New Lebanese Bakery in Covent Garden

On a very chilly evening in London, I found myself at a table for one for dinner last night. A combination of flu bugs and a babysitter drought meant I’d lost my theatre date. Determined not to waste the theatre tickets completely, I’d headed in to London on my own. I was looking for somewhere quick but tasty near to the theatre and decided to try out The Lebanese Bakery in Covent Garden.

Open just 5 months, this is their only UK bakery - the other one is in Beirut. They specialise in Manousheh, a type of Lebanese flat bread. It comes with lots of different toppings, ranging from fried eggs and spicy sausage for breakfast to pickles, chicken or minced beef and lamb or sweet dessert options for later in the day. There are also a wide range of sides, such as Lebanese cheeses, goats yoghurt, hummus and delicious, fresh baked bite sized pastries.

The food was delicious and great value. It was all cooked to order in a wood fired oven. I tried the Minced Beef & Lamb, Onions, Pomegranate Molasses Flat Bread. The bread was beautifully soft and the beef a wonderfully sweet and sour flavour combination. I also had a Halva and Pistachio Mouajjanet (bite sized pastry). It was a crumbly, sweet mouthful of pistachio deliciousness. I’m afraid these are not my best pictures as it was all so irresitible that I ate half of the flatbread and all of the pastry before I remembered about getting some shots!

As I was a very early diner, the bakery was busy with takeout orders when I arrived but for a while I was the only person eating in. The staff were all very friendly and patient with my ordering. I am not an expert in Lebanese food, so I needed a bit of help. They were very proud of what they were serving and passionate about the Manousheh as a speciality. The food is incredibly fresh and the pastries I had were baked only 30 minutes before I got there.

I was made to feel very welcome and the chef was keen to chat to me about the food. I enjoyed the Mouajjanet so much, they gave me another one on the house to take with me for my husband who was to have been my dinner date.

This is very much a bakery with tables but the food is delicious and great value. If you can, it’s definitely worth giving them a try. It is a fairly new business and it would be great to see them succeed. I for one, will be back as soon as I can to try more of the fabulous food.

Definitely #Delectish

The Lebanese Bakery, 34-43 Russell Street, London, WC2B 5HA. www.thelebanesesbakery.com