Enjoy an Iftar Feast at Comptoir Libanais

Ramadan Kareem to all our Muslim friends, as you break your fast, enjoy an Iftar feast at Comptoir Libanais, known for its Middle Eastern & North African cuisines. I am a sucker for good cuisine but must admit I have not sampled much Middle Eastern cuisine, so I was excited to accept the invitation to enjoy an iftar feast at Comptoir Libanais. As a foodie, there is nothing I love more than trying out new dishes that I may not have otherwise tried before and whilst I have eaten at Comptoir Libanais before, I was curious what the Iftar Feast would consist of.

Although I am not Muslim myself, I have friends who are. As I understand it, Iftar is when everyone comes together to break their fast after sunset. I was curious to see what the Iftar feast menu would consist of and if there were any dishes that I would recognise. For my Muslim friends and readers, I invite you to enjoy an iftar feast at Comptoir Libanais; please use the following link to find your closest location and note the menu will run from 28 February.

Disclosure: We were invited to Comptoir Libanais to review the Iftar Feast menu, all opinions shared are 100% my own.

Enjoy an Iftar Feast at Comptoir Libanais

For the longest time, Winceats.com and I have been meeting up monthly and trying out various restaurants, and most times, we are fortunate to get invited to some of the most amazing establishments ever. As mentioned above, I dined at Comptoir Libanais a couple of years ago, but I believe it was at the airport, and we had the breakfast items on the menu. I can not recall our experience at that restaurant as we had to rush to the gate, so I was definitely curious to try their Iftar Feast menu at the branch near me.

The Iftar Feast menu starts from £29.95pp (+ £5 for the mixed grill), which I think is a very reasonable price as it does include a healthy-sized start and equally filling mains. When we arrived at the Oxford branch of the Comptoir Libanais, we were quickly seated, and the staff explained to us how everything worked before we began ordering. Immediately on arrival, we noticed that the restaurant had a variety in terms of patrons, from families to couples to even individuals eating alone. The venue was not busy at the beginning but got busier as the night progressed but that also ended up affecting how quickly the final dishes got served.

To start, we were informed we could only choose one of the two options to pair with the dates that you use to break the fast, so we both opted for the homemade lemonade. When it came to the Mezze, we had four items on the menu, all of which were small enough but somehow filling enough. Firstly, the lentil soup, which was served with flatbread, was deliciously creamy, smooth and very flavourful. The Fattoush salad was a surprise to me as it was a mixture of sweet, salt and crunchy, I feel like the pomegranate added even more mystery to the salad. Moving to the humous, it paired well with the soft pita bread, and as someone who loves bread, I finished it so quickly.

Finally on the mezze was the cheese samboussek which was paired with a mint sauce, it was nicely done but as I am not a cheese fan, I did not eat much but my plus one was enjoyed for both of us. Overall, the mezze was thoroughly enjoyed and I can not recommend it enough. At this time, we were starting to feel slightly food but then again if you had been fasting all day I think it’s a great starter after you break your fast. Moving to the large plates, I opted for the chicken shawarma rice bowl whilst my plus one chose the mixed grill option. The option sizes were pretty big and filling, my chicken was tender and flavourful and I loved the crunchy bites that were paired with the rice bowl. For the mixed grill, it was ok although not as flavourful as the rice bowl.

The food was overall delicious and filling so much that we thought dessert was not necessary, but the Orange Blossom Mouhalabia (Lebanese version of pannacotta) was delicious. We were not able to eat the dessert at the restaurant as we were too full, so we took it home and enjoyed it the next day, and it was delicious. Have you ever eaten at a Comptoir Libanais?