Comptoir Libanais

Lebanese and Middle Eastern restaurants in London and the UK. Our menu has healthy & fresh Lebanese food with great vegan/vegetarian options. Get the taste of Lebanon!

Comptoir Libanais | Lebanese canteen

http://www.comptoirlibanais.com

Review: Comptoir Libanais, Westgate Oxford | Bitten Oxford

Arriving for lunch two days after opening, Becca and I met the restaurant chain’s founder, Tony Kitous, who was full of passion for the food and excitement for the venue.

Seated with us at a beautiful copper-topped table by the main window, Tony chatted about his interest in using Comptoir Libanais to make Lebanese food as popular as Italian and to introduce the sociable element of the food to more people.

Just as the food started arriving and after Tony had left us to sample the flavours, Becca got a call and had to run off for an emergency.

Tony had right to be proud of his food though, everything was beautifully presented and there wasn’t a single dish that didn’t look and smell appetising.

One I’d highly recommend, and alongside Sticks N Sushi and Pizza Pilgrims (review coming soon) one of my current favourites at the new Westgate (see the full list of Oxford Westgate restaurants here).

Review: Comptoir Libanais at Westgate, Oxford: 'Exotic comfort food ...

A strong reason is its enviable location – right at the main entry to the centre with street access from Bonn Square.

There are unfamiliar-looking oils and sauces from North Africa and the Middle East beside piles of pomegranates and brightly-coloured preserved fruit.

Taking care not to let curiosity get the better of us and over-order, we kept it simple with a silky smooth hummus (£4.95), pleasantly smoky baba ghanuj (£5.50) – the baked aubergine given a sharp edge with lemon juice and, pleasingly, fresh pomegranate seeds – and, best of all, muhammara (£5.95) – a wonderful dip of ground roasted nuts, roasted red pepper, cumin and olive oil.

We also had some pleasantly spiced chargrilled ‘jawaneh’ chicken wings (£5.50 for five) prepared with garlic, lemon and pomegranate molasses.

The meat was abundant, and while a little dry, was rescued by being dolloped into pots of creamy labne yoghurt and harissa sauce.

Comptoir Libanais

Tony Kitous of Comptoir Libanais is credited with putting the glamour into Middle Eastern cuisine at his Levant, Pasha and Kenza restaurants and now brings his Lebanese home-style dishes to Riverside Walk, Kingston.

Comptoir Libanais means Lebanese counter and that’s exactly what it is: somewhere you can eat casually.”

Comptoir Libanais has brought Riverside Walk and Kingston an informal setting to relax and dine in with no fuss.

Restaurant review: Comptoir Libanais - Telegraph

I suppose what I disagree with most, besides myriad quibbles with individual damp pouches of pastry, is the premise: this kind of exotic but cheap meze arrangement has been readily available, only tastier and more authentic, for years.

All Comptoir brings to the table is the fact that it’s a chain (as well as this branch, there’s one in the Westfield shopping centre and another slated); it’s like having a McDonald’s open at the end of your road, and then being told that, finally, your area has been blessed with fast, affordable chips.

I was meeting a friend, M, and we thought we would cover a few bases with a mixed meze plate, which consisted of a heap of tabbouleh, some lentil and wild-rice salad, falafel, hommos (their spelling), baba ghanoush, Dead Sea pickles and a couple of cheese samboussek (£9.50).

I can’t fathom it: there’s almost nothing you can do to ruin a delicious bit of cheese (or pumpkin and walnut) wrapped in pastry, apart from precook it then microwave it.

The Sands meze menu comprises 12 dishes, including baba ghanoush, lemony grilled aubergine, and chicken wings in a garlic and coriander sauce (£18.50 per person) The Mahfouz family has just celebrated 21 years of service at this popular restaurant.

Comptoir Libanais Festive Menu Review - Comptoir Libanais ...

Tony Kitous first opened Comptoir Libanais in 2008, choosing the name, which means Lebanese Counter, because he wanted customers to be able to pop in to sample delicious Lebanese flavours or buy something bejewelled and colourful to take home and remind them of their experience.

Tapping into his childhood memories Tony wanted to create authentic, home-style Middle Eastern recipes, making ‘souk style’ Lebanese cuisine accessible to everyone – it must have worked because he now has 21 restaurants across the UK.

For the festive season, Tony and the team at Comptoir Libanais have designed a menu with a playful twist on the traditional flavours they associate with Christmas, combining them with the fragrant herbs and spices of the Middle-East.

For mains, I enjoyed the twist on the classic roast turkey – Grilled Turkey Kofta – spiced minced turkey, herbs & onions served with vermicelli rice, a divine Lebanese salad and a spiced orange blossom cranberry sauce.

For the finale we indulged in a selection of desserts all served family-style so everyone could tuck in, these included: a spectacular rose and red berry chocolate cake, orange blossom and spiced Lebanese fruits mouhalabia and a selection of sweet Christmas baklawas – pastries with nuts and honey as well as chocolate, ginger and orange flavours – ideal for Christmas and all served with a traditional fresh Rose Mint tea.

Le Comptoir Libanais restaurant review - Sneaky Veg

When you’re eating out with your kids do you prefer a place with a children’s menu or one where they can just choose from the main menu or share your portion?

Although I like the idea of my kids eating off the main menu I know that in reality they often won’t like the food and I don’t like sharing my food because I want to eat it all myself (!)

So when we popped into Le Comptoir Libanais in South Kensington en route to the science museum I was thrilled to see that they did have a children’s menu but it didn’t contain any of the usual kids classics such as nuggets and chips, sausages, mac n cheese, fish fingers etc.

Yes, the children’s menu has five main courses on it, two of which are vegetarian and one of which is gluten free.

Le Comptoir Libanais is a Lebanese restaurant and so there are a lot of meat dishes on the menu.

Restaurant review: Comptoir Libanais - Telegraph

I suppose what I disagree with most, besides myriad quibbles with individual damp pouches of pastry, is the premise: this kind of exotic but cheap meze arrangement has been readily available, only tastier and more authentic, for years.

All Comptoir brings to the table is the fact that it’s a chain (as well as this branch, there’s one in the Westfield shopping centre and another slated); it’s like having a McDonald’s open at the end of your road, and then being told that, finally, your area has been blessed with fast, affordable chips.

I was meeting a friend, M, and we thought we would cover a few bases with a mixed meze plate, which consisted of a heap of tabbouleh, some lentil and wild-rice salad, falafel, hommos (their spelling), baba ghanoush, Dead Sea pickles and a couple of cheese samboussek (£9.50).

I can’t fathom it: there’s almost nothing you can do to ruin a delicious bit of cheese (or pumpkin and walnut) wrapped in pastry, apart from precook it then microwave it.

The Sands meze menu comprises 12 dishes, including baba ghanoush, lemony grilled aubergine, and chicken wings in a garlic and coriander sauce (£18.50 per person) The Mahfouz family has just celebrated 21 years of service at this popular restaurant.

Comptoir Libanais | Restaurants in Soho, London