Kippered by a forest of joss sticks
Lebanese Moroccan fusion? That's a new one on me. But that's what is on offer at this sultry Mayfair joint. We walk through a moody, busy hookah bar, down rose-petal strewn stairs to check it out.
How the fusion translates is as a selection of Lebanese mezze for starters, Moroccan tagines and couscous as mains, with a section dedicated to dishes of indeterminate provenance in between.
Briouats (teensy triangular pies made with ravishingly light and crispy pastry and a fresh, lemony chicken filling) and mohammara (a rich mix of nuts, spices and chilli) are both ace, as is tangy home-made harissa. Pastilla (or bastilla, or b'stilla) is a decent version of this sweet-savoury, cinnamon-scented pastry.A seafood couscous and lamb shank tagine are duller, though.
Mamounia is in a space that has seen off a couple of previous restaurants (the Curzon and Les Saveurs). I reckon they should reverse its layout and put the bar downstairs with the restaurant on the airier street level.
Still, it has an air of success. Shame we were kippered by a forest of joss sticks. Shame we had to pay £10.50 for our (very uninspiring) pudding - is this London's most expensive cheesecake? And shame we had to leave before seeing the belly dancer in action.
Mamounia Lounge
Curzon Street, London, W1J 7TX
