SPINNINFIELDS continues its transition from retail to re-fuel. You can still indulge your inner fashion victim at the likes of Emporio Armani and DKNY at the top end (sic) of The Avenue, but stray further down and the bars and restaurants have taken over.
The next arrival is the upmarket chain Comptoir Libanais, serving Lebanese food in a casual, colourful setting and for those still determined to shop till they drop a mini-souk selling Comptoir treats, jazzy crockery and decidedly psychedelic bags (see below).
From a reconnaissance mission to their London restaurants (Manchester, launching in November, is their first outside the capital) I came back with a selection of all these courtesy of the duo behind the Comptoirs – passionate Tony Kitous (below, explaining their quest for authenticity and accessibility)) and avuncular MD Chaker Hanna.
The good news is that the kitchens are equally generous with their Levantine flavours. I can still smell the mint and lemon, the pomegranate and rose water and taste the sesame and sumac the dishes teem with. You felt the joy of two Arab ex-pats conjuring up the savours of the culinary homeland to share. Sharing through meze plates is a big part of this cuisine – you almost feel the lamb-led mains are secondary – though still enticingly good.
I’m rather proud of the of the hommos, baba ganuj (I’m using their spellings) and tagines, packed with chick peas and preserved lemons I make at home, but theirs had a rare delicacy and the flatbreads were different class to flaccid bought-in wedges.
The real revelation was a fool madamas – a crushed broad bean dip with virgin olive oil – tasted at our last Comptoir stop, Liverpool Street.
We had lunched in Chelsea and chilled out in Kensington, both distinctively branded but quite different in ambience before pre-Pendolino cocktails in Broadgate Circle prior to heading north. For me the cocktails, some featuring Lebanese spirit arak, area work in progress (I preferred the fragrant soft drinks and lemonades), but wine buff Chaker promises a leap forward in that provision for Spinningfields with an enhanced Lebanese list as good as it gets.
The rest of the all-day Manchester offering has already been previewed in Taste of Manchester.
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 Tony Kitous’ grandparents’ courtyard. Andy Foy, an old Manchester hand (ex-Living Ventures), will be general manager at the restaurant on the former Brooks Brothers site next to Thaikhun and several of the London front-of-house folk are coming up to ensure the November launch goes swimmingly. With Fazenda, Tattu, Iberica and Australasia as stylish neighbours, this is the city’s most colourful foodie enclave.