Comptoir Libanais Soho

Comptoir Libanais already have branches in Westfield London, Westfield Stratford, South Kensington and Wigmore Street W1 but I went to try the newest Soho opening on Broadwick Street, W1, just off Carnaby Street.

Comptoir Libanais is all about affordable, simple home-style Lebanese dishes. Everything is fresh and feels healthy. This new branch has the same atmosphere as the others with a canteen style, and cutlery in a tin on each table; most tables are for two or four people but can be pulled together. There is also a 'bar' where diners can sit both sides. The music is lively and made us all feel happy, as did the welcoming staff.

A little of the Middle Eastern souk decorates the walls with merchandise for sale from specialist foods to handmade bags and ornate teapots.

Speaking of the staff, there's table service and they were able to help us with pronunciations on the menu and could describe the dishes well which was a huge benefit as I dined with my daughter and my favorite picky eater. We all fell in love with the fresh lemonades, especially the Apple, Mint & Ginger which was a slightly concerning green color but was immensely refreshing and truly delicious. I'd go back just for that again and again.

Is Lebanese for Everyone?

We went for dinner and had a big choice on the menu even for me as a vegetarian, for my young daughter (there's a kid's menu), and for my friend who doesn't like vegetables. The Tabbouleh salad with wonderfully fresh and the Lamb Sambousek savory pastries were considered not too spicy and really good with the yogurt dip.

The choice of main dishes was again good and we chose wraps and a tagine. The wraps come with a sizable Comptoir salad and were a big hit with us all. My daughter actually left her tagine to 'steal' half of my Halloumi & Olive Wrap as it was so good. We felt the portions were generous and we'll have to go back as we didn't even get onto the Lebanese staples of hummus and falafels.

No dinner is complete without dessert so we tried the cheesecake, baklawa and ice-cream. (It's only vanilla ice-cream but it comes with a choice of topping duos to add and, interestingly, is the same price plain or with extras so that confirmed we wanted toppings.)

While we were there some came in for a take-away, others stopped for mint tea with friends. Some ordered a bottle of wine to share and, as we left, the cocktails were gaining in popularity.

I think they've got it right here and the prices are perfectly reasonable so I'll be going back regularly to try more of the menu and a lot more of the fresh lemonade.

Address:
59 Broadwick Street, London W1F 9QH

Website: www.lecomptoir.co.uk

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.