Kenza Restaurant, City of London

I recently went to Kenza Restaurant for a friend’s birthday. The restaurant specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine in particular Lebanese food. As a foodie I’m always up for eating out and trying new food. In the past year I have eaten at quite a few restaurants serving Turkish, Afghan and Persian food. I love the sensual spiciness of the food; it’s well seasoned and I find that I get generous portions for my money!

The restaurant is based underground in the City of London; you wouldn’t know it was there as it’s in quite a secluded area (for non-city workers anyway) and nestled between corporate companies and law firms.

Everyone had to pre-order their food before attending the dinner party. The first thing I noted that was that the set menu (for 2013) was actually a set menu – usually set menus have a limited choice of starter main and dessert but for this restaurant there was no choice. Another thing was the price. The set menu started from £29.50 per person; and this price was for the vegetarian menu. Most people chose menus 2 and 3 which had meat dishes and were priced at £32.50 and £35.50 respectively. And this was not inclusive of drinks or service charge.

The food itself was quite nice:

Meze/Appetizers

Farowj Meshwi
(chargrilled baby chicken, with rice and salad)

It came with chilli sauce - tasted so good!
I actually finished the sauce myself it was that good!

The meze (appetizers) were traditional – what’s a Middle Eastern restaurant without hummous or baba ghannouj?! My main dish was also nice and seasoned well; however it was served on a platter for 2 /3 people to share. I felt that the portions were small for what I (and the other guests) was paying. One of the guests even had to ask for more rice as our portion was tiny.

Dessert was nothing spectacular; traditional sweets, pastries and fresh fruit to share. We were also served with some lovely mint tea.

Desert was Arabic Sweets, Turkish Delight, Baklawa, Fruit and Mint Tea

Naturally being a birthday dinner, there was cake:

I especially loved my drink, known as a Strawberry Bousa. So sweet and yummy!!!

The restaurant had plush surroundings; it was like I was I wasn’t in London. Unfortunately I felt that the mood was slightly spoiled by the loud music. It made having a conversation hard; with everyone in the restaurant trying to talk over the music it at times became a noisy den! But it did occasionally quiet down when the belly dancers came out……

In the end I paid £45, which included my set menu choice, two drinks at £3.95 each and £5 service charge. While the food was good, the main dish could have been a bit more generous. I felt that I was paying more for dining in plush surroundings rather than the food. Kenza, for me, is not a repeat eatery.

And the Outfit of the Night?

Dress - H&M
Blazer - H&M (as previously shown here)

Yeah, you know I love the colour blue, so when I saw the dress in H&M I just HAD to have it!

7 comments clothes, entertainment, Food, London, outfit, restaurant, review

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