I’ve been in two minds about whether to write a review of the restaurant I went to last night with my friend Annette as I mainly avoid negative write-ups. However, the food was delicious and the service friendly – but unfortunately (the negative bit) also very poor. There was some confusion about there being a pre-theatre menu, which I’d seen on the website (and we were there at 6pm, so in good time) and was eventually found, and there was a very long gap between our starter and main course with us asking about three people if it could come soon. However, Annette had been there recently and had a good experience and I went to another branch back in 2019 with grandson Freddie, just 4 at the time, where he’d had a brilliant kids’ menu and we had a good time (click here for review).  And I do love Lebanese food … so … let me share last night’s meal with you.

The Southbank branch of Comptoir Libanais is situated on Festival Terrace, right by the Royal Festival Hall and the river Thames. This makes it ideal for not only concerts and events at the Festival Hall, but a short walk over Hungerford Bridge will take you through Charing Cross station and into London’s Theatreland and to top art galleries. For us, it was conveniently close to Waterloo station.

The food of the Middle East and North Africa is some of my favourite kind of food. It’s one I search for in restaurants and a cuisine I often cook at home. Apart from Comptoir Libanais’s Southbank branch being in a great location, it’s a lovely colourful and lively place to sit and enjoy delicious food.

It was quite busy when I arrived just before 6pm. Annette arrived soon after and our waitress offered to bring tap water. It came in a large carafe with fresh mint in it, which I thought was a nice touch. We also each ordered a 175ml glass of Trebbiano Farfalla wine (£7.50).

The ‘Pre-Theatre Feast’ is for a minimum of two people and costs £23.95 per person. There’s no starter choice but that doesn’t matter at all given that the meal begins with a large Mezze Platter: Hommos, Baba Ghanuj, Tabbouleh, Falafel, Natural Labné, Warm Flatbread & Pickles. It looked spectacular when it arrived and was really delicious. 

The flatbread was good too and there were two pieces. At first we thought there was just one – which would have been fine given it was large – but another was hidden underneath.

The starter was excellent and we didn’t actually finish it, feeling it we ate it all we might not have room for our main courses! When our mains finally arrived, they didn’t take the remains of our starter. It would have been nice if they’d asked if we wanted them cleared away.

There was a choice of 5 ‘Big Plates’: a Mixed Grill (£3 extra), a Chicken & Green Olive Tagine, and Chicken Kofta Burger. Annette chose Lamb Kofta which came with salad and vermicelli rice. It was a generous portion and very good.

I chose Aubergine Tagine – aubergine, tomato, onion & chickpeas – served with couscous (my choice), vermicelli rice or quinoa. My portion wasn’t quite so generous but it was enough, and there was a lot of couscous which I didn’t finish, but importantly it was very tasty.

We both had a coffee to finish and the bill came to £77.63 including drinks and service.

So, despite rather haphazard service, we had some delicious food. We also sat there for 3 hours! Well, with Annette living in Italy and only over for a long weekend, I don’t get to see her often and we had a lot of catching up to do. But I’m not sure many places would have left us undisturbed to sit for so long and being full of smiles and friendliness when we eventually left. It’s a large restaurant with a large space in the basement, and it was busy though there was no queue, but even so on a dark autumnal evening, it was perfect for us to be able to sit there for so long and feel welcomed. However, I might not risk the service anytime I really was dining pre-theatre and on tight timing!