Beirut

Mezze, grills and stews from Lebanon in the heart of student Edinburgh

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With a dusky, opulent colour scheme, low ceilings and evocative Lebanese music, Beirut transports you out of dreary Edinburgh into the spice-laden, sun-soaked Middle East. While most of the menu will be familiar it’s an accomplished affair. To start, creamy, yogurty and mild labneh contrasts with the stronger flavours of chunky hummus, which comes slicked with a moat of oil, parsley, tomato and mint, taking the familiar dip to a new, fresh and pungent territory with a delicious after-burn of raw garlic. From the mains, farrouj meshwi is a bit of a hero dish; chargrilled baby chicken, succulent and crunchy where it caught on the flame and fresh with lemon and herbs. Dredged in the accompanying garlic dip, it tastes of smoke and summertime, while kafta meshwi is an exceptionally well-seasoned lamb kofta, aptly paired with a thick tahini sauce.