I wrote about a rather disastrous visit to the Comptoir Libanais on London’s South Bank only a couple of weeks ago … so why did I go again so quickly? Well, the food had been brilliant, it was only the service that had been poor, indeed terrible. But it’s half term and I like to take the boys out for a treat and Freddie (10) was keen to go to Kingston, and eat at the North African place I’d shown him. I’d shown him Comptoir Libanais’ website at the time I’d booked to go to the South Bank. I knew I’d taken him to the Kingston branch ages ago and a check on the blog confirmed it, back in July 2019. He’d been only 4. It had been a lovely sunny day and we sat outside and had a great meal. So … let’s try Kingston again, I decided.

Unlike the July visit, today has been wet and very miserable. There’d be no sitting outside. But we were given a table by the window at the front and could just about see the river Thames. It’s quite an exciting and colourful interior; there were fez hats on the tables, which immediately the boys put on their heads. I had Freddie, Ben (7) and Alex (4) with me. A kids’ menu which also had quizzes and bits to colour came straight away with packets of crayons. The boys were immediately settled.

The kids’ menu prices each course separately, and it’s £5.50 for a main, £1.75 for a drink and £1 for a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The boys all chose different things. Alex, the youngest, wanted the Cheesy Tomato Flatbread, which was a simple dish (which suited him) of flatbread with melted cheese on top and tomato slices. Ben chose Chicken Taouk Bites – grilled chicken bites served with fries & hommos.  

Freddie wanted Hallo-umi Wrap – marinated grilled halloumi in a soft wrap with cucumber, tomato & fresh mint. Because fries weren’t listed in this choice, I ordered a side of fries & garlic dip (£5.25), and then his came with fries. But you can never had too many fries and between the three boys and me, they were all eaten up.

The boys made their drink choices and then it turned out they’d run out of the Passionfruit & Mango option, which Alex wanted. Huge disappointment was written on his face, tears threatened (well, he is only 4), but our lovely waiter immediately suggested other options, which weren’t on the kids’ menu but we could have for the same price. Alex chose apple juice and the other boys pointed out it was actually a good thing he didn’t get his first choice as he doesn’t like fizzy drinks! I had a small bottle of sparkling water.

I chose the Mezze Platter for One (£15.65): hommos, baba ghanuj, tabbouleh, natural labné, cheese samboussek, falafel, warm flatbread and pickles. I’d shared one of these with my friend Annette at the South Bank and for me it’s one of the greatest pleasures of Lebanese/North African food. The boys were excited by my food too and I ended up sharing it. Somewhat surprisingly, even Alex liked the tabbouleh; Freddie declared the falafel delicious (I’d given him a quarter and had to hand over another quarter!).

The flatbread is very different to others I’m used to; softer. It’s good though and this too was shared with the boys, which was good as it was huge and I wouldn’t have finished it on my own.

There was a dairy-free vegan option for the ice cream but the boys declared they wanted the real thing! It came with some sprinkles over the top. I meanwhile had an espresso.

It was a great meal and the service this time was brilliant. Our waiter was so friendly, helpful and wonderfully efficient. The boys loved it both for the rather exciting decor, the fez hats and lovely food. I know I’m going to be asked to take them there again!

The bill was £51.64 including service. Also included was a discount for one kids’ main course – when ordering my mezze platter, the waiter told me that one kids’ main course came free, so I only paid for two. So, excellent value for the four of us and hugely enjoyable for all.