REVIEW: Le Menar, Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia seems to be a hub for new openings in London right now. There are so many new restaurants popping up you do have to wonder just how they all survive? The realisation is that actually the old-fashioned long-standing restaurants are closing down and the modern, new cuisines are taking their places. Frankly I’m not completely against the idea, but at the same time there are still so many GOOD restaurants which are being forgotten about because us Londoners just can’t stop chasing these new openings. Le Menar is a new North African restaurant hidden on a back street in Fitzrovia which has very little passing trade – for them this is not such a good thing, but for people like you and me however it’s a godsend, because for now – only us know about this delicious hidden little gem.

Walk through the heavy wooden door of Le Menar and you’ll be transported to a calm and tranquil haven, with traditional North African tables, cushions galore and shisha pipes dotted around the room. A huge plasma screen TV on the wall as you walk in however adds a sightly corporate element, which I really don’t like. The food however is a completely different story – it’s all delicious and difficult to fault. To start us on our epic Middle Eastern inspired feast, a huge meze platter arrived in two rounds. A silky smooth hummus, fresh and vibrant tabbouleh, baby okra salad, moutabel, falafel, moussaka, dolma and kibbeh. As far as meze dishes go these were pretty special with the tabbouleh being the favourite and the moussaka the least (it needed more depth of flavour).

Tagines here at Le Menar were easily some of the finest I’ve eaten in London to date – it’s what makes this place stand out from its competition. Beef ras el hanout was served in a traditional Moroccan tagine pot and filled with beautifully tender beef cheeks, chickpeas, carrots, lots of cumin and some heavenly sweet Agen prunes. I’ve eaten my fair share of tagines but the depth of flavour this one managed to keep on giving was extraordinary, there seemed to be no end to its offering. With a light and fluffy cous cous to help mop up all the juices, this may well be the best £16 you could ever spend. They also offer the option of rice but I found it really wasn’t necessary, who wants rice when you can have cous cous?

Other tagines on offer were the slow cooked lamb neck tagine with cinnamon, paprika, coriander,aubergine and a side of batata harra – all accompanied by a pot of a sauce infused with truffle oil. Incredibly decadent, I know. As good as this dish was the traditional charms of the beef version were much preferred as perhaps this was a little too modern in its approach for my liking but the meat was worth it alone and those crispy potatoes (the ones I somehow managed to blur out) were all too addictive.

Desserts here at Le Menar is where you’ll want to choose with caution (because you won’t want to share). The restaurants take on strawberries and cream were the highlight. Juicy red strawberries bursting with both freshness and flavour, the thick mascarpone cream was infused with fragrant rosewater, zesty lime and pistachio dust. In a nut shell – absolutely delicious. On the flip side of things one dessert wasn’t quite to all our tastes. Deep fried Madagascan vanilla ice cream came paired with Medjool dates. and while it was perfectly enjoyable, something just felt like it was missing from this dish. Perhaps a more vibrant, fresh flavour to off set some of the dates sweetness may have worked?

Le Menar was certainly a surprise and an interesting find, I’ll admit. When I’d originally heard about this new opening in Fitzrovia I strangely (and for no reason) expected it to be rather ordinary, but instead I was proved very wrong indeed. The head chef here is quite clearly very talented and has given Le Menar a fantastic edge compared to its local competition, creating thoroughly modern food which is still intact with their roots and tradition. If North African delights and Middle Eastern cuisine that will leave you salivating is what you’re after then look no further – Le Menar is here (to stay hopefully).

7/10

I was invited to review