UPMARKET chain Comptoir Libanais is launching its first restaurant outside London at The Avenue on Spinningfields in early November.
Comptoir Libanais, which means ‘Lebanese counter’ will offer ‘casual all day dining in a relaxed, authentic setting’. Breakfasts will include light dishes such as orange blossom and pomegranate porridge, organic yoghurt with granola; halloumi and mint croissants alongside cooked Lebanese breakfasts with Armenian sausage and sumac dusted fried egg.
For lunch, afternoon and dinner there’ll be hot and cold mezze, wraps, salads, tagines, charcoal grills and Mana’esh (Lebanese style flat breads) as well as selection of baklawa.
There’ll also be a separate ‘Mezze Bar’ where guests can enjoy and share a selection of mezze, cocktails, large selection of Lebanese wines and beer.
Like its London stablemates the design will incorporate a poster of Arabic icon Sirine Jamal al Dine’s face and decorative ceramic tiles taken from Tfounder Tony Kitous’ grandparents’ courtyard.
His MD Chaker Hanna tells TOM: “We’ve always wanted to come to Manchester and we were just looking for the perfect location. Now we’re confident that we’ve found that in Spinningfields.”
“We thought Manchester would love to have a place to enjoy Lebanese food and culture; good and honest food that’s so affordable, healthy and light that you can easily enjoy the variety every day of the week as part of your daily routine. Comptoir is an all-day dining experience serving authentic home-style Lebanese cooking in a warm and friendly atmosphere.”
For the full bazaar experience there’ll also be a souk selling Comptoir’s own collection of homeware and crockery alongside cookbooks, baklawa and handwoven bags and Lebanese ingredients such as pomegranate molasses, tahini, za’atar and sumac – the sort of stuff TOM fave Yotam Ottolenghi adds in pile to his Levantine dinner party dishes.
Last week the Comptoir won Brand Of The Year 2015 from the Lunch Business Awards. Below, Tony celebrates.
