ON a balmy evening a couple of weeks ago I had the good fortune to go and try out the newest addition to Winchester's panoply of restaurants – Lebanese House.
It was the day before owner Mohamed Elshabrawy's official first night, but the restaurant's doors had subtly opened unannounced earlier that week, so we snuck in to experience the city's first exponent of Lebanese cuisine.
The restaurant, completed from scratch only a few weeks earlier, is airy and relaxed and tactically positioned on City Road between the station and Theatre Royal.
Not being familiar with Lebanese food, or middle-eastern food at all really, the flavours of the starters – spicy baba ganouj, vine leaves, moussaka and foul moudames (a creamy fava bean dip) – were a pleasant surprise and a fun way to eat with so many dishes to choose from.
READ MORE: Lebanese House opens its doors to customers in Winchester
There was also a red Lebanese wine, another first for both of us, which was perfectly quaffable.
Our waitress showed a saintly level of patience in answering our many questions about the fairly extensive menu, eventually helping us to choose the mixed grill with chicken and lamb and the kouzi, a slow-cooked lamb dish on a bed of seasoned rice.
It was all delicious. By this point we were splitting at the seems to the extent that we couldn't even contemplate the idea of dessert, but we didn't feel bogged down by the buckets of grease they seem to pour into dishes in some restaurants.
The food was simple, very tasty and new, and everyone was lovely.
When my companion said she doesn't eat gluten, our waitress promptly appeared with a plateful of fresh veg so she could sample the dips.
SEE ALSO: Lebanese restaurant to open in City Road, Winchester
This is not a restaurant you need to think much about going to, or think much about being in when you're there. Lebanese House is very much a spur-of-the-moment, just drop in kind of place (that's a compliment, for me).
It's strange to think it had only just opened when we went there – there was no rustiness on the part of the staff and Mohamed, who already has another Lebanese House in Newbury, seems already to have instilled an atmosphere of hospitality.
Hats off to him and his team.
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