Restaurant Review: Fakhreldine
Last night, I went to a wonderful Lebanese restaurant in Green Park, Fakhreldine. First of all, the location is wonderful. Our table was right by the window overlooking Green Park, which would have been a really amazing view during the day. My dining companion maintains that this restaurant serves the best Lebanese food in London. I'm not sure it is the best Lebanese food in London, but it's certainly very good.
For starters we ordered fattoush and tabboule salads, hoummos and pita bread. The fattoush was excellent, certainly better than any I've had so far, and the tabboule was good, but it wasn't as good as the tabboule I'm used to making at home. The hoummous was excellent and the pita bread was very fresh (the worst thing in the world is stale pita bread!). For my main course, I ordered kibbeh labanieh, which is a dish of meat balls cooked in yogurt and served with rice and coriander garlic sauce. It was excellent, although the sauce could have used a splash of lemon juice to brighten the flavor.
The service at Fakhreldine was less than satisfactory. It's a shame because Lebanon's claim to fame (besides food and partying) is its hospitality. It took ages for our waiter to notice we were waiting to order, although once he did, the service was prompt, but still lacking the Lebanese hospitality I'm accustomed to.
Overall, the food was exactly what you'd expect from Lebanese cuisine, but that's also a bit problematic. On the one hand, the familiar dishes took me on a sensory journey home, but on the other hand, the food was very much like traditional, home-cooked fare and I expect more from a restaurant. I prefer to eat in restaurants who can best my culinary efforts at home and surprise me with new twists and ideas, but I suppose the restaurant's regular clientele just want the familiar tastes of home. The restaurant's contact information is:
For starters we ordered fattoush and tabboule salads, hoummos and pita bread. The fattoush was excellent, certainly better than any I've had so far, and the tabboule was good, but it wasn't as good as the tabboule I'm used to making at home. The hoummous was excellent and the pita bread was very fresh (the worst thing in the world is stale pita bread!). For my main course, I ordered kibbeh labanieh, which is a dish of meat balls cooked in yogurt and served with rice and coriander garlic sauce. It was excellent, although the sauce could have used a splash of lemon juice to brighten the flavor.
The service at Fakhreldine was less than satisfactory. It's a shame because Lebanon's claim to fame (besides food and partying) is its hospitality. It took ages for our waiter to notice we were waiting to order, although once he did, the service was prompt, but still lacking the Lebanese hospitality I'm accustomed to.
Overall, the food was exactly what you'd expect from Lebanese cuisine, but that's also a bit problematic. On the one hand, the familiar dishes took me on a sensory journey home, but on the other hand, the food was very much like traditional, home-cooked fare and I expect more from a restaurant. I prefer to eat in restaurants who can best my culinary efforts at home and surprise me with new twists and ideas, but I suppose the restaurant's regular clientele just want the familiar tastes of home. The restaurant's contact information is:
85 Piccadilly London W1J 7NB Green Park
Tel: 0207 493 34 24
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