Restaurant Review: Christmas Feast at Comptoir Libanais in Manchester*

Food reviews really are a special treat, and when we are asked to do them its rare that we don’t find the time to fit them in. So when we were asked to head to Manchester’s Comptoir Libanais to try out their newly introduced Christmas menu for 2019, we said yes. Before you read on about what we ate and thought of this new menu, here is a little background into Comptoir Libanais.  It was founded back in 2008, but considering it has only been around for 11 years it has already 22 restaurants around the country. Its founder Tony Kitous, came to London at the age of 17 and his dream was to one day own his own restaurant. Now his dream is established he would love to continue opening more restaurants year on year, and make Lebanese food, as popular as Italian is in the UK.  His focus has been to make this type of Middle Eastern food accessible to everyone and also show all of its delights. His restaurants are bright and colourful with a modern take on classic Arabic decor. They are inviting and relaxing, and with lots of images of food, it is hard not to feel hungry when you are inside.   Our review today is to give you a little insight into their new Christmas Feast menu and it really doesn’t seem a whole year ago since we last ate their 2018 Christmas menu. In 2019 there are a few subtle changes, which we were keen to try out.

We started lunch with a couple of non-alcoholic drinks.  We chose from a small list of lemonades that were recommended to us by our server. My dad chose, Toufaha, which was apple, mint and ginger lemonade, this had an earthy taste from the fresh apple and great heat from the ginger and freshness from the mint – it had quite a zing. Mine was the Roza, which was lemon, lime and rose syrup. This was sweet and smooth and had less of a punch. We both choose well to our tastes as we didn’t want to swap!

In addition to the Lemonades, there is a huge selection and variety of drinks available; some of which include, coffee, hot chocolate (which also has a Lebanese twist), Tea (including a beautiful mint tea, iced tea, fruit juices), Alcoholic cocktails, Vodka Lemonades and of course some beers and wines. You can see you are totally spoilt for choice when it comes to hydrating at the Comptoir!

Next, we were brought out the Mezze starter, which included, Harissa Spiced Chicken Hummus, Aubergine with Tahini, stuffed Vines Leaves, Lamb Samboussek.

My favourite from this menu was the chicken hummus and Lamb Samboussek which was very similar to a little pasty or samosa. The chicken that topped a traditional hummus was beautifully spiced and had a nice warmth to it from the Harissa. The Samboussek pastry parcels were really light and the crumb of the pastry was crumbly and perfectly cooked through. The filling was really tasty. The one thing I missed from last year’s Christmas starter was the pickled veg!  They aren’t an essential item but a certain a little Middle Eastern treat. Just with the starters alone, we were beginning to feel full!

For mains,  there is a selection of four meals to choose which includes Roasted Sea Bass, Harissa & Honey Grilled Baby Chicken, Lamb Kofta with Rice and Tahini and Aubergine & Feta Shakshuka. We went with the Aubergine and Sea Bass. These were both fairly light meals and really tasty. The fish was accompanied by baked fennel and olives, these really balanced out the flavours of the fish and made for a great bite. The aubergine was lovely and tender as has been slow-cooked in a tomato-based sauce.  I actually helped myself to a spoon to eat this as it felt more like a vegetable stew filled with Middle Eastern flavours.

For our dessert, we chose the Rose Mouhalabia and the Christmas Date Pudding which was served with ice cream.

The Christmas Date Pudding was really nice and you could taste the dates, which gave the cake a nice texture, however, it was served cold. I felt as it was accompanied by ice cream it would have been extra nice for the cake to have been slightly warmed and I feel you would have been better able to taste the mix of spices in the cake if this had been the case.

The Rose Mouhalaboia which was rose milk pudding was absolutely divine and I could have eaten this all day. The creamy texture of the pudding was so light and velvety to eat, and the flavour of the rose was delicate and mild, it just made for the perfect dessert to finish this wonderful meal.

The Christmas menu is on up until the 24th December and comes in at £24 per person, my dad and I thought this was a reasonable price to pay considering the quality of food that we had. We were so full and neither of us had an evening meal that night. So this is really worth a treat when you are out in Manchester and want to celebrate Christmas which some slightly less traditional but still super tasty food.

How much does the Lebanese Christmas Feast Menu cost and when is it until?

• Within around a 2-minute walk there is the historic John Rylands Library, where you’ll feel like you have been transported into a library from a scene in Harry Potter.
• You will find several small Christmas stands linked with the Market in the same location as the library, there you can get a gluhwine before you head for your meal at the Comptoir Libanais.
• The remaining Christmas Markets are between a 5-15 minute walk away where you can really make the most of your time in the City either before or after your Christmas Feast

About Comptoir Libanais

Tony Kitous is the man credited with putting the glamour into Middle East cuisine and providing the people of the Western World the opportunity to experience real, wholesome and healthy Lebanese food in a souk-like setting.  Comptoir Libanais means ‘Lebanese counter’ and that’s exactly what it is: somewhere you can eat casually, with no fuss.  The first Comptoir opened its doors in 2008 and has been steadily growing since 2015 and has seen them open their doors to their first Comptoir outside of Greater London which is Manchester.

Review by: Lex Ward

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*We were invited to sample the food at Comptoir Libanais, all opinions are our own.