If you love your Lebanese food then you will certainly want to visit Comptoir Libanais. Located in Bluewater, Kent, the restaurant is one that will have your taste buds going crazy. It’s a very vibrantly themed restaurant with lots of artwork dotted around and decor with all kinds of traditional goods. The food here is cooked fresh and prepared onsite and is full of taste. The Lebanese food is extremely healthy with the main lot of dishes being grilled/charcoaled meats, with mixes of salads and lentils.
For starters, I would recommend the mezze platter (served for 1 or 2 people) which consists of Baba ghanuj, hommos, tabbouleh, falafel, lentil salad, cheese sambousek, pickles & pita bread. I found this a perfect starter as it contained a little of most of the individual starts on the menu and was lovely to get a real authentic taste of middle eastern cuisine. The mezze platter is priced at £9.50/£15.95 dependent on one or two people portions.
Other hot mezze favourites of mine that are on the menu consist of grilled halloumi (A native Cypriot cheese, which is a favourite in the Middle East) and Jawaneh (Chargrilled marinated chicken wings).
If your coming in for a light lunch or want to eat something not overly heavy for dinner, but still full of taste, you could always opt for a wrap – meat eater or vegetarian- there is something for you. The wraps are available as Falafel, Chicken Touk, Lamb Kofta or Halloumi and Olive. They are all served with a lovely side salad and pickles. Wraps are priced at £8.50.
There are more mains which consist of the more traditional type of Moroccan dishes and these are the Tagines (slow cooked casseroles), The Grill sections, Chefs specials and flatbreads. The tagines come in a range of different culinary flavours and ingredients such as the ones below
Aubergine- £8.95
Baked aubergine in a rich tomato & chickpea sauce garnished with mint yoghurt Lamb Kofta- £9.95 – This is a family favourite, and highly recommended.
Spiced minced lamb, tomato, carrots, peppers & courgettes garnished with mint yoghurt
Chicken & Green Olives- £10.45
Chicken breast, green olives, carrots & preserved lemons
Lamb & Prunes- £10.95
Tender lamb, butternut squash & peas with prunes & roasted almonds The “From the Grill” section of the menu has a personal favourite of mine which is the mixed grill.
This consists of Lamb kofta, chicken kofta, chicken shish taouk served with vermicelli rice and are garnished with various traditional sauces and dips and a green chilli. I love this dish as the meats are tender and extremely tasty and very healthy too. The mixed grill is priced at £13.25.
Another great tasting main course to recommend is The Comptoir Lamb Burger. This burger was juicy, moist, tender and full of flavour. The burger is Grilled and inside has the harissa mayonnaise served with batata harra (Lebanese spiced fries), with red pepper, fresh coriander, garlic and chilli. This dish is priced at £9.45.
The service and staff were great and the restaurant is perfect for stopping by at after a bit of retail therapy. There is also an in-store shop for purchasing some middle eastern delights ranging from Baklava to Pistachio delights to traditional handbags. If you love your lemonades, check out the range here as they are freshly made on premises and the Roomana (Pomegranate & orange blossom) is the one to try.
Aside from this, there is a wide range of drinks available from beers, wines, soft drinks to teas and coffees. It’s a lovely restaurant which is perfect for couples and families alike.
