Earlier this week, I paid The Lebanese Bakery a visit for some pre-theatre food.

I love Lebanese food and had been keen to try out their menu for a while.

With a date booked to see Kit Harrington’s new play ‘True West’ at The Vaudeville theatre, it was the perfect opportunity to pop along to the Covent Garden bakery, the only one of its kind outside of Beirut, in order to explore their menu.

When we arrived, there were only two other people in the bakery. The bakery doesn’t have that many tables, so not somewhere I would probably suggest visiting if there is a large party of guests.

The staff were friendly, but made it clear as soon as we walked in that they don’t do table service. We were asked to make our food and drink choices and then go to the till to  place our order with the bill being paid upfront.

The drinks menu is quite limited, as no alcohol is served. The drinks arrived in either bottles or can’s and it was quite obvious to see that they were keen to avoid as much washing up as possible. In addition to no glassware, there were also pots of plastic cutlery on the tables.

Their speciality is a Manousheh which is effectively a Lebanese Pizza served on a flat bread. I ordered the Ras Asfour Manousheh which arrived topped with diced sirloin, pomegranate, rocket, and toasted pine nuts (see the photo’s below for a snap of the Manousheh). To accompany the dish, I also ordered a Kebbeh and a Sbenikh.

The food was simply delicious. The toppings on the Manousheh worked beautifully together and the Kibbeh and Sbenikh melted in the mouth.

One word of warning though. The portions are not huge. When ordering under the Mouajjanet & Kaak Bread section of the menu, it’s worth bearing in mind that the price on the menu is for 1 item only. The food is so cheap that this really doesn’t matter. The Mouajjanet are priced at only £1.50 each, but ordering just one or two things off this part of the menu may not quite hit the spot if you’re really hungry.

There were 4 of us in our party, 2 of which were vegetarians. Whilst they had plenty of options for vegetarians, there were little choices for anyone who is strictly vegan.

I’m pleased I have been, but would I go back? Yes, I would. However, it’s definitely not the kind of place I would go to  for a special occasion, and possibly more suited to a lunch as opposed to an evening meal. I honestly couldn’t fault the food, and the service we received was good.

Our bill came to around £29 for 2 people. That included 2 x Manousheh, 4 Mouajjanet, and 2 soft drinks.

If you’re looking for something cheap and cheerful its the perfect place to go. And being a stones throw from Covent Garden, it’s the perfect place to go for some lunch if you’re out and about shopping or enjoying everything else the West End has to offer.