LEBANON VALLEY ARABIC RESTAURANT,  LUTON

With the shutters not quite down, the front of Lebanon Valley in Bury Park has been looking unnervingly like a half-closed eye when driving past recently. Still half expecting it to be closed I was heartened that it was open for business when we ventured in recently at lunch-time.

The setting of the restaurant is cushioned, cosy and red, familiar to those of us who venture down to Edgeware Road from time to time.


We were greeted by a lovely waitress who generously offered us a seat anywhere in the (very empty) restaurant and promptly served us with complimentary bowls of hummus, salad and pitta. I was impressed with the offering until on closer inspection I discovered that the pitta tasted shop-bought and the black olives were the vile stuff straight out of a jar. 

The food we paid for was only somewhat better. My companion chose the Arabic salad as a starter and the Lebanon Valley mixed grill for mains. I took a few bites and they tasted fair, nothing special - and my friend agreed. I'm a big fan of falafels and was disappointed with the overcooked, tahini covered portion I was served. My main course of chicken shawerma was edible, if a little on the dry side. I'd like to point out that our mains were again served with pitta bread slightly warmed, possibly out of a packet.

My fresh juice tasted fine but my buddy grimaced when drinking the Fererro Rocher milkshake - it tasted like sweetened semi-skimmed milk.

I was tempted to try some baklava for dessert but decided against it - in fear of being disappointed on one of my favourite puds.

I know the place is newly opened but the staff seem a little too unsure with orders - coming back several times to ask what sauce we wanted on a starter or if we wanted onions in our salad?

There is a fair variety of food to try on the menu including - surprisingly -  spaghetti bolognese and lasagne. Arabic food with a touch of Italian I believe. On further enquiry I found out takeaway is available and the restaurant is closed on a Monday. Prices are reasonable, leaving not much change from £30 for lunch for two without dessert.

Overall view? Our waitress was lovely - but the food not so much. I hope the food improves because we could do with a few more non-chicken-and-chips places to eat in Bury Park. But for the moment it's still worth making that 30 minute journey to our favourite eateries on Edgeware Road.

Salams and howdy people,

KHANS RESTAURANT, LUTON

Along with many others I'd been watching with interest to see the development of the new restaurant on the corners of Wingate and Selbourne Road in Luton. After the spectacular fail of the Middle Eastern style pub and among much speculation, Khans restaurant opened its doors earlier this month.

Staying away for the first week or two - to let those running the joint to sort out any teething problems - I joined a friend at Khans for lunch a few days ago. A waiter saw us coming from the makeshift car park round the back of the restaurant and without much discussion took us to the seating area upstairs.

The menu looked quite similar to another recently opened grill place in Luton so I guess we were comparing the two places already. The waiter was helpful and efficient if a little brash - he seemed a little annoyed when we took more than 20 seconds to order from the quite extensive menu.

A mixed grill was the agreed choice as was the chicken jalfrezi. Debating whether to order another dish the waiter was considerate enough to suggest that what we had ordered was plenty for two people (and a little boy).

The restaurant wasn't too busy so the food reached the table quite quickly. The freshly squeezed orange juice was just that - so a big thumbs up for it. The mixed grill (consisting of chicken and meat tikka, lamb chops and seekh kebabs) was spicy as expected and the meat was lovely and tender, especially the lamb chops and mutton tikka. I'm normally weary of seekh kebabs at restaurants because they consist more of spices and chickpea flour than they do of actual meat. But surprisingly the one mouthful I did take of the kebab was totally meaty.

The green chillis overloaded on the jalfrezi made my eyes water just by looking at it but tasted fab. The accompanying plain naans were fresh and good in size.

Considering the generous portions of the main meal we expected something similar when ordering the chocolate cake for dessert. And here was the biggest disappointment of the meal. The three portions of cake we ordered would easily have been a single slice somewhere else. And the additional £1 for two tiny scoops of low quality ice cream with it? A definite no no.

But overall a good start for Khans. Don't let the standards slip like many places have and you'll have a good future. Make the cake slices bigger and I'll be back to try out the rest of the menu.