Ahhh Venice. Mostly I’m a half-full person but not feeling it by getting the last available desk at 9:05am.
Was this luck or doom?
This week I went to Venice. No, they didn’t charge me €5 to go through the door. And it’s yet another Lebanese restaurant… though in disguise.
The menu was wraps, makazines and breakfast…I went for the chicken fajita wrap as I thought it would be quick to make, and I didn’t have much time.
Cute inside, though the person smoking next to the door and blowing it inside made it less pleasant.
The wrap was well stuffed and plentiful for £7.95. Alas there wasn’t a lot of flavour. A hint of cumin perhaps but I’d expect this to have more of a kick. The salad was ordinary…but nothing wrong here other than a bit of blandness. And plenty of people like bland.
Soor. Don’t panic. I’m back to hating being in the office…this week my office chair had a choice of near horizontal or lean forwards. As much as I’m constantly told to lean into things, my current corporate buzzword hate, I had to go for the horizontal effect.
And then I booked a meeting room that doesn’t exist. Cool.
But I can always lean into lunch and this week I took a walk down the Edgware Road, as far as I dared…or as until I saw somewhere vaguely appealing which was Soor…yes another Lebanese restaurant.
Serving around 5,000 dishes, from breakfast to manakish (must try one time… Lebanese pizza apparently), fatayer, various starters, mains, salads and wraps.
I asked for a recommendation…the mixed grill apparently. You mean the most expensive thing on the menu? Aha. Don’t want to suggest something more interesting to me?
I had a fattet because… I’m getting fatter. Warm yoghurt, crispy pitta, fried onions, chicken shawarma and salad.
I’m not sure I’d order it again, perhaps too much yoghurt but I still enjoyed it. Lots of chicken shawarma, the standard orange Lebanese spicy sauce was delightful, with a kick. The crispy pitta was fresh and the dish worked.
Salad was decent too.
Rating of 7.3. Definitely worth a visit and they had plenty of tables for lunch too.
Bleary-eyed on a train to the office for weekly stint of collaborating and getting next to nothing done. It’s Paramount Middle Eastern Kitchen.
But the one bright side of being closer to my colleagues is that I get to catch up over lunch with kind souls I’ve worked with for a few years.
Wandering the streets of Paddington in the cold (FYI spring, you may now attend the UK), we decided upon Paramount Middle Eastern Kitchen, a popular Lebanese restaurant.
I tried not to be so predictable in ordering the chicken shawarma but after speaking to the waiter, I ordered the chicken shawarma. That and the apple, mint and ginger juice came to around £17…I forgot the exact price. Liz Truss is coming back anyway so we’ll have more inflation soon.
Anyway, fries were actually crispy. The shawarma was also really good, tomatoes and garlic sauce nicely balanced with tender chicken. Banging dips for the fries too.
So Paramount Middle Eastern Kitchen is the paramount place on my lunchtime adventures so far. Will they be bettered before HR find out about my views on office working?
Lunchtastic score of 8.2.
2025 Update!
So, I went back…feels crazy living in London and going to the same restaurant twice in your life, but here we are.
This time I had the Batata Harra wrap.
Sure, it looks underwhelming – maybe they could have presented it with the cut side open. Maybe I could have rearranged it so, for my photograph.
And compared to Paramount Middle Eastern Kitchen’s chicken shawarma, which I will eventually learn how to spell without looking it up, I guess is a tad underwhelming.
Yet there was lots to like, the wrap had a real firm crisp to it – it felt toasted, perfectly. Perhaps the potato was a little more firm than ideal, but mixed together with the yoghurt, tomatoes, peppers and spices was a spicy, creamy delight really.
I do prefer the chicken shawarma (spelled it right!) but this is a worthy wrap. There is no reason to change my original score of 8.2 out of 10.
Along with a trip to The Pine, it was time to go play desk lottery, to see if I was a lucky winner of a desk to work on, or whether I’d be expected to work on a stool all day
Though more importantly, it was time for Closer To Cuisine.
This time at The Pine, a halal Lebanese restaurant just off Edgware Road.
I was most curious about the pastries, so I ordered the lamb samboussek. A bit more crisp on the outside might have been delightful but these were nicely made, slightly spiced lamb, with onions and pine nuts. Happy with this decision.
Then I ordered the shish taouk wrap…which looked a bit sad and minimal when you opened it up, but was at least tasty to eat, tomato and chicken combining nicely, though with a rather runny sauce.
Chicken shawarma would have been the more impressive choice…but I wanted something new to me.
Sometimes you win… sometimes you lose. I did win the desk lottery by the way.
Service was good, the lady running it seemed really sweet. I’d argue that the menu had way too much choice and should be slimmed down… but that’s my preference.
Yet again, none of my colleagues that I’m now much closer to, photographed or rated their food. They’ll fall in line…or I’ll move team and get new ones.
Oh and the orange juice was as sweet as you’d expect…but too much.
