Just a short walk away from Camden Market is Mezza Express! It looks fairly normal from the outside. But once inside, it’s a different story!

Mezza Express opened out into a lovely organised spacious dining area. The back of the restaurant had a big glass front that looked out onto an outside garden area. I thought that this was part of the restaurant but the waiter told me that it was part of the coffee shop next door.

The staff and service were fantastic. They made us feel very welcome and comfortable. Even after we had finished our meal and didn’t want any coffee or dessert, we just said to the staff that we were having a nice catch up amongst friends! The waiter then said that that was lovely and that he was happy that we were there. It was all very genuine and it’s not often that you get that level of friendliness from the staff.

Mezza Express had a set menu which I chose. But on the menu, there was stuffed vine leaves and tabbouleh, both of which I am not keen on. So, I asked if it would be possible to change those dishes to falafel and the spinach filled pastry. The waiter said that was absolutely fine!

So as well as the two dishes mentioned, the starters were made up of hommos and grilled halloumi cheese. All were great and were served with warm flatbread.

My friend had the Lebanese sausages and the Samke Harra fish ratatouille, both of which she enjoyed! We decided to share the main course and went with the waiter’s suggestion of Mousakaat with rice. The baked aubergine with chickpeas and tomatoes was a big portion and all the flavours were good! There was plenty of aubergine and tomatoes in the dish!

Mezza Express gave us a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon meal! It is definitely a place that I would return to!

Mezza Express, 47 Parkway, Camden Town, London, NW1 7PN

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Randa is part of the Maroush chain of Lebanese restaurants. This restaurant has a spiral staircase which leads to the upper level.

A selection of mezza made up our meal! I like having mezza as it means that you get to taste lots of different dishes! The only thing is that it took us a little while to decide which dishes to choose as Randa has an extensive menu!

For the cold mezza, we had the Hommos Beiruty and Moussaka. This variety of hommos had the addition of parsley and hot pepper, so it was a nice twist on the classic hommos! The Moussaka was a fairly big dish made of fried aubergines, chickpeas, tomatoes and onions. It was like a chunky thick stew!

The hot dish was Batata Harra and Fried Vegetables. This was a dry dish which consisted of cubes of sauteed potatoes with garlic, pepper, coriander and chilli. It was slightly spicy and all the flavours worked well together. It reminded us an Indian potato dry curry!

The savoury pastries sounded interesting, so we ordered the Manakeesh, which was a pastry topped with sesame seeds and thyme. Unfortunately, the waiter informed us that they did not have any left. So instead, we had another baked pastry, Fatayer B’sabanekh. We enjoyed this as it wasn’t greasy and the filling of spinach and onions was good!

We were served with warm round pitta breads! Just what we needed to go with our selection of food! We were also given a big bowl of chunky salad vegetables and olives.

At the end of the meal, we were served with a selection of baklavas! These were perfect to satisfy my sweet tooth! Randa does a range of fresh juices and teas. The fresh mint tea was served by the pot and came with a little red cup!

Randa has a high standard of food and service. The staff were friendly and helpful with their suggestions! The displays of fresh fruit made a colourful attractive addition to the decor!

Randa (Maroush), 23 Kensington Church Street, London, W8 4LF

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Deep reds and brown colours, sofas with lots of cushions, bowls of rose petals and a formal dining area sets the atmosphere for this Lebanese restaurant. The seating by the windows has a great view over Green Park.

It’s a shame that Fakhreldine seems to have put in a lot more effort into its decor than into its food. We were impressed with the menu but were greatly disappointed with the taste of the food.

We ordered a selection of mezze dishes and these were served with round pitta breads. The dishes of  okra with garlic, tomatoes and onions and the aubergine with chickpeas and tomatoes were the ones that we were looking forward to having the most. It took us by surprise when these were served cold. When we asked the waiter if we could have them hot, he took them back and warmed them up. But these dishes were served lukewarm not hot like we had requested.

In the aubergine dish, the tomatoes tasted better than anything else in it. The okra was average but not very flavoursome. Our favourite was the diced potatoes that had been fried in garlic and chillies. The five thin slices of grilled halloumi cheese were also really good.

The staff were friendly, the restaurant dining area was nice and we enjoyed the views over Piccadilly and Green Park. The only thing that was missing from this picture was the flavours of the food, which is what we had actually come to Fakhreldine for.

Fakhreldine, 85 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7NB

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