NEW OPENING | Comptoir Libanais | Spinningfields

David Blake 10 November 2015

Who’s behind it? Twenty-odd years ago a young buck marathon runner from Algeria arrived in London on a jolly with 75 knicker in his pocket. He never looked back. Speaking roughly seven words of English, Tony Kitous knocked around the dunnies of hospitality before saving enough money to open his first London restaurant, Baboon, in 1993 (yes, terrible name, but then we do have a Gorilla). Seven years later Kitous launched Lebanese restaurant, Levant, in London, followed by more Middle Eastern outfits in Pasha, Levantine and Kenza. In 2008 Kitous launched his first Comptoir Libanais in Shepherd’s Bush.

Like a chameleon, Kitous' eyes move independently of one another

So what is it? Comptoir Libanais is a London-based chain of bright and breezy Lebanese deli-cafes. The group's 240-cover Spinningfields restaurant is their twelfth, the first outside of London and the largest one to date. They aim to bring fast, affordable Lebanese food to the high street; of course, Lebanese staples such as falafel and kofta have been all over the high-street for yonks… even the most wary gastronomes have bunged a cucumber wand into a pot of supermarket hummus (spelt hommos here… that's a new one). Still, well-managed, highly-designed Middle Eastern restaurant chains are almost none existent, and that's where Kitous has eked out a niche.

Comptoir Libanais

What they say: "This Manchester restaurant has been the biggest, most complicated, most stressful yet most beautiful and exciting thing we've ever done at Comptoir. We don't want to be the next big thing, this food has been around for thousands of years, it's nothing new. What we want is to deliver high-quality, home-made dishes with famous Lebanese hospitality. Banker, bartender, we don't care; we'd hate for anyone to think Comptoir is not for them" - Tony Kitous, founder.

What we say: Thanks to the likes of Sabrina Ghayour and Chorlton Mumatron's golden-boy, Yotam Ottolenghi, Middle Eastern food is 'having a moment'. Still, until very recently Manchester's Middle Eastern options, aside from the hit-and-miss Aladdin in Withington and Nectar Bistro in Chorton, involved a sorry shawarma after a few too many shandies. Suddenly, POP, and we've got Bakchich and Comptoir in the city centre within the space of a month.

Although 'Lebanese' may put the windies up your average Spinningfields punter, the truth is Comptoir's menu contains very few surprises, spinning as it does around the restaurant's best-seller, the mezze platters (hommos, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, breads, pita, pickles etc), alongside halloumi (or is that hollomi), wraps, tagines and flat breads - it's likely you'll be surprised by how many of Comptoir's dishes you're familiar with.

With 240 covers Comptoir Libanais Spinningfields is their biggest yet

What else? It's impossible to imagine a bloke like Kitous failing. Like a chameleon, Kitous' eyes move independently of one another, allowing him to at once hold a conversation, quality check every dish flying from the kitchen and still spot a 2mm-wide fleck of paint on a window pane from fifteen metres away. It's impressive, obsessive and, you get the impression from the staff who flap around him, a little tiring. Still, all the greatest restaurateurs have OCD.

The main worry for Kitous and business partner Chaker Hanna is, of course, filling the place. At 240 covers it's big, perhaps too big, almost twice the size of their largest London gaff. Yes, yes Manchester's restaurant scene is booming, we all know that, but is it booming enough to sustain twenty odd new 150+ cover restaurants all opened within the space of six months? You might go ask the majority of the Corn Exchange's new tenants, or Burger & Lobster for that matter.

Enough of that, how's it look? BRIGHT. Comptoir is a sea of lemon yellows, carrot oranges, blushing pinks, geometric patterns, stained glass windows, vintage movie posters and wide, sunshine smiles (well, the staff are new). Kitous has tried to simulate the feel of a market bazaar by slapping a price tag on just about everything, lining the entrance with shelves upon shelves of Lebanese gubbins and framing the kitchen with strangely luminous stuff in jars - it's a busy place for your peepers.

The Souk

Luminous jars

What To Order: Everyone seems to play safe and start with a mezze platter, which is fine, but we'd recommend starting with near perfect falafel (£4.75 for three) and Mana'esh (or Man'ousha, £8.95), a garnished flatbread - originally served with just olive oil and zaatar - straight out the bread oven. Mana'esh are considered to be the pizza of Lebanon and, we're told, Lebanon's favourite breakfast dish. Anything Middle Eastern and wrapped in pastry tends to dry-out, which is usually the case with sambousek parcels, however, the dusky lamb kibbeh (£5.25) fights through with a dollop of yoghurt. The mini lamb koftas (£10.45 for large) we tried were little wonders; juicy and delicately spiced, make them sing with harissa. Elsewhere the Sayadiyah seabass with crispy onions, toasted pine nuts and tahini-based tarator sauce sounds very fine indeed. Menu here

And booze? In a region renowned for its conservative views on alcohol, Lebanon has held a fairly liberal attitude to boozing. Indeed, the Lebanese wine industry is roaring, so it's no surprise to see Comptoir stock an admirable selection of Lebanese wines, including it's own branded version alongside the famous Chateau Musar (wines start from £4 glass, £16.95 bottle). Elsewhere you'll find Turkey's best-selling beer, Efes, a light, easy-drinking pilsner, and Comptoir's belting homemade gin lemonades (from £6.95).