We love the food at Comptoir Libanais – it is always fresh and delicious and it didn’t disappoint this visit either!
On to our visit – it was a Saturday evening after a busy day of kids activities and it was a warm day so we were looking forward to our meal at the Kingston Riverside.
The children were given a menu which included a sheet with puzzles and
img_2852colouring which they both enjoyed. They enjoyed it so much that they didn’t want to check out their menus! The kids eventually both decided on the same meal of Chicken wings served with hommos and Lebanese fries and got back to the important job of colouring and doing puzzles!
We love the mezze platters at Comptoir – they make a lovely lunch to share and it’s pretty much our favourite thing on the menu! This time, however, we decided to go for something different – we were here for dinner so we thought we’d try their “Feast Menu” – it was three courses and truly was a feast! I’d highly recommend it – but do make sure that you are hungry. The starter was a selection of mezze to share, we had:
Hommos – How do you spell it? I’m using the Comptoir spelling but these are all the alternative ways of spelling it apparently – * hommos, hommus, hoummos, hoummous, houmous, humus!
Baba Ghanuj -Smoked aubergines, tahini and lemon juice with pomegranate seeds – we love this – it’s so tasty and a hit with everyone.
Beetroot Labné – Natural strained yoghurt with beetroot, tahini, garlic & virgin olive oil – this looked gorgeous, the children loved the pink dip, it was very tasty.
Falafel – Chickpea & broad bean pate, coriander, parsley, garlic & peppers, served with tahina sauce – these were also very tasty and a hit with everyone.
Halloumi and tomato – the kids both loved the halloumi – I’m not such a fan but I didn’t really get much of a chance to try this as the kids had eaten it before I even got a chance to try it!
Cheese Sambousek -Pastry parcels filled with Lebanese cheese, parsley and cinnamon served with harissa sauce – both kids loved these – they are both cheese lovers (like their parents) so these went down a treat.
Batata Harra – Lebanese spiced fries with red pepper, fresh coriander, garlic and chili – this was cubed potatoes which had some spice – we enjoyed these but were getting pretty full.
Tabbouleh – bulgar wheat with lots of tasty fresh herbs, which we really love, this works so well with all the dips.
All of the above was accompanied by flat bread. As you can see the kids tucked in to our starter and there was plenty to go around! Yes, you heard right – that was just our starter!
For our main course we had:
Aubergine Tagine – which was amazing – we loved this slow cooked dish with couscous. The aubergine was very tasty. We also had a three skewer selection of lamb kofta, chicken kofta and chicken shish taouk served with vermicelli rice, this was also very tasty and the meat was lovely and tender.
Both kids enjoyed this and actually only ended up having a couple of their chicken wings preferring to eat our starter and the meat koftas. We know what to order them next time!
When our main course came we decided to treat ourselves to a couple of cocktails – it was Saturday night after all!
We had a rather boozy Mojito Twist and a very tasty Rose and Rum Daiquiri.
Dessert was Orange Blossom Mouhalabia, which is a traditional Lebanese milk pudding with date, fig, apricot, prune & sultana compote – this was a perfect finish to our meal. We were stuffed! This reminded us of a super light creme caramel. The kids had a good selection of dessert options but both plumped for the ice cream – which they both enjoyed.
We left full of good food and we had a great family meal out. We would definitely recommend a visit to Comptoir Libanais if you haven’t already been. It’s certainly family friendly and we love the vibrant decor inside the restaurant, we’ll be back for sure!
The highlights:
Food was served quickly, with generous portions.
Service was efficient and friendly.
The gorgeous riverside location.
Kids loved their kids pack which kept them well entertained.
The not so good bits:
When staff were busy it was a bit tricky to get their attention – but they were very helpful when we did get their attention.
Toilets could have been cleaner.
Facilities:
Baby change available
Space for buggies
Highchairs available
Kids Options:
Good range of options for kids with a variety of things for them to try for those who are more adventurous and good entertainment for kids who like colouring
Price:
The feast menu was £26.95 per person and represented excellent value for that.
Food:
9/10
Service:
9/10
Value for money:
9/10