Mazati Restaurant

A relatively recent addition to the area is this highly attractive Lebanese restaurant, offering a magnificent array of dishes that invoke the mouthwatering flavours of the Middle East and Mediterranean cuisines to be enjoyed in surroundings that are straight out of the historic past of this maritime city. With an array of different menus for every occasion Mazati offers a welcome to business lunchers, those needing a rest from the incessant strain of a retail flutter, or just meeting old friends and making new ones, pre- or post-theatre suppers, and private parties both large and small.

For day time visits be sure to check their opening hours. The vegetarian menu, for instance, offers a selection of five mezzes, mousak aat batinjan with rice, Lebanese desserts and coffee, whilst the gourmet menu gives choices of eight mezzes, a main course of your choice, Lebanese desserts and seasonal fruits, with coffee.

A typical lunch might include a platter of six mezzes, hummous, moutabbal, tabboulah, vine leaves, falafel and kibbeh, with mixed grill, desserts and coffee.

The essence of Lebanese cooking is the use of healthy, natural foods as a prime source, with masses of vegetables and fruit, the sort of thing that would send Jamie Oliver into a swoon of delight.

It may well be true to say that the Lebanese thought of tapas long before the Spanish, but called them mezzes, or small dishes, the cold ones blending delightful flavours, such as fried well seasoned aubergine with yogurt (another Lebanese staple), rolled vine leaves stuffed with rice tomato, parsley that has been cooked in olive oil and lemon juice, or mixed Lebanese nuts, spices and olive oil.

As a roll call of healthy ingredients I think you would be hard pushed to find anything much better. But it gets even better as we progress to the hot mezzes with boiled beans, simmered with tomato, garlic, coriander and spices served with fried vegetables, listed rather discouragingly in Lebanese as foul moudammas, though nothing could be further from the truth.

Then there is sambousik lamb, deep fried rissole filled with minced lamb and baked Lebanese pastry filled with spinach, summak and olive oil for the vegetarians.

For a country with a respectable length of coastline fish does not feature as much in their cooking as one might expect, but amongst the main dishes at Mazati is fried whitebait served with tarator sauce, which is sesame paste sauce with lemon juice, or sayahdeyeh, baked cod served on a bed of spiced rice and tarator sauce again.

The blessed sausage has penetrated, though to have them sautéed with garlic and lemon juice makes a welcome change and transforms a breakfast item to the dignity of a place on the dinner table.

Lamb and chicken feature largely and the Lebanese equivalent of our mixed grill is composed of a selection of skewers holding together grilled lamb, kafta and chicken cubes, with chilli and garlic sauce. Castaleta ghanam turns out to be marinated lamb cutlets, grilled over charcoal and served with French fries and chef's sauce. Nor is the pizza safe from a Lebanese twist.

The food at Mazati can only be described as enticing - almost as enticing as the belly dancing which is staged every first Friday of the month, after which you might need a restful session with a Shisha water pipe, a tradition that is well rooted in Lebanese history.

To find out more details, including their full menu of delights, a visit to their Website is thoroughly recommended.