIA – FINE LEBANESE DINING ABD EL WAHAB LONDON

AUTHENTICITY, COMFORT AND AMAZING CUISINE.

I was so delighted to attend a dining experience event last week at a new super romantic authentic #Lebanese restaurant Abd el Wahab. With over 40 restaurants in the Middle East the parent company thankfully decided to open doors for us in the UK and set up an incredibly divine setting here in London. Mark Dickinson, UK Director for Abd el Wahab, graced me with fresh, glorious and invitingly delicious Lebanese cuisine on Pont Street, London.

Watered with lots of prosecco and red wine, I was welcomed by Mark and his team to an adventure of tremendous flavours served in a modern, but tremendously cosy dining area.

An escape from the hustle

The ambience made one feel like they had stepped out of the hustle and bustle of the chaos of London traffic and had a relaxed but also beautiful soothing vibe.

The setting of the restaurant is simple and bright yet full of colour. The sky blue awning on this beautiful spring evening made the memories of  the beast from the east fade away. The designers from Beirut have given the London venue a remarkable home away from home setting.

The natural lighting, which worked so well with what seemed to be the first nice spring day in #London; a picturesque fireplace, the greenery and gold leafed ceiling, combined with the warm smiles from the host and his staff made me feel instantly relaxed. With the aromas within this perfectly lit venue, I was captivated and couldn't wait to embark on this colossal Lebanese dining experience.

The Meal Begins

I was shown to the table, well in actuality, a place at the banquet table amongst other food lovers. I took my pew and sat eagerly waiting to try out everything they had to offer. The meal consisted of cold starters, hot starters, 2 main courses and a delicious dessert course to wrap things up.

Speaking of refreshing, I fell absolutely in love with the Tabbouleh. Made with such a great balance of parsley, unlike those you find else where, the ingredients were beyond fresh and the flavours were just spoonfuls of wows in my mouth.

I found myself dipping into the bowl many times and could easily say it was one of those unforgettable dishes I have had for a long time. Not one I think I could recreate, so I WILL be back for more.

I personally wasn't really a fan of the vine leaves and the mixed pickles, but that was down to my tastes. I am not really a fan of heavily pickled dishes.

The hot starters served were Sojok – spicy sausages, Pan Fried Eggs with Kawarma Meat, Cheese Rolls, Kebbeh – deep fried ball stuffed with minced meat.

With my new found discovery to the negative reaction I have to eating chicken and eggs, I unfortunately couldn't try the Egg/lamb dish, Pan fried Eggs with Kawarma Meat. Though the aroma was dreamingly delicious I had to take the word from the other guests at the table through their sighs of pleasures tucking away at the bowl set in front of us. As a previous egg eater, I wouldn't have thought to mix mince lamb with egg, but it will be something I hopefully can try one day. Another favourite for the night were the Sojok, mini sausages. The way I would describe them would be a much nicer version of chorizo. A bit sweet and spicy, but a much nicer texture. The Kebbeh were wonderful as well. I loved the fact that even being deep fried, they were not drenched with oil, so you could taste the flavours within the minced lamb.

The starters each had very individual distinct flavours and it all worked so well together. Though a lot of the food would have been cooked in oils, the selections were very light and not very filling, in a positive way. I sit here a few days after still remembering the smells and the flavours, wanting so bad to have these items every day if possible. One of the best starts to a meal I have experienced. With the decor and the staffs attentiveness it made me feel like I was sitting amongst family and with no rush to eat, I could enjoy my dishes wholly literally embracing every single ingredient at my own pace.

A MEAL FIT FOR A MS KING!

The main courses consisted of a mixed grill of lamb and chicken, Maghmour--Lebanese Moussaka and Ouzzi, slow cooked leg of lamb.The lamb mince skewers on the Mixed grill platter were a bit on the spicy side, but packed full of amazing flavours. Of course I couldn't eat the chicken, but enjoyed the lamb pieces that were part of the mixed Grill.

The Maghmour was splendid. Flavours that hit me were sweet and rich, but moorish. It was a lovely complement to the meal. I have a bit of a love and dislike relationship with Lamb. I want to say I loved everything but the Ouzzi for me was not a memorable dish for me. To me, it lacked the punchy flavours that we had just experienced in the earlier dishes. The texture was good for someone who likes a bit of melt in your mouth meat. But I found it a bit too fatty and stringy, not a combination I really enjoy. 

By now, I had had an equally enjoyable amount of fine wine, #prosecco and water and had a little breather before the desserts course.

...AND FOR THOSE WITH A SWEET SENSATION...

So, for the final part of this wonderful journey of exotic flavours I was offered the Maamoul Flake and Lebanese Baklawa. If you read my piece in The Bespoke Black Book about puddings, you would know that I am not really a sweet tooth and could easily skip a dessert course and not shed any tears. HOWEVER, I tried these beautifully presented dishes. I loved the level of sweetness they had. Though they looked like a plate of a sugar high, it was extremely delicious and was not overpowering what so ever. A new pudding winner in my teeny list of favourite sweet endings.

The Flake was so light and melted in your mouth, it was quite surprising from its look. The selection of Baklava was beyond lovely, as I mentioned above, the tastes of nuttiness, sweetness and aromas were evenly balanced and made a perfect ending to this exotic dining expedition. I am very grateful to have been invited along to this fantastic restaurant. I look forward to returning to try out more of the wonderful Abd el Wahab cuisine made authentically by the incredible Lebanese chefs. It is definitely and ideal place to bring a date, friends or family. I am even going to go as far as to say, even if you were on your own you would still feel very welcomed within the restaurant.

• Address: Abd el Wahab 1 – 3 Pont Street, Belgravia, SW1X 9EL

• Telephone: 0207 235 1100

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• Website: HTTP://GHIAHOLDING.COM