I decided to hold my this year's Office Party in a Middle-Eastern restaurant here in Brighton, called Lavash.
Many, many, years ago I went to a party in Paris hosted by three female Lebanese students. They'd prepared a plethora of small dishes from their native land, and the flavours were haunting. Since then, I've been to just one Lebanese restaurant, and have always hankered for more.
The photo below comes from their web page; I forgot my phone! Mine looked exactly the same.
Lavash have two branches in Brighton, and are genuinely Middle-Eastern. This is the real McCoy. I opted for the carnivore option, but veggies are also very well catered for; in fact the next time I go I might well have a veggie meal.
Good food, sensibly priced, but the cost of drinks was excessive, and the décor questionable. I asked for water! They even had a wonderful wood-fired BBQ in the open kitchen.
I can imagine them opening more branches elsewhere. If you find one near you in the future, I recommend. Take plenty of paper serviettes.
No-one misbehaved.
Office party. Water? Did the underlings have some alcohol at least.
ReplyDeleteThe plate of food looks very good. Loads of flavour I can imagine.
We never drink (alcohol) at lunchtime. The food was as good as it looks, plenty of interesting flavours and spices. We shall go again.
DeleteI think I would have had to share that plateful with P.. or take a doggy bag for the leftovers!
ReplyDeleteI shared it with Lady M.
DeleteThe food sounds and looks scrumptious.
ReplyDelete"Err... I don't feel like anything alcoholic tonight. Could we just have a jug of tap water please." Always important to specify "tap" or they might bring an expensive bottle of spring water.
Even the ordinary bottled water was about £2.50. All the drinks were overpriced.
DeleteYou say "overpriced". How would one gauge that? By the same token I walk into places (I am given to feeling vaguely faint every so often) and am offered a seat and a glass of water for free. All attempts at even just a tip for their troubles sweetly declined.
DeleteAs Rachel says, restaurants' overheads are steep. Oddly, the profit margin on food pretty low. So, yes, they make "good" on drink. Let's remember that a restaurant offers a service. One that, at the current economic climate, people think twice about whether to use. The restaurant business in England is in dire straits. So, there you are, Cro, you did your bit to keep the Lebanese in business - and enjoyed the food into the bargain.
U
Restaurants have high overheads which have to be met. It is as well to remember this when ordering tap water to be brought to your table by a waiter/waitress in a jug and glass.
ReplyDeleteWhich reminds me, Rachel, and I don't know if it's still practiced, once upon a time there were restaurants not licensed to sell alcohol. However, you could bring your own bottle(s) and the restaurant would charge corkage. Fair enough: Wear and tear on the corkscrew, and glasses need to be washed by somebody.
DeleteU
In many countries ice cold water is brought automatically to your table as soon as you sit down.
DeleteYes indeed because they know you will be ordering other beverages besides.
DeleteI don't consider it the same practice at all.
DeleteI like the practice in NZ..you pick up a bottle of, often chilled, water from a side table and as many glasses as you need, in any café or restaurant. Free.
DeleteI still View eating “ out” as a real treat , though over attentiveness by staff can be irritating
ReplyDeleteNo one likes an arse licker
These people were very good, we hardly saw them.
DeleteLooks good. I think we may have eaten there. Lebanese food is delicious, carnivore or vegetarian
ReplyDeleteI shall go again soon and have a big veggie platter, it looks superb.
DeleteYour meal looks delicious. I've never been to a Lebanese restaurant and would probably enjoy the spices as long as they are not over-the-top hot/spicy; savory and exotic is fine. Alcohol is usually where restaurants make their money. Like everything else costs are rocketing.
ReplyDeleteThere was just one sauce that was quite HOT (the red one in the photo), otherwise it was just filled with flavour.
DeleteThat looks so tasty Cro ..... we have been having really boring meals lately as we only have a third of a kitchen until February ! XXXX
ReplyDeleteHead down to Brighton, you wouldn't believe the amount of restaurants there are here. It's almost disturbing.
DeleteYour Lebanese culinary adventure looks delicious! * In the American Midwest, family restaurants typically serve glasses of ice water along with menus. Staff at the high-end establishments will ask, "Still or sparkling?" Years ago I had a friend who always ordered, "Malvern, like the Queen..."
ReplyDeleteH M had impeccable taste.
DeleteIt does look delicious and very similar to the restaurants that are plentiful here.
ReplyDeleteAll through Turkey, Egypt, Israel, etc, you have a wonderful cuisine that for us Europeans is so exciting. Often very similar ingredients, but a totally different way of treating them.
DeleteYou have an office? Looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting there at the moment!
DeleteThe food looks delicious.
ReplyDelete